Tag: social justice

Thoughts On Being a Part of the Wisconsin Movement

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It’s been twelve years now since thousands of angry, scared, and broken hearted Wisconsinites spent weeks camping out on the cold marble floors of our state capitol in an attempt to protect workers rights. While we didn’t win an immediate victory, we did change what organizing looked like in Wisconsin and throughout the US.

I was the person that the Teaching Assistants Association (TAA) called on when they realized that what began as a small protest was going to become a massive event and had the possibility of becoming dangerous. They asked me to coordinate non-violence trainings. During the weeks in the capitol I worked with a great team to bring together dozens of skilled trainers to provide non-violence training to thousands of people and the people of Wisconsin stood strong and peaceful. Here are few thoughts that I shared back then. I think that they may still ring true in many of the struggles that we face today.

Thoughts on Being Part of the Wisconsin Movement

  1. Why are you here?
    If you are here to defend the capitol building, you are in the wrong place. If you are here to prove your belief that police are fascists, you are in the wrong place. If you are here to prove your righteous acts, you are in the wrong place. If you are here to prove Republicans bad Democrats good, you are in the wrong place. Movements depend on a shared sense of deeper purpose. The Wisconsin movement is complex because it brings together such a wide variety of groups with many reasons for acting. In order for us to succeed in the long haul we must have a shared sense of purpose. I would suggest that the purpose we share is to create a Wisconsin in which all people have their basic human rights met and in which the people of the state drive the government, not the other way around.
  2. What is Civil Disobedience and Why Do It?
    Civil disobedience is intentional illegal action used to address injustices in the system. It is not simply actions used to make police officers work harder or to add excitement or interest. It is well thought out and used to attain a goal that moves us toward that bigger purpose of meeting the human rights of everyone in our state and gaining control of the governmental process. Civil disobedience is a tactic to be used when the legal means don’t work. It should be well thought out in advance and taken on only with people you trust implicitly. Plans should be made in advance to deal with any repercussions of your actions. Remember that the police, the courts, and our government have been dealing with protestors a long, long time. They are prepared. You need to be too. Doing the action and getting arrested is the easy part. Dealing with the repercussions can be more time consuming and difficult. Ask yourself “how will my action help the movement?” before taking any action.
  3. What about me?
    Me is an interesting character in the movement, whoever that me is. Every action that each of us takes, positive or negative, affects every other person in the movement community. Movements are in some sense temporary minority groups. This is not to suggest in any way that movements or members of movements face the same levels of discrimination or oppression. What we share is that majority culture is quick to define minority groups by the actions of single individuals “all Black men are x,” “all women, all youth, all insert your favorite minority here are y.” The same thing happens in movements. You are a representative of the movement whether you want to be or not. So, it’s up to you to measure each action you take, even the mundane ones like the words you use or when and where you opt to play the drum or whatever else, to ask yourself is this
    going to move us toward our goal or away from it. Everyone in Wisconsin is going to be affected by the decisions of our courts, the legislature, and the governor. We need a movement that is made of all ages, all races, and all backgrounds. This
    isn’t some liberal, progressive, or even radical group. This is Wisconsin. We all drink the same water. Every person that you see could be a part of the movement. Each one could bring something that we need. It’s up to each of us to build the bridges, to win people to our side, to encourage that understanding that we all drink the same water.
  4. But I just need to be me!
    If you are in a spot in which you feel a need to do something that isn’t going to help the movement take a break, step away for a moment to come back stronger. This fight doesn’t end with this budget session or even with the recalls. We’ve got a lot of work to do and it’s going to take a long time. Governor Walker, the legislature, the cops, the media, and sometimes even your fellow protestors are going to do stuff that in your mind is just idiotic and really ticks you off. If you can deal with it in ways that are both logical, empathetic, and feel right in your heart go ahead and deal with it. If you feel worn down, angry to the point of not being able to control your actions, deeply depressed or otherwise just don’t feel yourself, step back. We are a large group. We’ll cover for each other, so everyone can have a break.
  5. Going for the long haul
    Bad stuff is happening in Wisconsin’s government, stuff that will take years to fix. We’ll need to fix it and we can. It will take a lot of work, a lot of creative thinking, and a lot of coalition building and strengthening. Right now a lot of people are burned out, more than I’ve ever seen in my 20+ years as an activist and organizer.
    Go ahead and mourn. There has been a death in the family, many deaths. We’ve lost much that we love and depend on in this last legislative session and it deserves to be mourned. Crying is welcomed here. So, is talking, writing, song, lifting weights, prayer, running, hitting the punching bag, any and all of the healthy means of processing loss and regaining strength.
    Angrier than you can explain? That’s good too if you use it. Organizers often call it ‘cold anger.’ If you can keep your anger controlled and directed toward supporting our forward movement in healthy ways, it is one of the best tools we have. Remember we are all family here. Take care of your brothers and sisters and let them take care of you. Caring for each other makes us each stronger.
  6. What’s my role here?
    In my work we say “everyone a learner, everyone a teacher, everyone a leader.” It works here too. Each and every one of us is more than a body at a rally. We need you. Ask questions. Share what you know. Support others in doing the same. Share your talents, whether it’s facilitating meetings or baking cookies. Not everyone gets the spotlight, but everyone keeps the movement alive and strong. Thank you everyone for what you’ve been doing to keep us moving!

Protests Don’t Work

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Protests don’t work. Yes, I’ve said it. I’ve been an activist for over 30 years, spending a whole lot of time shouting slogans and waving signs, but I’ve been known to say it and will say it again. Protests don’t work. But, let me go a little deeper here and share what’s inspired this post.

On August 18th, 1920 the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was passed giving women in the US the right to vote. (We could get into the discussion of who exactly got the right to vote, but that’s another post for another time.) Historical societies and museums across the country are celebrating the 100th anniversary of this amazing victory right now with exhibits, documentaries, and educational events. Yesterday, a friend and I went to visit the Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison to view their exhibit on suffrage. It was an excellent display and I would encourage anyone in the area to check it out.

As we wandered and viewed the images my friend questioned whether some of the tactics used by the suffragettes might provide lessons for organizers today. Could we use any of the same tools? She lamented that protests and rallies no longer work because of the fact that we live in a world of social media in which messages move so quickly and can so easily be modified. I proposed that protests have never worked and never will, at least not on their own.

Protests are only a tool. It is the actions between the protests and behind the scenes that make the work successful or not. Protesting remains important, if well used. It is a tool that can draw public attention and influence decision makers. However, it is important not to expect that protesting on its own is going to bring change. A large portion of the museum display was dedicated to the banners, signs, buttons, sashes, and tunics worn and used during fight for the vote and later fight for the ERA. This makes sense as they are very visual pieces of history. Still, it only shows us the highlights of what was really a much more complex history.

In the 1820’s, one hundred years before the amendment was to pass, white men had gained the right to vote in most states and discussions had begun about this right for women. By 1948, the movement solidified through the Seneca Falls convention. For nearly one hundred years women met, discussed, strategized, argued. They built partnerships and alliances. They wrote letters, created newspapers, handed out pamphlets, spoke to handfuls and to huge crowds of people. They coordinated conferences. Women, and some men, committed their lives to this issue of justice. Some would never see the results of their work as they would die before the passage of the amendment.

We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that social change is some sort of fast food where we head up to the capitol or wherever to protest and come home with our win. There is much more. The struggles are long and hard, but the victories and the loves found along the way are well worth it. Take good care of yourselves my friends and keep on moving forward.

What is an Activist

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When I began Sustainable Life in Action back in 2013 the Grassroots Leadership College had only been closed for a year and I was trying to find enough work to keep my rent paid and figuring out how to keep doing community organizing. My dreams were of starting a new Grassroots Leadership College maybe statewide or maybe in northern Wisconsin along the shores of Lake Superior. It wasn’t too much later that I left Madison. Life didn’t take me to northern Wisconsin, but to Minnesota.

In those days, for me, being an activist still meant organizing people, coordinating trainings, taking part in protests, speaking at rallies, being a force, and fighting out loud in a non-violent yet intense way. While my work was for a better world most of my actions still landed in the realm of working against the evils. I loved my work. I loved getting to know people, making connections, supporting others in achieving their dreams, creating positive social change. We did create change. Every time we people connected and came to know each other, to see each other as valuable human beings we were creating change, not to mention all the battles won.

Despite my love for my life work I was burning out. That’s why I started Sustainable Life in Action. It was a tool to encourage my own self care as well as to support others in caring for themselves. It has been a helpful tool for me. I hope it has been for others as well.

My journey as an activist has reached a new stage. It is an interesting one for me. After seven years in Minnesota and one in Poynette, Wisconsin, I have returned to Madison where Sustainable Life in Action began. When I left this place I was deeply involved in the activist scene. My name was known for work I’d done, nine years running the Grassroots Leadership College, coordinating the non-violence trainings for the capitol take-over during the Walker administration, Green Party stuff, Labor Radio and board leadership at WORT 89.9fm, and more. Now, I am coming back in quietly to a place where there are many new leaders and much of the old guard seems to have disappeared or maybe just is quiet in these times of COVID. It is coming back to a place where I’ve never been before.

It’s good to stand and watch this new place as I too am in a new place internally. After looking for jobs in the nonprofit realm and at the university and colleges to no avail, feeling my stomach churn a bit as I considered roles in organizing again, I decided to go back to another of my earlier careers. I accepted a position as an infant/toddler teacher in a large local child care. I’ve been intrigued by the reaction of old friends who seem to believe that going into teaching early childhood is leaving the world of activism. These people tell me how I’ve “done my time” and that it’s okay for me to do something else.

How can there be anything that is more about social justice than caring for our children? Being an activist isn’t all about holding up signs and shouting slogans. Being an activist is about how we live our lives. At this phase of my being, much of my time will be dedicated to holding the little ones and showing them love. I’ve also chosen to commit my time to being creative, telling my stories, and playing with art. All these things are important. I haven’t done my time, none of us has. We all have a duty to care for this place and for each other each day for the remainder of our time. How we do it is up to us.

Take good care of yourselves. That’s where it all begins.

Burnout Politics

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I’ve been an activist and organizer for a long time. I used to say my whole adult life, but I suspect it actually started before that. The first formal action I took part in was in high school. Funding was being cut in our industrial arts and music programs. Almost the whole school walked out. A few kids whose religious beliefs didn’t allow such protest were the only ones left inside.

I’ve had the good fortune to fight the good fight in many ways and many places and to count some good wins along the way. I’ve had some good mentors and made some good friends.

I used to be really involved in political organizing. I was one of the leaders of our local Green Party. I co-chaired the state party. I helped start the national diversity committee. I worked on political campaigns. I facilitated meetings. I did it all and I loved it and believed in it.

But then, I got burned out. I was deep in depression and lost on what to do. I had to walk away.

After years of working on the front lines taking on major corporations, working on campaigns from school board to president it wasn’t the work that beat me down. It wasn’t the losses or some sort of evil conservative whatever. It was my own community, those who see themselves as liberal, or progressive, or even radical who wore me down and forced me to back away. They forced some great and strong people away and the movements struggled.

I share this now because I see the same things happening today. I hear the rantings about Republicans, the self-righteous talk of the evils of conservatism and I know some of the best folks I’ve ever learned from and walked beside would call themselves conservative or Republican. I know these folks as people who’ve worked hard caring for families, serving their communities, seeking the same love that my liberal/progressive/radical friends do, battling the same pains.

I write this in honor of all my friends and mentors who understand. The work we do isn’t about Republican or Democrat or Green or any other political identification. The work we do is about that child seven generations from now who deserves clean water, a safe place to live, healthy food to eat, a community to rely on.

To everyone else I say, drop the labels and reach out in love and healing. It doesn’t mean to deny the horrific actions. It means to recognize the pain and fear behind them. Be part of the healing, not one to tear at the wounds with self-righteousness causing infection. Your insistence that all Republicans or conservatives are evil does nothing other than wear out a lot of hard working, caring people and encourage the building of walls.