Celebrating indiemcemopants: fundraiser for a fine, fierce blogger

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Saturday March 26, 2011 · 12:59 PM PDT

2011/03/26 · 12:59

Nurse Kelley and I are on a mission to celebrate indiemcemopants, force o’ nature and DKos blogger extraordinaire in a very tangible way.

You’ve undoubtedly read at least some of his diaries on disability, LGBTQ struggles, torture, and other issues, all of them characterized by that singular indie voice that is at once smart, fiery, bold, blunt, and powerful.

But if you haven’t, you should.

RadioGirl

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Monday January 31, 2011 · 8:01 AM PST

2011/01/31 · 08:01

Learning to listen – really listen – to people of color and believe what they say when they are describing their experiences in a white supremacist society didn’t come naturally to (virtuous, white) me. It came painfully, and the lessons demanded an intensity of self-reflection and self-examination that was usually embarrassing, often excruciating because it contradicted my saintly self-image, and it was always shocking.

And, these painful lessons ultimately also proved to be liberating, because by embracing them rather than fleeing in defensive, angry flurries, flaps, and frenzies of denial, I began to aspire to be a white, female race traitor. It wasn't a planned career ladder, but hey.

I’m not completely there yet; while I am not a foaming-at-the-mouth racial bigot, there undoubtedly are still ways in which I am complicit – often unwittingly, certainly unintentionally – in perpetuating systemic and institutionalized racism. But it’s a journey filled with astonishing goodness, inspiration, relationship, and possibility.

It began in a serious way in August 1970, in the sweltering confines of Denver County Jail.

RadioGirl

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Friday October 01, 2010 · 7:45 AM PDT

2010/10/01 · 07:45

This is the kind of statement that drives me nuts – in this case a statement made by a diarist last week utilizing the royal "we" to suggest there is a monolithic LGBT voice:

"We, as a community, went into the 2008 election with many serious misgivings regarding candidate Obama..."

"We" did? Who decides who "we" is? I’m queer, and this statement sure doesn’t speak for me. I’ll say more about why in a bit, but for now, I want to say this: There is no single LGBT/queer voice at Daily Kos, no one group that speaks for all queers – either on the site or in the larger society. There is no single policy/activist agenda that accurately reflects the priorities or experiences of multiple queer communities. But a lot of people not immersed in queer politics might think there is. So this is my formal defection - fierce but nonviolent - from that particular royal "we" here at DKos.

RadioGirl

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Wednesday December 23, 2009 · 2:54 PM PST

2009/12/23 · 14:54

I don’t know about you, but the volatile discussion on the site lately around possible and actual "left/right" (and "progressive/libertarian") coalitions to move forward particular political issues and initiatives has encouraged me to think more deeply about such coalitions.

Firedoglake’s recent declaration of willingness to join with teabaggers and right-wingers who also seek to kill the prospects of health care reform legislation (admittedly flawed and imperfect) really helped me to clarify my concerns. I want to share them with you. "Libertarian," I believe is an inaccurate (and dangerously lulling) term that obscures the important complexities of a number of the organizations that are proudly included in FDL's search for common cause.

I suppose I ought to establish my credentials for talking about these things. I’m a white, pro-Second Amendment, rifle-owning Montana resident and former Goldwater Girl (thankfully now gone bad) who once toiled as a working-class, young teen volunteer in what I, years later, came to recognize as a vile, hate-and-fear motivated campaign that relied on stoking anxiety, animosity, and unbridled rage as its preferred path to political power.

RadioGirl

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Thursday October 22, 2009 · 5:10 PM PDT

2009/10/22 · 17:10

As Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) most recently became the lightning rod for much liberal and progressive political fury for pursuing "bipartisan" health reform that favors the health insurance industry over the needs of ordinary people. For producing a bill that contains no public option, robust or otherwise. That this "bipartisan" effort unfolded at the same time the Republican Party launched a scorched-earth effort to destroy any meaningful reform added insult to injury.

But there also are additional battles, just as critical in their own way, including enactment of comprehensive climate change legislation. We may have a significantly better chance of winning Baucus’ support for it.

As a Montana voter and activist, I want that support – and I think it’s possible to get it. But we’ll have to organize like hell to make it happen, and it won’t be easy. Fortunately, we have a powerful case to make, strong arguments on our side, some very useful grist for the green energy jobs mill, and some indicators that Sen. Baucus is pragmatic about many of the issues involved.

Here's the lay of the land as I see it.

RadioGirl

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Thursday October 08, 2009 · 3:23 PM PDT

2009/10/08 · 15:23

It feels something like the late 1950s and early 1960s to me these days. I’m a white woman, now 60, who sees the signs signaling a new outpouring of racism everywhere, both literally and figuratively - racism combined with virulent red-baiting and other forms of fear-and-smear.

White voices willing to name, expose, and confront racism have been a lifeline for me, and I want to tell you why. And I want to tell you about a particular white person, the late Lillian Smith (1897 – 1966) whose words have spoken to me in a particularly powerful way over the years, and why her voice continues to be so relevant and resonant today. I'm hoping she will also inspire some of you to speak out more powerfully, more often, to other whites about the need to name and challenge white privilege in both its obvious and subtle varieties.

I didn't come to the subject of white supremacy easily or start out on the side of the angels.

RadioGirl

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday May 16, 2008 · 6:50 AM PDT

2008/05/16 · 06:50

As the June 3 Montana primary approaches, the atmosphere here is electric with pro-Obama organizing. Tell us the nomination is a wrap and we don’t have to work so hard? Not a chance.

We’re taking nothing for granted. Besides, why would we hold back on this chance to help build a new and more progressive Democratic majority – in Montana, throughout the country, and in Washington, D.C. – by sitting back now? It’s full-tilt boogie from now through June 3.

Obama’s candidacy is not just generic for Montanans; he and the campaign are touching lots of us in profoundly important and specific ways. For my first DKos diary, I want to help locate you in our particular sense of place.

Poll

0 votes Show Results

Who Will Win Montana for Obama?

0 votes Vote Now!

Who Will Win Montana for Obama?

Non-hard-working white people who have nothing better to do with their time

0 votes

Riff-raff and interlopers from a state that doesn't matter

0 votes

Gender traitors of a certain age who can't bear the idea of a woman as president

0 votes

Hillary Clinton, ably assisted by Bill, Lanny, Mark, Terry, Geraldine & Co.

0 votes

Obama and hard-working Montanans of all races, ethnicities, genders, incomes, and ages

0 votes

RSS

Celebrating indiemcemopants: fundraiser for a fine, fierce blogger

Reflections of a White, Female Race Traitor: Heavy Heart Edition

My Queer Politics Are Lived at the Intersections

Libertarians & The New "Transpartisan Consensus?" Oh, Really?

Adopt a Senator: Sen. Baucus & Climate Change

The power of one white voice against racism-Lillian Smith

A River Runs Through It: Missoula, MT for Obama