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NCFM-Chicago IAMA

[deleted] · 2020-06-17T14:01:38+00:00

Hello Everyone, This is Jacob from NCFM-Chicago. I will be replying as ncfmoc-jacob1 and am joined by Les(ncfmoc-renfrew) and Tim(ncfmoc-Tim) As an...

[deleted]

June 17, 2020

32 upvotes

/r/MensRights

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Post Information

Title	NCFM-Chicago IAMA
Author	[deleted]
Upvotes	32
Comments	29
Date	June 17, 2020 2:01 PM UTC (6 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/harosz/ncfmchicago_iama/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/ncfm-chicago-iama.1197381 https://theredarchive.com/post/1197381

Comments

[–]dzkrf 4 points5 points6 points 6 years ago (7 children) | Copy Link

[–]Oncefa2 2 points3 points4 points 6 years ago* (1 child) | Copy Link

[–]dzkrf 6 points7 points8 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]ncfmoc-Tim 3 points4 points5 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]turbulance4 2 points3 points4 points 6 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

[–]ncfmoc-renfrew 1 point2 points3 points 6 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

[–]ncfmoc-renfrew 1 point2 points3 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]ncfm-jacob1 3 points4 points5 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

Hello dzkrf,

Jacob here.

I really like your optimism! To be frank, your question has never come up at our meetings but I hope our way of activism planning addresses some of your concerns.

Every board member has an issue that they have claimed. They then set specific goals and timelines related to that issue which NCFM-Chicago will assist them with.

When they accomplish their goal, they need to come up with a new one that is related to their issue. If they solve their issue then they should either come up with a new issue and goal to be voted on by the board or switch to helping someone else achieve their goal.

I certainly do hope we get big enough to have to worry about what you are talking about.

If we do get that large then the responsibility of dissolving NCFM and its chapters is down to the National organization. We are only the NCFM of Chicago. If we feel it is proper, we can dissolve our chapter by a vote of 2/3rds of our board.

[–]turbulance4 2 points3 points4 points 6 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

[–]ncfm-jacob1 6 points7 points8 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

Hello Turbulance4, Jacob here. To add a little bit to what Les said, our primary short term goal is to increase awareness. We have only existed in an official form for less than half a year and much of that time was spent under the spectre of a pandemic.

Our plan to increase awareness was to have events highlighting issues faced by Men and Boys, roughly once a month in various Chicago locations. Before coronavirus hit we had lined up:

A Teach in about Gender equality
1 movie showing about Male Genital Mutilation
1 presentation by a health professional about Men's Mental Health

all scheduled for this summer with more things in the pipeline. We also did public service in the form of volunteering at a food kitchen and were starting to ramp up other volunteering opportunities.

Unfortunately all of these have been put on the back burner because most of them are illegal in Illinois at the moment. To add to that, very much want to avoid people getting sick from trying to do a good thing.

Your question about goals is an important one and that is part of the way we have structured our chapter. Each person on the board has a specific issue with a specific goal they want to achieve.

For instance, my goal is to have Male Genital Mutilation be a common conversation topic in Illinois and to have a challenge to its legality in the Illinois General Assembly within 5 years time.

But short term, like Les said, is mostly to get on our feet and grow membership. We are currently exploring other alternatives(like this one) outside of traditional activism and in person events.

We are very interested in ideas the community has however and welcome all suggestions.

[–]ncfmoc-renfrew 4 points5 points6 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]Oncefa2 2 points3 points4 points 6 years ago (5 children) | Copy Link

[–]ncfm-jacob1 4 points5 points6 points 6 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

Hello Oncefa2,

Jacob here.

So far we have not identified any issues that encompass all Chicagoans and are exclusive to Chicago that would fit under our purview.

The largest issue we have is that our area is a total desert for activism of our kind so it is quite difficult for us to recruit. Another large issue that affects us as Chicagoans is that the midwest has the highest rates of Male Genital Mutilation in the USA but that is not specific to Chicago.

As for advocacy for equal custody laws at the state level, one of our members is currently involved in assisting fathers in equal custody cases(and we have several members in the pipeline to get training to do the same) but we do not have the power yet to make a real legal change in equal custody laws at the state level. We are interested in helping to change that in whatever way we can.

Hopefully someday.

Regarding working with other groups, we are currently working with a few other groups, both ones that are devoted to our causes and ones that only touch on them for other reasons. But we are always interested in more collaboration so if you have any ideas of groups we should contact/assist please let us know!

[–]turbulance4 0 points1 point2 points 6 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

As for advocacy for equal custody laws at the state level, one of our members is currently involved in assisting fathers in equal custody cases(and we have several members in the pipeline to get training to do the same) but we do not have the power yet to make a real legal change in equal custody laws at the state level.

Here is a wiki that shows shared parenting legislation proposals by state. It may be out of date, there may have been more recent proposals. By the look of it IL is one of the few states that put "clear and convincing" language in its proposal which is a good thing. However it seems as though the bill never got a vote.

I'd recommend NCFM show up and maybe provide testimony if a similar bill is up for considering by a House or Senate committee. I have spoken at one such committee meeting in my state. Maybe reach out to National Parents Organization or Americans for Equal Shared Parenting for more information, as I know both of them have been championing this effort.

[–]ncfm-jacob1 1 point2 points3 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]ncfmoc-Tim 2 points3 points4 points 6 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

[–]turbulance4 1 point2 points3 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]Razorbladekandyfan 2 points3 points4 points 6 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

[–]ncfm-jacob1 2 points3 points4 points 6 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

[–]Razorbladekandyfan 2 points3 points4 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]turbulance4 0 points1 point2 points 6 years ago (3 children) | Copy Link

[–]ncfm-jacob1 0 points1 point2 points 6 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

[–]turbulance4 1 point2 points3 points 6 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

[–]ncfm-jacob1 0 points1 point2 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]JohnKimble111 0 points1 point2 points 6 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–][deleted] -2 points-1 points0 points 6 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

[–]turbulance4 2 points3 points4 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]ncfm-jacob1 0 points1 point2 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link