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!
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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 |