Make A Difference
ETA - Crap, the link from Karen’s post to the Red Cross hasn’t copied - please click through to her post.
ETA again - it takes a while to get through to the Red Cross via phone, but be patient.
For anyone who doesn’t already know, Victoria is in the grips of one of the worst bush fire tragedies in Australia’s history. One of the most appalling things about this is that many of these fires WERE DELIBERATELY LIT. The rest of this post is from karenhealey she says it better than I could and has a fantastic way for people to help from all over the world. I’m about to donate money now.
http://karenhealey.livejournal.com/750660.html
As predicted, yesterday’s horrific heat, at the end of a 34 day dry spell, resulted in fires all over south-eastern Australia.
But the fires were very fast, and very furious, and in addition to widespread devastation have utterly destroyed at least two towns: Marysville and Kinglake. At least 84 people are reported dead, and that number is expected to rise.
I have been through Kinglake several times. I’ve stayed at a home near there (at last check the inhabitants were fine), walked through the beautiful bush, helped clear the scrub. That’s land I’ve worked, and now it’s a sooty wasteland.
All those people; all those homes; all that life. It’s one of the worst natural disasters in Australia’s colonial recorded history.
Except that it’s not entirely natural. Criminologists estimate that about half of Australia’s fires are set by humans. Arsonists have been spotted helping the fires spread or relighting fires that have been controlled or extinguished. I would cheerfully strangle each one of those murderous assholes, but, you know, I can’t, so rather than restrict myself to black curses, I thought I would do something more productive.
I’m hereby announcing the Fuck You Firebugs Donation Drive. I’m supposed to be getting an advance cheque in the very near future, so I’m in a position to do this: I’ll match, dollar for dollar (up to five hundred dollars) every donation to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfires Appeal that you make.
Because, seriously, fuck those guys.
How it works:
1) You go to the Victorian Bushfires Appeal website and make a donation.
2) You come back to this post (http://karenhealey.livejournal.com/750660.html) and tell me how much you donated. (All comments are screened; I’m the only one who’ll see your name and the donation amount, unless you request otherwise).
3) I announce donation totals as we go, and make my contribution.
4) BAM! Your donation just doubled.
5) Fuck you, firebugs!
Feel free to spread the word, even if you can’t afford to make a contribution yourself. I have great faith in the power of dispersed communities to make a real difference. It’s my view that the only answer to people being evil is people being good - compassionate, generous, and supportive in the face of atrocity beyond comprehension.
ETA again - it takes a while to get through to the Red Cross via phone, but be patient.
For anyone who doesn’t already know, Victoria is in the grips of one of the worst bush fire tragedies in Australia’s history. One of the most appalling things about this is that many of these fires WERE DELIBERATELY LIT. The rest of this post is from karenhealey she says it better than I could and has a fantastic way for people to help from all over the world. I’m about to donate money now.
http://karenhealey.livejournal.com/750660.html
As predicted, yesterday’s horrific heat, at the end of a 34 day dry spell, resulted in fires all over south-eastern Australia.
But the fires were very fast, and very furious, and in addition to widespread devastation have utterly destroyed at least two towns: Marysville and Kinglake. At least 84 people are reported dead, and that number is expected to rise.
I have been through Kinglake several times. I’ve stayed at a home near there (at last check the inhabitants were fine), walked through the beautiful bush, helped clear the scrub. That’s land I’ve worked, and now it’s a sooty wasteland.
All those people; all those homes; all that life. It’s one of the worst natural disasters in Australia’s colonial recorded history.
Except that it’s not entirely natural. Criminologists estimate that about half of Australia’s fires are set by humans. Arsonists have been spotted helping the fires spread or relighting fires that have been controlled or extinguished. I would cheerfully strangle each one of those murderous assholes, but, you know, I can’t, so rather than restrict myself to black curses, I thought I would do something more productive.
I’m hereby announcing the Fuck You Firebugs Donation Drive. I’m supposed to be getting an advance cheque in the very near future, so I’m in a position to do this: I’ll match, dollar for dollar (up to five hundred dollars) every donation to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfires Appeal that you make.
Because, seriously, fuck those guys.
How it works:
1) You go to the Victorian Bushfires Appeal website and make a donation.
2) You come back to this post (http://karenhealey.livejournal.com/750660.html) and tell me how much you donated. (All comments are screened; I’m the only one who’ll see your name and the donation amount, unless you request otherwise).
3) I announce donation totals as we go, and make my contribution.
4) BAM! Your donation just doubled.
5) Fuck you, firebugs!
Feel free to spread the word, even if you can’t afford to make a contribution yourself. I have great faith in the power of dispersed communities to make a real difference. It’s my view that the only answer to people being evil is people being good - compassionate, generous, and supportive in the face of atrocity beyond comprehension.