Things that Bug Me: Brainstorming for Social Change

Kids’ Stuff:

• Toy tea sets are too flowery and girly. Make tea sets for boys!
• Make party favors gender-neutral, for pete's sake.
• Get toy makers to stop painting children’s toys—use colored plastic instead so I can stop worrying about my children eating lead paint
• Manufacture affordable kids’ clothes in the USA, so I have that option
• Provide choices for children’s clothing that avoid gender stereotypes—not all boys’ shirts need to be blue and decorated with monster trucks

Darien:

• Stop holding parent (mother) meetings during the work day
• Put sidewalks and streetlights in Darien—some of us walk
• Make swimming lessons affordable to everyone
• Stop and Shop: bring back the plantains and empanada shells--getting rid of it is just racist.
• Cut the crap—add affordable housing in compliance with state laws

CGS:

• Make honors World Lit classes more rigorous
• Add additional CGS history courses, beyond 9^th grade
• Actually recycle 
• Go digital (you, too, Ms. Parham)
• Minimize plastic utensils. Stop using Styrofoam bowls and plates.

ABC Darien:

Increase fundraising so program can pay for school events, field trips, and school clothing.

Regional:

• Don’t redistrict CT by lumping together Bridgeport and Hartford. That gives Bridgeport no voice.
• Increase the number of magnet and charter schools to give Fairfield County students more options

National:

• Make Juneteenth a national holiday
• Provide subsidies for stay-at-home moms and dads
• Switch to instant run-off voting to give third parties a fighting chance and weaken bipartisan campaign corruption
• Stop subsidizing corn--I'm tired of high fructose corn syrup
• Stop subsidizing big agriculture and the food industry--the vegetables grown next door to me should be cheaper than the ones imported from Argentina

Media:

• Outlaw marketing to children under the age of 10—particularly food
• Limit airbrushing of models; use real-sized models
• Promote bilingual TV shows
• Show language-learning shows
• Stop having sitcoms that promote average-looking men in relationships with attractive women
• Stop promoting white guys as idiots 

Online:

• Pass a law requiring websites to unsubscribe users within forty-eight hours
• Allow free access on-line to all network shows