ChiEnl & UCR Fundraiser for My Block, My Hood, My City
On June 6, 2020, ChiEnl and UCR jointly released a statement in support of Black Lives Matter. Social action takes many forms including participating in protests, making donations to social justice organizations and advocacy groups, and volunteering in support of allied causes. In our June statement, we stated that we would have a matching donation campaign.
Today, we announce that through the end of September, UCR and ChiEnl have each pledged $500 in matching funds for donations to My Block, My Hood, My City , a Chicago organization that provides "underprivileged youth with an awareness of the world and opportunities beyond their neighborhood" and takes "students on explorations focused on STEM, Arts & Culture, Citizenry & Volunteerism, Health, Community Development, Culinary Arts, and Entrepreneurism."
Please join us in supporting My Block, My Hood, My City by making a contribution at https://www.gofundme.com/f/chicago-xfac-donation-matching and stand with us again united against injustice.
- ChiEnl & UCR
Comments
Asking for donations for anything should be kept on Reddit.
This is fantastic and it really shows that even though there are two different teams they can come together when it really matters. Thank you for doing this Chicago resistance and enlightened.
The Ingress community has regularly embraced donation campaigns for all sorts of causes over the years. Unless there has been some change to the community guidelines, I feel confident this post and campaign fall well within the norms of the last eight years of Ingress culture. Is there some particular issue you have with this particular campaign?
@chibri Will you match a donation that's made through a mechanism other than your GoFundMe page if I provide a receipt?
Unless you mean a Smurfs parable where Gargamel suffocates Hefty Smurf by kneeling on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, "Blue Lives Matter" is a false equivalence to "Black Lives Matter". A quick Google search provided this editorial from February that seems a good clarification of the difference: https://commonwealthtimes.org/2020/02/18/being-a-police-officer-is-a-choice-being-black-is-not/ :
First, and foremost, you are not born a blue life. Unlike black people, if you cannot deal with the realities that come with the job, you can take off your uniform.
So, yeah, stop acting like Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter are two sides of the same coin. They aren't. Period.
My Block My Hood My City does good work in various forms. This just popped up in the news a couple days ago: https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/chicago-teens-give-neighborhood-tours-to-rookie-cops-91225157771 Supporting MBMHMC is virtuous, IMO. As for signaling, I don't care what our support signals to others; I care that we are literally putting our money where our mouth is and supporting a good cause that has real local impact in Chicago.
I think a lot of people who object to "politics" in gaming are simply on the wrong side of history and know it and don't like being confronted with that fact. Of course, racial equality isn't politics; racial equality is a moral issue. Same with gender equality. Same with plenty of other movements to resolve such disparities.
There are two sides of AR gaming in my experience: (1) the game itself, and (2) the community. As far as I know, the only in-game "politics" things that were added have been rainbow XM and the Black Lives Matter beacon; again, those are about equality... moral not political, and if you can't stand seeing them in the game, you really need to look at yourself and question why calls for equality bother you. When it comes to community, I think it is FANTASTIC that the Ingress community is welcoming and diverse and regularly supports each other, including with calls and actions for equality.
Niantic didn't "give a coat of lambs blood" -- whatever that means; Niantic pledged millions of dollars to support local communities. I wish UCR+ChiEnl had more than $1000 to give for MBMHMC, but that's why we have a matching donation campaign: If we can convince others to give, we can double our impact.
I am not on these forums often since I retired from Ingress, but the Ingress community remains a big part of my life. Over the years -- while rare -- I saw sexist, homophobic, and/or racist comments in game COMM and G+ posts and always wished there were more consequences for those who made them. Assuming by "wrong think" you mean those sorts of hateful comments, I'm totally fine with @NianticBrian banning 5+ year agents. In fact, I applaud it. I suspect your objections to such bans have to do with free speech and censorship; assuming so, please refer to one of my favorite xkcd strips: https://xkcd.com/1357/ (tl;dr Free speech does not apply to Ingress; Niantic can remove any content they like in their game or on these forums.)
If you really can't stand any of this and think there are many who feel the same, maybe you should start a new AR game that only has one team -- the white team -- and then you can all play with yourselves in isolation.
Definitely! (Though wouldn't it be extra awesome if we hit the full amount on GFM, too?) You know how to get the receipt to me. 🙂
What is DARVO?
You are clearly here to push your political agenda, maybe you should stay 'retired', especially since you are 'applauding' 5+ year agents being banned for 'wrong think'
The smart gaming companies are staying out the politics, they are acting like hot dog vendors. They just want to sell hot dogs / entertainment.
Gaming is meant as an escape from politics
And what relevance does DARVO have to this conversation?
And what's my supposed agenda here?
Say what you mean and quit dancing. You don't got moves like Jagger.
"Gaming is meant as an escape from politics"
Except that Ingress is a game that makes you move and walk and go outside, and some people are in danger for simply walking while Black. So they can't escape from "politics."
Speaking of gaslighting... Are you talking about @Ezareth ? Who asked specifically for a deletion? https://community.ingress.com/en/discussion/comment/108167/#Comment_108167 That wasn't @NianticBrian banning someone; that was Niantic providing responsive customer service.
I'm not trying to get anyone banned at all. But I am happy if and when toxic people do get banned.
Yes, you could say I'm here to exploit the community in the sense that I am asking a community known for giving to give to a good cause to double the impact of UCR+ChiEnl's donations. Yup... exploitation!
Just a reminder that you brought up politics... while saying you didn't want to get into a political discussion.
I'm here to have fun, too. I'm having fun refuting your views, for one.
Microsoft, you say? https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2020/06/23/addressing-racial-injustice/
The opposite of standing up against racial injustice is not neutrality-- it's standing up FOR racial injustice. It's supporting the status quo.
I know which side of history I choose to be on.
oh no he's pushing supporting something that aims to help "underprivileged youth with an awareness of the world and opportunities beyond their neighborhood". How teeeerrible.
Seems some are weaponizing the Flag button? I wish people wouldn't. Trying to have a conversation here.
Someone said @cheatch told me to resign as a Vanguard? I retired on Labor Day weekend... in 2019. I didn't do a big post about it here or anywhere, though many people in many chats were aware. I had told Niantic that I would be done not long after my (self-inflcited) Abaddon Prime Chicago duties were complete... and then I stuck around a few weeks longer until the next round of Vanguards was announced. Welcome to a year ago, bud.
Well, I been censored, so our conversation is over chibri.
I wish you all the best, I can disagree with organizations and people, and I do not take it personal.
I had a lot of fun at Chicago Pokemon GoFest last year, and wish Chicago all the best.