Hey, some clarity!

There is a group organizing tonight; I had seriously thought about going.

I am not going to name them. They probably will bring some people in and may do good things. They may help people be more active than they have been, which can be really good.

But the more I looked over their materials, the more I revolted.

It feels like the Women's March all over again, where their main form of engagement is going to be applying pressure to elected officials, especially Democrats.

Allow me to say that I am really irritated at the progressives who seem angrier at the Democratic party for not saving them than at the Republican party for wholeheartedly embracing racist fascism. I get that the target is easier, and expecting better makes more sense, but to put that burden on the same people you show only contempt for is not merely counterproductive but also really irritating. Way to learn nothing!

Regardless, there should be organizing and people getting together now. I have been trying to decide what I should do and feeling pretty overwhelmed.

As I was trying to figure out how I felt about this thing specifically, some thoughts did take shape.

One big one was picturing a room full of people without masks. There tends to be a lot of ableism on the progressive side, which would not be helped in such a white area. Is that judging them, yes, but there was nothing in the materials indicating that was even a concern. There may be a possibility of applying positive pressure from within, but I felt tired just thinking about it.

I did remember that when the first Women's March itself turned out to be not what I was hoping for, the March for Equality and Justice was organized for the following week. That was something I could support, and did.

Of course, I suspect that was planned by Black women, and there have been statements that they aren't going to be doing the work for us anymore. That is completely fair.

I don't know that anyone else is going to organize something that will work for me. 

I don't know that I am up for organizing myself.

I do know what I value. That is where the clarity comes in.

First of all, I know that this country's original sin is white supremacy.  

Yes, I will bring in corporatism, capitalism, and colonialism and fold all of that into dominator culture, but the point is that if I do not see an effort to engage with that, I am pessimistic about how effective it can be.

So if there is any talk about focusing on "basics" -- meaning prioritizing class over race, meaning trying to lure in aggrieved whiteness -- I am not interested. We should reach out to people, but not by betraying the most important thing we need to change.

That is clear for me, but it's also a negative. What are my positives?

I think mutual aid is going to be very important, especially in terms of getting people food and shelter and necessities of life, including mental and emotional support. 

That organizing might look more charitable than political. You can run into a lot of white supremacy with NGOs, but that's still something to look for.

I know that libraries have been under attack, but that they are also one of democracy's most important tools. I can look out for the needs of libraries, especially my local one.

If I see organizing that looks at accessibility and disease prevention, we are probably going to be aligned in multiple areas.

I don't know where that will end up, but it's a start.

Related posts:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2017/01/i-did-not-march-rally-or-burn-anything.html  

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2017/01/my-first-march.html