Friday Firewater
Wow . It’s been a crazy week in the pumasphere …
There is always a bit of disagreement and differing views seasoning the various threads and it is normally invigorating and thought provoking – not this week . The claws are sharpened and unsheathed and friendly intellectual discourse has taken a back seat to snark and sneers . Among other things , I blame the full moon ..
Pumas , and let me clarify that when I say ‘pumas’ I mean disenfranchised Democrats who supported Sen. Clinton – who had been Democrats prior to 2008 – people who embrace Democratic principles , whether you were Yellow or Blue (if you were a Dem , you know what that means ) left or centrist (progressive) – a DEMOCRAT who was physically pained by the bastardization of your party, THAT is what I mean when I say ‘pumas” . Not Republicans who hate Obama and call themselves pumas . There , now where was I ?
Oh yes , Pumas , (you know who you are ) dispite miles and miles of common ground , seemed to have honed in on a few topics that have proven to be very divisive . The UH debate is front and center , and it is not really a question as to whether or not pumas support Universal Healthcare or Healthcare reform , it’s complete vitriole aimed at the minutiae of ‘what’s the right way to address and acheive the goal’ .
Do you go to the Townhalls and inflate the numbers of the RW ‘ no change’ loons ? Do you sit at home and ‘hope ‘ that your voices will be heard on a single payer option by osmosis so as not to be confused with a paid astro turfer ? Do you stick to your principles and demand an audience with your reps or are you so completely self-castrated by the dictum that the ‘enemy of my enemy is not my friend ‘ that you would rather claw another pumas eyes out than to be in a room filled with blowhards with a different agenda ?
If you have learned anything over the last 18 months , you know the answer is YOU GO -like one other poster on another blog did recently . You go to be heard – even if no one can hear you – ‘even if your voice is shaking’ – you go .
It has burdened me to note that the most effective tools for silencing (attempting) pumas recently are other pumas . (again not speaking of pseudopumas or pseudomas for short) The attacks over tactics are selfdestructive and counterproductive to say the least . Discourse and opinions are great , sometimes ther IS a better way , but not in this case . This Healthcare battle is one with many fronts and no one way is right and no one way is wrong . There are several sides from which to attack the issue .
Alienating various groups or their leadership because of their personal choices on HOW to address Healthcare is just plain obtuse . Pumas are strong (mostly women) with hardcore positions and loud voices – expect to disagree , heartily at times . We are a large and diverse group with varying perspectives , and that is GOOD .
Blue , Yellow , Progressive, Liberal , etc. etc. still pumas . Accept it , respect it and eachother . At the end of the day , our common goals are greater than what divides us .
Today , I would ask my fellow puma friends to set aside your differences , belly up to the bar , grab a glass of Firewater (served in a wineglass, snifter , or ball jar depending on your tastes) and remember what the hell brought you here in the first place .
Here’s a little Three Dog Night to get things rollin …
August 7, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Why do you go? What do you accomplish? And why the nastiness directed at PUMAs who disagree? Speaking of extended claws…sorry, I simply don’t see the point. And being cast in the role of belligerent, misguided obstacle doesn’t change my resolve one iota. What is the point of killing health care reform? Because that is the goal of the organizers of the protests, and that will be the result.
August 7, 2009 at 7:12 pm
You go to be heard .
I get that it’s not for everyone , and I respect that . I just don’t see how silence is an option .
I don’t think I would ever label you as a ‘belligerent, misguided obstacle ‘ . If that is your chosen title , so be it .
We often are at opposit ends of discussions , but , just because we rarely see eye to eye , doesn’t mean that I don’t value you as a puma or your insight as a person .
August 7, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Gabriel, your post read angry, and it elicited an angry response from me. I apologize. However, to answer the question you asked LPB about townhalls, let me ask, why must your interaction with your representatives be limited to what has been co-opted as a “kill health care reform” campaign? In an atmosphere sure to draw factions that have been instructed to disrupt and shout down opposition, do you really expect to be heard? I’m sorry, but to equate participating in an orchestrated AstroTurf campaign with being the only, or best, way to engage your elected officials seems to narrow the possibility for representation, not enlarge it.
August 7, 2009 at 4:42 pm
You said something that struck a chord for me: “what’s the right way to address and acheive the goal?”
The question applies to the healthcare debate as well as to townhalls as well as to the blogosphere in general. For me, this is the defining question. I *do not* have a problem disagreeing and then discoursing about the disagreement. I *do* have a problem in how it’s done. Again, that’s a defining question. The reason that *approach* is so important for me is because it is one of the ways I use to get to purpose & position. It’s how I *try* to distinguish disenfranchised-dem-puma from obama-hater-puma. Not a scientific approach for sure, but it does help me decide where to invest my energy.
Here’s where the analogy between health care townhalls and the blogosphere comes together, for me. If the character of discussion in general comes down to resentment and hate and shutting down dialogue, then I have no time to waste. If the overall character of the discussion comes down to discourse and information sharing, then it’s time well spent.
Now look at the town hall situation. There really is a campaign to disrupt town halls. Note that word – disrupt. Disruption is not discussion. So where does disruption come from? Is the purpose to debate & share viewpoint? No. Should I lend my body to news coverage of such a strategy? No.
Same goes for the blogosphere. I treasure those places where I can be informed, including being informed about positions I don’t agree with. Keyword – informed.
I look at Hillary Clinton as an example: there is disagreement about issues. (R vs D) And then there is context: exploration of the problem and how we got there. Immediatelly all the Fox News blowhards drop off. No context, just hate & resentment. Lastly there is proposed solution: setting a goal and creating a path to that goal. This is what we might have had in Hillary.
August 7, 2009 at 7:19 pm
I feel ya , LP .
I do support differing factions in a larger movement – the vitriole I can live without , but I guess it happens .
Let me ask you this , who says the astroturf , repthughs have to own each and every single townhall ?
Why , when I have my own ideals of a single payer system would I ever sit at home and allow them to shut me out of my own damn opportunity to convey my feelings to my reps .?
It’s like being shut out of the convention for me …
I am just hoping that people can eventually see beyond their anger for the larger battles ahead..
August 8, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Apologies for the delayed reply; yesterday was a planned already as a long day, and events came up to make it longer.
To answer your question about abstaining from meetings because “the enemy of my enemy is not my friend” – yes I agree on the “enemy” aphorism. However that is not the issue here.
I would never every have attended a Tea Party, nor any other such assembly fathered by the AstroTurf machine.
Meetings with my Representative? Different thing altogether. Those meetings are standard and are part of the process.
In fact I would indeed attend a discussion with my Rep if one were occurring. There is none in my district for this August recess. I called. I voiced my displeasure over the absence of a townhall; I voiced my displeasure over his support of HR3200; I advised him that I prefer he votes NO on HR3200 and YES on HR676. And then I was so angry over not having a chance for a townhall, that I wrote a post on my own blog -
http://lightpond.wordpress.com/2009/08/05/health-care-for-all-part-2/
So to answer your question … I did not just sit home and hope.
There is no townhall in my district this month. I wonder whether the Disruption plans had anything to do with that decision? I don’t know. But either way I am pissed off both at the RW and at my Rep. And that boils down to a win for the RW – they’ll never have my vote anyway, and now I am angry at my rep. Score one for the RW.
AstroTurf no.
Genuine discussions yes.
Representative government yes.
August 8, 2009 at 9:31 pm
I totally agree–everyone should go to the townhall events (if that is what one wants to do). Who cares if there are astroturfers or weird people, etc. lol. You bring your own sign and say your own ideas. If someone wants single payer, they should say it to their representative…who cares if people boo, and who cares if they think you are an astroturfer, etc. These townhalls are open to every single resident that can fit…why passively allow others to take over the conversation? These issues will directly affect our lives, why not try to engage?
Besides, they aren’t ALL astroturfers. Universal healthcare/ healthcare reform is a HUGE issue, and this country has always debated it aggressively.
And yeah, I agree that pumas should focus on what they have in common instead of what separates them. It’s unproductive and a waste of time and boring as hell. It’s really immature too…so I’ll try harder to avoid it.