Geek As Citizen

Activities For The Civic Geek: Free Speech

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Free Speech isn’t just talk – it’s a real life issue, and one that’s often misunderstood.  Do something real about free speech issues in an intelligent way.

There’s two problems with Free Speech – there isn’t enough of it, and most people don’t know what the hell it’s about.

For the latter, we need more education, better understanding, and occasionally informing people they’re full of crap for thinking someone defriending them on social media is censorship.  However, I’d like to focus on the former – actively helping people get over it and understand it.

Internet drama aside, there are a lot of threats to free speech – often subtle.  A banned book list at a school library, lawsuits designed to squelch opinion, and countries outright controlling what people think and see.  Issues of internet access, net neutrality, and freedom.  Maybe we geeks can do something about it.

Something like:

  • Invite authors who’s books and works have been banned to your events.
  • Do reading groups of controversial literature.
  • Get involved with organizations that support freedom of speech, from donations to getting speakers to events.
  • Provide access to banned literature or promote it at events.
  • If it’s relevant to your geeky media (books, comics, video games) do panels or studies of free speech in various countries.

Beyond doing good and helping overcome the at-times subtle censorship people face, being involved in free speech efforts also teaches you what it’s really about.  It’s one thing when people complain someone deleted their message board comment – quite something else to realize a beloved book was widely banned in a state.  Sometimes understanding free speech is best done by seeing it’s lack.

Here’s a few groups to get you started:

  • Banned Book Week – Celebrate the freedom to read – and take a stand against censorship – with Banned Books week.
  • Free Press – A savvy organization focused on a free press.
  • Public Knowledge – An organization focusing on intersecting issues of technology and free speech – access, copyright, net neutrality, innovation, and more.
  • The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund – A non-profit organization focused on protecting the First Amendment rights of everyone in the comics/publishing/reading chain. Provides legal referrals, representation, advice, assistance and education.

Activities For The Civic Geek: Electronic Recycling

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Most geeks love their electronics.  Electronic waste and disposal presents quite an environmental problem – and ignores how other people can use technology others casually throw away.  Getting into electronic recycling as a civic geek gives you many ways to help out.

If you’re reading this, I’m guessing you’re probably awash in technology.  You either have a lot of it, use a lot of it, or both.

The problem is a lot of this technology is pretty hard to dispose of – and is useful when reused.  Deadly chemicals have to be handled in recycling, valuable metals have to be reclaimed.  At the same time there are people that can reuse technology that you might throw away.  For technical geeks, this is a chance to do some good by getting involved in electronics recycling.

Here’s a few ideas:

  • You can get involved in collecting and donating old cell phones or computers.  There’s many places that gladly take old technology.
  • You could get your geeky friends, club, or whatever to refurb old computers before donating them.
  • There are groups that do refurb of technology you could join.
  • Run a drive at a con or club event to collect old technology
  • If you’re a science-heavy geek, you can arrange viewings on films on recycling or speakers at your events.  Just the dangers and methods of recycling electronics alone is fascinating (and a bit scary).

The benefits of this are threefold: you make recycling easier, many electronic recycling efforts help people out, and you become aware of the impact of electronics on the environment and more.  It’s not just helpful – it’s broadening.

A few groups to look into:

Computing

  • Close The Gap – Takes computer donations from european countries and refurbishes them for emerging nations. Also works to recycle unusable equipment safely.
  • Computers With Causes – Takes donated computers and either gets them to charitable programs, or sells them for funds used to go to programs
  • PCS For Schools – Refurbishes and upgrades donated computer equipment and uses it to bridge the technology gap in schools
  • World Computer Exchange – A US and Canadian non-profit that reduces the digital divide with education, donated computers, and more.

Technology

  • AZ StRUT – Arizona chapter of Students Recycling Used Technology, an organization that supports learning, refurbishing and donation of electronics, and proper recycling of electronics.
  • Cell Phone Bank – Takes donations of cell phones and recycles them for use as emergency phones.
  • Cell phones For Soldiers – Provides refurbed cell phones and more to soldiers so they can keep in touch.
  • Green Electronics Council – A nonprofit focused on environmental leadership in electronics
  • Hope Phones – Outfits global health care workers (part of Medic Mobile) with donated cell phones
  • Komputers4rkids – Focused on Southern California, the goal of Komputers4rkids is to bridge the digital gap in technology, and they accept electronic donations to help do it.
  • National Center For Electronics Recycling – A nonprofit that works to build and coordinate initiatives to improve electronic recycling.
  • Silicon Valley StRUT – California/Silicon Valley chapter of Students Recycling Used Technology, an organization that supports learning, refurbishing and donation of electronics, and proper recycling of electronics.
  • Step Initiative – The Step Initiative takes a long-term view of understanding, planning for, recycling, and avoiding e-waste.
  • The Christina Foundation – Promotes technology reuse and helps connect people with local organizations and individuals that need their donations.
  • Wireless Foundation – Recycles used cell phones and focuses on stopping family violence

Activities For The Civic Geek: Support The Troops

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Being in the military is challenging, as many people know.  Support the geek troops by supporting your mutual interests!

Being stationed away from home and loved ones, moving around when required, tough training, unexpected surprises – being in the military, simply, isn’t an easy job.  We’ve all known people in the military life, know the challenges – and know supporting the troops is one way we civilians and current civilians can help our.  If we’re geeks, gamers, and so on, we can help out our geeky brethren who wear the uniform.

After all we’re geeks.  We know the importance of games, comics, literature, anime, and so on.  We know what our fellow geeks in the service like.  Let’s make it easier to get it to them.

You could:

  • Join any number of groups (I’ve got a few listed below) to help out.
  • Your events, club, and conventions could support groups that help out geeky troops.  Imagine a manga donation marathon!
  • You could invite current and former members to speak on their experience to your supporting group or club so people know exactly what they experience.
  • Find ways to get care packages of appropriate material to those in the service.
  • Work with current military charities in your own geeky ways.

You get to make a real difference in the lives of people, you’ll learn more about what military service is like (or show people), and you get to do good for people in uniform.

In your own, geeky way.

 

Comics

Literature and Technology

  • United Through Reading – Connects US military personnel with their children by video-recorded book readings.

Literature

Technology

Video Games

  • Military Gamers – A community and support network for military and former military gamers from the US military. Promotes healthy gaming and support.
  • Operation Supply Drop – A military gaming charity that delivers video game care packages for American and American allied soldiers in both combat zones and military hospitals.