- a There is so much going on and it's impossible to keep up with it all. I have to cut myself off from social media and MSNBC to find my sanity again. Being able to take small actions makes a difference, the post cards, posts, tweets, calls, protests and rally's - but it's not enough. I feel like taking to the street every single day so everyone knows how much I care, how much I disagree with the GOP and #45, how many of us all feel this way.
Our next Kaffeeklatsch meeting this Sunday I will be discussig my plans for a visual protest - remember Hands Across America in the 80's? My idea is like that - single file protestors lining the bridges and waterfront here in Portland - a very broad visual symbol. I'm also proposing the idea for some fundraising opportunities. I've donated little bits here and there to many causes but I can't do much on my small budget. Last week we pooled our money and donated to Ossof's campaign in Georgia - a democrat in a sea of Red. I want to do more to help sway the Red to Blue or at least Purple across the nation - and money will surely help their causes. More on all of this to come soon. In the meantime follow on Twitter:@Klatsch4Action Or join the Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/728902227260419/
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KAFFEEKLATSCH FOR ACTION
KLATSCHING ON JANUARY 22, 2017 Why did I pick the name Kaffeeklatsch? Kaffeeklatsch originated in Germany, a mix of two words "kaffee" (coffee) and "klatsch" (to chat or gossip). It is a known as an informal gathering for conversation and coffee (and cake!). My German-English grandmother used to use the word and I didn't pay much attention to it until recently. I was looking for a word to describe the action group I wanted to start and a kaffeeklatsch seemed to fit! When I looked it up I discovered something that made it even more important to me. The first coffee house opened in Germany in Leipzig in 1694 - and coffee houses became an important means and meeting place for intellectual and political discussions between the educated, middle class and bureaucratic nobility of the time - all men. Of course, women were not allowed in these coffee houses or discussions until the 20th century! German women began organizing private "kaffeekranzchen" or coffee parties in their own homes. The kaffeeklatsch spread across Germany and beyond - my grandmother’s family bringing here to the US - and to me. And now I've latched on to this long standing history of kaffeeklatsch, an informal gathering, and am using it as a means to discuss politics, culture and take actions for women’s rights and human rights. Every Sunday from the Kaffeeklatsch for Action meets in Portland, Oregon. The meeting is informal and meant to be a time carved out of our busy lives to make calls, write letters, read articles, plan for protests and other calls to action to rise up for women’s rights and human rights. My Kaffeeklatsch for Action blog: http://kaffeeklatsch4action.weebly.com/ Resources and blog updates are posted here. I welcome guest bloggers! DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS We reveled in the glorious aftermath of the Women’s March – Portland and across the nation. It was such an uplifting and amazing day. We shared pictures and stories. Then we had some good discussions about how we filter media. What to believe? It is important to be proactive and do the research. We discussed, the bait and switch (Orange Herring – thanks Meg!) technique where ridiculousness gets picked up and gone over endlessly by media (e.g. # of people at inauguration), meanwhile real scary stuff happens and doesn’t get the same coverage (the Department of Housing and Urban Development suspended the Obama administration's planned reduction of mortgage insurance premium rates, whitehouse.gov removed the pages for LGBTQ and Climate). We briefly touched on some hot topics: white feminism, echo chambers, how to communicate to those in deep red beliefs in an effective way, and even a brief interaction between each other on the Green Party and Democratic Party differing beliefs and perception, and differences related to the women’s march on Portland organizer communications. I shared my acknowledgement that I am in an intentional echo chamber – I just haven’t been able to get over my anger and fear – but that I am starting to do that hard work. Angela brought up the idea of creating an effective Photo Campaign – especially around healthcare – as images are powerful (used by All Born In). Would be a great way to highlight who would be affected by the repeal of ACA, especially pre-existing conditions -diabetes, Down syndrome, high blood pressure, etc. We all agree that storytelling is powerful We talked about making efforts to include people of color/women of color in our group and actions. Action of the day We sat around and wrote out thank you postcards to our Members of Congress and local politicians who attended the Portland Women’s March. They showed up and we thanked them! Some members went further thanking the other speakers as well. POST CARD info:
Feeling overwhelmed by all the work and areas to cover, and all the resources available, we identified our top area of interest to report back on. These are massive issues and all connected but these sections seem more manageable. There may be links, resources, events or actions specific to these areas you may want to report back on to connect and get our people involved Brooke – Climate Change Terry – Voters rights laws, gerrymandering and criminal justice reform, don’t’ shoot PDX Meg – Education, keeping it personal, local and following national (e.g. down with Betsy DeVos) Julie – Healthcare and health disparities, local level impacts, local voice in East County Jack – Young democrats, Alison –Equity and Intersectionality (esp women and kids), Arts Resources Amy Goodman. https://www.democracynow.org/ Here is a link to donate to support the women’s march: http://www.pdxtranspride.org/women-s-march-on-portland---january-21--2017.html ACLU – know your rights: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights, For youth: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/what-do-when-encountering-police-youth Demonstrations: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/what-do-if-your-rights-are-violated-demonstration-or-protest OPAL: http://www.opalpdx.org/ - At OPAL, people of color and low-income people are in charge. We’re cultivating leadership where we need it the most: among people decision-makers usually overlook. Here, individuals become members and join a growing movement for social justice. PHONE calls to Speaker Ryan to respond to survey to support ACE: 202-225-0600. We did this on speakerphone as a group and then got a full voice mail box. Update from later in the day: Action item: If you're getting a full voice mailbox when calling your senator or congressman, Sen. Bernie Sanders wants to know. His office is tracking these as it seems that some of these full mailboxes remain that way intentionally. Reach his D.C. office at 202-224-5141. Please copy and paste share this to get the word out. Phone call: https://act.moveon.org/survey/indivisible for January 24 MOC meeting day Update from 1/22 evening call: I joined Indivisible, MoveOn.org, and Working Families Party leaders for a live call and training on how to take immediate and effective action to block the Trump/Republican agenda, starting with rallies at our senators' district offices this Tuesday to stop Trump's #SwampCabinet. For the next 100 Tuesdays there will be coordinated efforts to rally at our MoC offices every Tuesday. To connect with groups scheduled to go: https://act.moveon.org/event/stop_trumps_swamp_cabinet/search/ Contact whitehouse.gov to send pictures from the March https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact Contact the National Park Services https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/contactus.htm - to support them Where to get the Nasty Women Get Shit Done signs: http://www.nwgsdpdx.com/signs-more Oregon Legislature link: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/ City of Portland elected officials: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/?c=25999 Kaffeeklatsch Google Doc to our Members of Congress: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MpLrlBs_KMNnGJLxGCnglaamrl47xDjaem9c1j048Jw/edit A reference and information list from member, Brooke, google doc link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19qpRXyrGxqf7ISsFLqJd1ACvFiNpNghSxXfMaxTSTis/edit?usp=sharing ` This past week I’ve had several people send me the Indivisible Guide, the one I posted last week, the same one that inspired me to start the small grassroots Kaffeeklatsch for Action group! I read this document late one night when it first circulated on the internet back in December – the whole long thing in one fell swoop. I was stricken by the Tea Party’s use of liberal social grassroots techniques – they swiped them straight from us and now we are swiping them back! We are taking - not just a defensive approach - but an active one to fight back against an agenda that goes against the grain of our values and beliefs. We will fight against the demagoguery – the manipulative, prejudicial disgusting appeal by the conservative leaders playing to the worst in people, their irrational fears, ignorance and emotions. People whipped up in a frenzy of fear and hate. People who are grasping at falsely perceived “power” they are being given, people who have forgotten or who may have never truly understood right from wrong. People and leaders spreading lies and misinformation, not allowing reasonable discussion or understanding of issues, not following established ways of doing things and getting away with it. We will take action to fight against demagoguery, racism, authoritarianism, xenophobia, misogyny, anti-human rights speech/policies/actions, and corruption. We must not forget, we the People hold the power, we are the majority, we don’t have to give our power up.
One of the main strategies is the Indivisible Guide and working with our Members of Congress, our MoCs, and using their desire for approval from their constituents and the press to work for us. In Oregon they are Senator Wyden, Senator Merkely and one of the Congress People Blumenauer, Bonamici, DeFazio, Walden or Shrader. We need to make sure they are speaking for us in Washington! To do this we need to identify a calendar of events like town-halls, ribbon cutting ceremonies, district office visits,and coordinated calls barraging our MoC’s. To do this we need to be prepared ahead of time with questions and demands. We need to be the squeaky wheel. We are fortunate in Oregon to have all but 1 democrat representing us, but we still need to push them all to fight against the normalization of this agenda. We need to praise them and encourage them to continue to fight and stand up for what is right. The Kaffeeklatsch for Action will work on a small scale, but will seek out other existing groups and networks to work together. I registered Kaffeeklatsch for Action with the Indivisible Guide organization. I am a member of a load of online groups who post actions, information and support regularly – which we should share with each other. To that end I have begun posting documents and links on the Facebook page, Resource on the blog, and in the new google docs. The first up are the Indivisible Guide and a list of our MoCs. I welcome and encourage sharing! The Kaffeeklatsch for Action meeting in-person meeting is postponed until next Sunday because of weather but join me on the Facebook page to start the dialogue and actions! 2017 has arrived and with it comes much trepidation about what is to come this year. Never in my life have I been so afraid of the future. I am still reeling from November 8th and the realization that this country actually elected that man to office - his name is not to be mentioned much like Voldemort. (I'm still waiting on those reports about the Russian cyber attacks - could it be that it didn't really happen?). Regardless, the whole process has unearthed an ugly horrible side of America - emboldened racists, misogynists, xenophobic, closed-minded, scared and hateful people who are terrifying in their ignorance.
I have been alternately obsessed with - and burying my head against- politics and ALL that is happening (or not). I am ashamed I didn't do more BEFORE the election - yes I gave money to Bernie and Hillary and the democrats, put signs in my yard and shared and liked posts on Facebook - but let's be real, that is not action, it's not enough! I've been signing petitions, reading, sharing and saving articles, sending $5 here and $20 there -but I needed to do more. I am compelled to do more. What action we all take (or not) speaks to who we are, what we believe and what example we can be for our children. I read an article recently (https://www.indivisibleguide.com/ also saved in the resources file), a "practical guide for resisting the T...p agenda." In the article, it details an effective plan of action - based, shockingly, on the Tea Party strategies (really!? of course I think they stole the playbook from progressive grassroots movements!). Reading it inspired me to take action, if the effing Tea Party was effective imagine what We can do together?! Starting a Kaffeeklatsch for Action (see "About us") is the perfect foil to the Tea Party plan don't ya think? So here we are - the first Kaffeeklatsch for Action will be Sunday, January 8th in Portland, Oregon. It will be an informal gathering, a time to take some direct actions (make the calls, write the letters), time to plan protests, do research, share ideas and support each other. Contact me for more information! |
AuthorHey! I'm Alison Schneiger, just your average person who got tired of signing petitions, reading articles and liking posts on Facebook and wanted to take some ACTION. Join me each week in person or online for this Kaffeeklatsch for Action! ArchivesCategories |