Thankful for Sex Workers Outreach Project

Dear SWOP Friends,

I've just been thinking that I hate Thanksgiving, because people get all thankful for everything and all I can think about is all the Indians that died so I could be so fucking thankful. But that doesn't change that every year about this time we all gather to gather and break bread and give thanks.

So here is what I am thankful for:

I am thankful for Sex Workers Outreach Project

because without it I would have never had such a great way to vent all this anger at the FBI.

because I wouldn't have had half as much fun protesting at the federal building, topless is definitely more fun.

because I would have never got to meet all these great sex workers and allies.

because we started International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.

because it gives people a place to complain and sometimes something to complain about.

because we tried to do something and it may not be enough but it is more than most have done.

Please if you would like to add why you are thankful for SWOP send your comments to http://www.swop-usa.org/drupal/contact/ and we will add your comments on the website for Thanksgiving or you can just respond to this post. If your not thankful for SWOP you can send those posts to, but I am not going to post them on the website.

Have a happy day,

Robyn

Our Thanksgiving was November 11th, but I would still like to share in your holiday! I am thankful for having the privilege to work with really amazing sex workers in my community. Most of them work at street level and struggle just to survive from day to day. As someone who use to walk in their shoes, I couldn't be more grateful today that I am able to give them my help and support.

Thank you,

Christal Capostinsky, Executive Director

Prince George New Hope Society

www.princegeorgenewhopesociety.ca

I'm grateful for SWOP too. SWOP has brought so many amazing, brave,

beautiful, difficult people into my life. The past 4 years have been

unreal and I am so privileged to live as I do as a sex worker in this

culture and period in time. I'm grateful for the solidarity and for

being surrounded by people who are crazy in the good way!



I agree with all of what Robyn said, although I have to point out that

I think the term 'Indian' is mis-used and may be offensive to some in

this context. I think Native American or Native People are more

acceptable terms and there may be other more acceptable terms that

some prefer, if anybody can add more clarification? I know you didn't

mean any harm by it, we just have to be mindful of these things that

we grew up with, especially on this particular f'ed up (IMHO) holiday.

Thank you!



In solidarity,

Stacey

HOW!!!! WHO!!!! I am learning more and more my own sinical ways as a

person, I guess. Yes I agree Native -American is a better term or

even just women of color as it has been stated several times inside

the SWOP Conferences. Holidays DAMN sure give me the blues, however

my burn-out and self-care seminar that I facilitated helps keep me on

track, Every day I struggle with this on going battle of women hood

too.

In closing I say I am tired of these (IMHO) Holidays too.

This year I am really thankful for SWOP! Getting involved with SWOP has made me feel useful, important, made me realize that each and every person matters and can help make changes for the better. Mostly,, I have realized that thou I am not educated,,, I am really smart.That's a big one for me,, growing up on the streets and not finishing school,,I often felt inferior and took a back seat to those around me who were more educated. After getting to know some really cool SWOP people I have come to realize that it dosent matterif I can't spell,, or if my math sucks! I still have important input and am just as smart,, sometimes just come at it for a different angle. That's a lot to be thankful for! Liz

I am also thankful for the Sex Workers Outreach Project for some of the reasons Robyn mentioned, but most of all for trying to end government oppression of sex workers and their clients, including sponsoring and fighting for Measure Q. While we are thanking political organizations, here are a few others I am thankful for as well...
- The Libertarian Party, for bringing people who want more freedom together and giving us a forum to cooperate to get the laws and public opinion changed and to elect people committed to saying no to legislation that violates individual rights- The Institute for Justice, for bringing legal cases on behalf of poor victimized by licensing laws, parents seeking educational choice, and families in danger of losing their homes to eminent domain- Bureaucrash, for promoting freedom to young activists in a fun, irreverent way- The National Youth Rights Association, for standing up for the rights of young people- The National Right To Work Foundation, for fighting for individual choice in employment- The Erotic Service Providers Union, for putting the struggle for decriminalization front and center- The Desiree Alliance, for organizing conferences of sex workers trying to secure our individual rights- The Heartland Institute for important research into free market environmentalism and other topics- The Advocates for Self-Government, for teaching the important truth that so long as no one else's rights are violated in the process, the best person to make decisions about your life is you, spreading the new map of politics, and maintaining a list of libertarian celebrities- The International Society for Individual Liberty, for reminding us that this is a global struggle, for translating pro-freedom books into various languages and helping them get distributed, and holding annual conferences to help libertarians around the world organize and connect.- Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, for defending the right to self defense and providing a living testament to how some members of a community learned the lesson of the Holocaust and what can happen when ordinary people are disarmed.- Copwatch, for providing a database on police officers and being on the front lines against police abuse- The Fully Informed Jury Association, for spreading the knowledge that jury members have the right to acquit defendants even if they broke the law, when the law itself is unfair, or is being unfairly enforced- Americans for Safe Access, for being on the front lines defending medical cannabis- The Cannabis Action Network, for promoting solidarity among cannabis users and not leaving non-medical users behind as we seek to change the laws- The Drug Reform Coalition, for having the courage and principle to oppose Drug Prohibition across the board- The Institute for Humane Studies, for offering free classes on liberty so that students can learn what their college professors probably aren't telling them- Downsize DC, for attempting to return some sanity to the U.S. capitol in the form of imposing limits on government power and spending- The ACLU, for upholding the separation of church and state, and standing against torture, wiretapping, and other human rights abuses- The Alliance for the Separation of School and State, for applying the principle of "separation of church and state" to an area where it is even more needed- C.A.S.P.I.A.N. for exposing corporate and government use of spychips, RFID, and other forms of "Big Brother" type surveillance and violation of privacy- The Reason Foundation, for publishing a terrific magazine and doing the kind of detailed studies and analysis that has given many freedom advocates the ammo they need- The Foundation for Economic Education, for helping people understand free market economics, including publishing this essay (scroll down after Robyn's email below) about the origins of Thanksgiving -- what we learned in school about the kind Indians helping out is a heartwarming story, but the real history behind the celebration of giving thanks for a bountiful harvest is much more educational in its lessons for us today!
These are just a few groups doing good and important work; there are many others could be added here that I can't think of right now. But I'd like to give a big Thank You to everyone who is working for the cause of liberty, whatever particular struggle(s) you may be engaged in.
Love & Liberty, ((( starchild )))