Goodbye #GETMAD...Bye for now
Remember those black squares that everyone posted in 2020? ✊🏾
We posted one, too. But if we all merely post a black square, it means nothing. Our actions have to always line up with our words. And at Mad Priest, we are always looking for new ways to Get Mad about injustice and truly make a difference.
So, this year we tried something different.
Our #GetMad Crusade was a six month educational conversation exploring six different topics of injustice in our world that we're mad about. The goal was to cultivate curiosity and understanding by exploring these difficult, nuanced issues with experts in each field.
COFFEE INEQUALITY
CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM
THE REFUGEE CRISIS
THE DRUG WAR
INCARCERATION
ECONOMIC INEQUALITY
It was a lot. A lot of research. A lot of time. A lot of energy. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears. These 6 topics are so massive, it could take 6 months to dig deep in to just one of them. It's not "normal" for a small business to put so much into education and awareness. We're not making money off of any of this haha, and we still have to pay our bills.
But it was so worth it! Even if none of you listened to any of the interviews, WE learned a lot. We have been challenged. We have grown. We do hope you've listened to a few of the interviews on Youtube or Spotify, though. If not, take a second and scroll through our Get Mad Resources page with all the links!
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We asked our team if they wanted to share something they learned, a fav topic, and/or their fav merch item. Here's what some of them said...
1. What was one thing you learned from the content of the Crusade?
2. Did you have a favorite interview or topic that we covered?
3. Do you have a favorite #GetMad merch item?
Omar
1. As I started to work on these subjects, I started to learn how so many of these topics can be connected to each other. I didn't realize how bad it was here in the United States with incarceration, I was curious in understanding the reasons behind which has to do with profit. Even the War on Drugs and arresting people over a little bit of weed or people who struggle with drugs it ends up being a cycle with no help but causing a new problem for them.
2. My favorite topic was probably the refugee crisis, I thought I knew a lot about it but I was wrong. I didn't realize the severity of the issue and how it rapidly growing rate. I went to a world refugee day event here in Chattanooga and met people at the event who had to leave their lives some fairly recent with the war in Ukraine and some from past conflicts.
3. This is a difficult question, the mushroom pin for sure as well as the war on drugs tee then the classic Get Mad tote. I can't choose one there are so many good pieces!
Lainey
1. Renaldo Hudson's interview was my favorite! And as a zine fan I appreciated Plight of the Girl: The Story of Dorothy Belle Young.
2. Overall, incarceration was my topic of choice.
3. Merch recommendation is the I Kissed Sh*t Coffee Goodbye tote!
Garrett
1. I’ve learned that the US has an un proportionate amount of incarcerated people, particularly people of color.
2. My favorite topic war the Drug War.
3. My favorite merch was the drug war tee and the F$$K billionaire hat.
Cherita
1. Whew lord I thought I knew a lot about most of these topics, but I've learned so much more. Definitely read "Jesus and John Wayne" and listen to Renaldo Hudson's interview!
2. All of these topics are so important, but I think Christian Nationalism and Incarceration are the ones that folks really need to hear about.
3. The St. George Tee hands down is the best!
Q
1/2. Incarceration - all the interviews! Everything about this topic!
3. The drug war mushroom pin & 6 line Get Mad tee are my favorite pieces of merch...and the drug war shirt that's sold out haha.
Ben
1. I learned how quickly people, due to their pride, can be turned off by a simple topic.
3. Get Mad Tee
Sofia
1. All of my life I never paid much attention to the incarceration laws in the US, but after I listened to the podcast with Paula Mallea about her own thoughts and experience with criminal laws and justice in the US, I learned a lot about the injustices that a ton of people go through and the inhumane ways they are treated for consuming a drug. I think the 6 month crusade made me sit down and listen, and it also made me want to be more aware of the world that surrounds me.
3. I think the "I kissed $#!T coffee goodbye" tote bag is a funny reference to the "I kissed dating goodbye" book that is so famous in the Christian conservative communities. It's my favorite, because it looks cool and I relate to it in some ways haha.
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