Welcome to What’s Helping Today, a newsletter about the everyday work of staying alive on earth, written by author and journalist Sandy Ernest Allen.

Hi folks,

Well, the world sure is bad!

I’ve been thinking I’d do a short one where I just share some nice stuff.

Maybe I’ll do this regularly sometimes, is an idea I had. We’ll see how that goes.

Alright, let’s get to the…

Nice Stuff

The first episode of Amy Poehler’s new podcast, with Tina Fey, was chill but also fun. Looking forward to listening to more.

I absolutely adored Wayne Brady on Why Won’t You Date Me.

TRANSA is an expansive multi-album music project that’s been released in support of trans rights. It includes a ton of artists, trans and cis alike. I’ve enjoyed having it on lately and especially love the weird long track from André 3000 (of course).

John Oliver’s new episode is entirely focused on trans athletes and was surprisingly great I thought. It’s worth watching and also worth sharing with everyone cis you know who’s still skeptical or just asking questions or whatever:

So many people protested last Saturday, damn. Sure, there were gigantic ones in big blue cities, but also ones in shall-we-say less expected places like Montana, or small-town Texas, or Utah:

Or like The Villages, in Florida (holy shit indeed):

(Years ago for BuzzFeed we ran a huge feature on The Villages, which was the largest retirement community in the world [still is, I believe], and suffice to say, is also about the last place I’d expect to see such.)

I posted about this but I was in Kingston, NY last Saturday and despite it being cold out and raining, there were a surprising number of (soggy) protestors out, some even holding (soggy) trans-related signs. It meant so much to me, seeing all this.

Emotional, I paused to take a pic of the trans crosswalk there in the rain. I admit in the past when I’ve seen this crosswalk I’ve maybe rolled my eyes or made a joke. But last Saturday it felt like it meant something, this pink and blue paint on asphalt.

It means something, all these people who’d taken time out of their Saturdays to protest, despite the weather, some with their kids.

It means something, that some people do actually care about my trans humanity.

If you’re thinking of going to a protest (especially if you haven’t done so before or in a long time), I highly recommend you check out this excellent guide from WIRED about how to safely protest.

Finally: I wanted to acknowledge the generosity of those who’ve contributed to my new digital tip jar. I mean generosity both in terms of the money amounts and such, yes, but also in terms of the super kind stuff folks have written to me.

I don’t know how I expected this to go but it’s only been a week and I’m just so blown away already. Also rad/surprising to me: Some have even signed up to give monthly! I’ve also had folks from multiple countries!

Thought I’d share some of these lovely notes I’ve received from contributors:

During these indeed shitty AF times, I am again just so grateful to those of you who are supporting my work — by giving there yes, by subscribing here, by buying my book, or by sharing my stuff.

It truly encourages me, knowing that some people out there, somewhere on this globe, see and value what I do. This has been What’s Helping Today for me, lately, big time.

Alright, that’s it for now. Nowadays they’re all bad days but today seems extra so, so. Let’s try to take care of ourselves, if we can. Let’s try to take breaks from the doomscrolling and the news.

Maybe take a few some deep breaths. Drink some water. Go outside, even for a few minutes. Maybe take a walk.

Repeating this to you all — and to myself, too.

Sending love,
Sandy

p.s. Here in case you didn’t already read it is my latest Dear Sandy advice column. I went long in response to a cis parent concerned about a vulnerable trans teen in their community, and offered thoughts for all adult allies.

p.p.p.s. As I’m often mentioning, here and elsewhere: Altruism isn’t good just for the receiver, it’s good for the doer, too. So, during these immensely stressful times, perhaps consider how you can help others (albeit in addition to taking care of yourself, not at the expense of your own wellbeing). Again, here is my latest general purpose advice for cis allies who do want to help trans people, right now.

Thanks for reading What’s Helping Today! If you were forwarded this message, you can subscribe here for free. Once more, if you like, you can now give me some money via Buy Me a Coffee. I appreciate your support.