Ello's Defending Daca Page

Hashtag defendDACA

Ello is a showcase for innovative visual art...

Pinterest for Artists

For those of you who are not familiar with Ello, Wikipedia describes it thusly:

[Ello] was created as an ad-free alternative to existing social networks. Recently, it has pivoted away from its earlier Facebook-like incarnation towards a Pinterest-like website showcasing art, photography, fashion and web culture.

I joined Ello soon after it started in 2014 but I never did much with it. However, I look forward to its weekday newsletters, the contents guaranteed not to disappoint, especially the artwork and the fashion photography. Every Ello dispatch brings an exciting assortment of breathtaking, innovative art that contrasts markedly from what's offered on more conventional websites.

Disclaimer: although I elected to feature some social justice items from Ello, the website is mostly apolitical. When I saw the Dreams of Staying image in my inbox, I decided to feature Ello's DACA page in this post.

The following is an essay from Ello's Hashtag defendDACA page:

So... I am a DACA recipient.

I see telling people about my legal status the same way I see telling people that I am in a relationship: it's an open secret and, if you know, great; if you don't, then you don't. It's one of those things that I don't actively think about telling people, because no one has to know except my employer (for E-verification purposes) and anyone I trust.

Thus, when the news came out that Trump had decided to rescind the program, I was furious. Livid. I was so angry that I tweeted out "Fuck you, Jeff Sessions, you sniveling coward." I saw the press conference; no one clapped for that man when he left the podium. The fact that he said that DACA recipients were stealing jobs from white Americans was so blatantly untruthful that it made me want to go on a full-blown tirade. However, I decided to calm down and see the positives: I still have a permit to continue working. I have a year to make decisions. The legislative branch and Congress have six months to get their shit together.

I am trying to remain positive, but it's rather difficult, mostly because nothing about this presidency has shown to be optimistic. Incompetence and corruption seem to run the main course of action, and I am so fucking tired of it all that it would be easier to succumb to my inner demons than to succumb to a joke of a presidency.

The worst part: there is no easy route to becoming a citizen except if you get married (or if you are born here). I don't want to marry for that reason. If I decide to get married, it will be because me and the person in question feel something for each other and if the person is willing. As much as I think my parents and sister would prefer to marry one of my friends, I am not necessarily interested in doing that. I don't want to marry them only to have them resent me for putting them between a rock and a hard place. I don't want them to use the marriage as leverage to treat me like shit because "I should be grateful". I have seen that happen with other couples; it's a nightmare.

What I can ask you to do is the following: when the time comes, please go out and vote. Defend DACA recipients like me from deportation. Allow us to continue working and pursuing our education. We are not here to take away benefits or take jobs; we are here to make something out of ourselves. We pay taxes. We have families. Some of us have never set foot in their home country and have nothing left there for them to come back to. Please, defend us. We don't want to leave the country we consider to be home.

Source: @hera-salander

Betamax Of Social Media

Some criticize the website for trying too hard to be different from FaceBook, others criticize it for being buggy.** But, Ello is still a young enterprise and continues to add various non-advertising alternatives to its revenue stream, namely:

selling specially branded T-shirts in a partnership with Threadless**
Hire Me and/or Collaborate buttons that enable users to be contacted by other community members, to either collaborate or offer their services**
a Buy button that can be added to any post, and directs towards any online shop where the goods are sold.**

Source: All Ello images in this post are from Ello (#defendDACA) as is the So... I am a DACA recipient essay.
**Information about Ello's organization, critics, and revenue are from Ello (social network); Wikipedia.