It All Started With A Christmas Card
Tags: Equality, LGBTQ, Social Justice, Holidays, Transgender

How hard is it to show love?

How much does a card cost in the store? Anywhere between fifty cents and seven dollars. Some of the more expensive ones might be fifteen dollars.

How much does it cost to be nice to someone? Absolutely nothing. Instead of spewing homophobia and transphobia, how about showing love instead?

El Roberts–Wright’s project has sent over 4000 cards in the little time it’s been in existence.

“My aim for this project is pretty simple: to combat isolation in the LGBTQ+ community through simple acts of kindness” — El Roberts–Wright

I think everyone can learn something from her. Sometimes we think we’re too small to make a difference in the world. Sometimes we feel like what we do doesn’t matter because we’re just one person. Wright started out doing what she could. Supporters showed up and started doing what they could, and now hundreds of LGBTQ people are receiving holiday cards.

You can start anywhere. You can buy someone a coffee or a snack. You can just spend time with someone if you feel like they might need a friend. You can donate money to a transman or transwoman’s transition fund. You can donate your time to LGBTQ shelters and group homes. You can donate binders and other trans–specific products to trans individuals who can’t afford it. These products help us combat dysphoria.

Socks, pads, and hygiene projects are some of the most needed items in homeless shelters. Things like toothbrushes, socks, bras, and deodorant are some things that we don’t think about and take for granted often. How often do you have to hunt for a pair of socks? You probably have a drawer just dedicated to your socks.

Menstruation pads and tampons are a bit expensive, but you always make sure you have some in stock if you have a period, right? Think about how many homeless women, transmen, and nonbinary people have to worry about whether they’ll have access to pads and tampons during their time of the month.

It’s getting cold outside. It’s time for us to start looking for our thicker socks, right? Think about how many homeless people have to go without and suffer the cold without socks and jackets.

It’s time for chili and soup and other warm, filling meals. How often do you have to wonder where your next meal will come from? How often do you have to go with only eating once a day or only getting to eat a snack instead of a full meal? You can donate to food drives or donate some time at a local food bank. You can help cook meals and deliver them to homeless people or feed the people that show up. Lots of churches provide free meals on certain days.

There’s all this hate in the world.

There are millions of viral videos of people being assholes to homeless people. Every day there’s a news story about a mass shooting, a murder, a robbery, an assault, or a tragic weather event. People are losing their lives, homes, family members and friends. Every day kids are bullied for almost anything. LGBTQ people are discriminated against in the workforce, schools, stores, bowling alleys, restaurants, and any other public place. Every day racism rears its ugly head somewhere.

This may sound odd, but you don’t have to contribute to any of this. You don’t have to be just another asshole on this planet. You can be nice to people no matter what their race, gender, or sexual orientation is. How people live their lives has no effect on you, as long as they’re not doing anything illegal or disruptive.

You also don’t get to dictate how people live their lives. You don’t get to decide who’s man and who’s a woman. You don’t get to tell people who to love or have sex with. None of these things give you the right to spew hatred and bigotry.

El Roberts–Wright started by sending a couple of holiday cards, and you can start doing something for others too.