Name: Joey Wieser
Organization: Independent Advocate & Digital Strategist
Location: Seattle, WA (currently in Los Angeles, CA)
When did you start getting involved with activism and why?
My activism really began at Seattle Central College. That experience forced me to confront racial biases I didn’t even realize I carried. As I unlearned harmful assumptions, I started seeing inequality everywhere — in pop culture, in housing policy shaped by redlining, in systems I had previously accepted as normal. Once you learn how to see inequality, it becomes nearly impossible to unsee it. Around that same time, Mike Brown was killed in Ferguson. Like thousands across the country, I answered the call to say something that should never have required clarification: Black and Brown lives matter.
What issues do you focus on?
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I’m an unapologetic advocate for the underdog. My work centers on standing with oppressed people wherever injustice exists — from ICE raids and the unhoused and affordability crises at home, to confronting how corporate politicians continue to aid and abet a genocide carried out in the name of Israel. I live by the words of Malcolm X: “I’m for truth, no matter who tells it; I’m for justice, no matter who it’s for or against.” Trump appeared in the Epstein files? Throw him in jail — no, under the jail. If Obama appears in the files, the same standard applies. Wrong is wrong. Principle over party. Always.
How does your work help build a stronger community?
I’ve worked in digital marketing for nearly a decade. My skill set is simple: I know how to get people to pay attention online. Whether I’m promoting a tech product (day job) or amplifying a call to action for community defense (gay job), I use digital platforms to mobilize attention, awareness, and participation. Visibility is power. If people don’t see an issue, they can’t act on it.
What is your greatest achievement in this work?
One of the moments I’m proudest of started unexpectedly — serving then–Council President Bruce Harrell during his campaign while working at a Red Robin. I crossed out the tip line and wrote “Black Lives Matter.” Shortly after, I spoke at a City Council meeting about Seattle’s proposed $220 million youth jail. Harrell remembered me and invited me into his office. I asked him to include my friend Michael — a formerly incarcerated organizer — on the panel discussing youth detention. Michael’s testimony changed the room. The Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting the goal of zero youth detention in Seattle, helping strengthen the movement against the school-to-prison pipeline. Sometimes activism starts with a small act of courage that opens a much bigger door. Thanks to the work of activists in 2015 through 2020, the proposed youth jail was ultimately never built.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced?
The hardest challenge has been watching Israel commit a genocide in Gaza while our own government funds and defends it. Watching genocide happen in real time — with our tax dollars and political cover — forces a painful truth: our leaders are complicit and our government is occupied. If our government won’t draw a moral line at genocide, people start questioning who it actually represents. The work now is refusing silence, demanding accountability, and organizing anyway — even when hope feels fragile.
How can others help?
Start by having uncomfortable conversations. Wear the political shirt. Ask hard questions. Bring up difficult topics at the dinner table or after a game night. Get loud. We live in an algorithmic world where social media feeds increasingly isolate us into digital bubbles. We’re more connected than ever — and more digitally segregated than ever. Real change happens when people break those bubbles and talk to each other face-to-face.
What calls to action would you give our community?
Ask yourself: “What’s the one thing you can do better than 99 people in a room?” Then use that skill for collective good. * Love cooking? Mutual aid needs you. * Good communicator? Livestream and inform. * Writer? Translate complex issues into accessible language. * Artist? Reflect the times. Whatever you are — be a good one.
Looking at today’s climate, what gives you hope — and what concerns you?
We’re constantly pulled into culture-war distractions that divide communities instead of challenging real systems of power. Marginalized groups — especially trans people — are turned into cultural footballs to provoke outrage and keep us fighting each other rather than organizing together. Don’t take the bait. Online outrage cycles and bot networks thrive on division because division prevents collective action. My hope comes from remembering that solidarity has always been stronger than fear. I think about Monsters, Inc., when they discovered laughter powered the world better than screams. That lesson stays with me: hope is stronger than fear. And here’s the truth they don’t want us to remember: there are far more of us than there are of them.
Who inspires you to keep fighting?
I’m inspired by people who speak out when it’s unpopular: Queer people. Black women. Immigrants. Katniss Everdeen. Ana Kasparian. Kshama Sawant. Candace Owens. Hasan Piker. Bernie Sanders. The more than 250 journalists killed in Gaza. None of these people are perfect. Some have even caused harm at times. But perfection isn’t the requirement — showing up is. You don’t wait until you’re confident to show up. You show up until you’re confident. And that’s the work.
