If You Talk Like an Activist - You Must Be Drunk or Delirious

Found a little bit of interesting blog reading this morning.  And the entirety of the multiple entries hit  a sore spot with me -  I had to publish.

An Indiana activist/voter and teacher –  – took the time to write a letter to their legislators – demanding that they not pass specific pieces of ALEC education legislation and demanding that pro-corporate/privatization ALEC legislators be removed from the house education committee.

READ THE LETTER

>>>>HERE<<<<

Well……………

One of the ALEC-ers that the activist wanted removed from the education committee was

Sen. James Buck (R - Tipton) - ALEC MEMBER! --------------- Not one SECOND of teaching or school administration experience! NONE! This mental giant is a real estate broker, which is great if you're selling a farm plot. However, it does not qualify him to dictate education policy.

AND

What was Buck’s response to this citizen grassroots activist.

Read it yourself.

It is my hope that in the future you will appear sober. As your correspondence reads, you seem to be in a state of deliriousness or absent mindedness and may have written your email while in an inebriated state. Considering your correspondence has no relevance to truth or fact, it is also my hope that you will continue to further educate yourself on, not only the goals and objectives of the American Legislative Exchange Council, but also on the intentions of our General Assembly members.

Nevertheless, I look forward to a civil discourse. I am confident that you are at least twice as intelligent in person as your correspondence reads. Otherwise, I fear you would not be fit to teach our young children in public school.

And the response to Buck’s tirade can be found

in this

>>>>BLOG ENTRY<<<

**********

The entirety of those multiple entries hit a sore spot with me - 

Going forward I'm not going to spend as much effort re-writing something that has already shown up on Google in 20 different rewrites.  Going forward I will spending more time seeking out blog entries that focus on ALEC and reporting them to you – blog entries that give you a sense of “the real life” struggles and experiences of Americans who are trying to deal with the nastiness of ALEC through their writings and their actions.

Why – because of this:

It is my hope that in the future you will appear sober. As your correspondence reads, you seem to be in a state of deliriousness or absent mindedness and may have written your email while in an inebriated state.

Drunk, Delirious, Absent Minded

Another way of saying – I do not like the tone of your correspondence and therefore – I will ignore it, personally attack it, and attack you.  If you do not follow the language protocol that has been established by “the suits” for interacting with “the suits”, you will be dismissed as irrelevant and attacked.

This is not unique to politicians.

The voice of the citizen activist is being quieted on many fronts.

It has become evidently clear to me over the past nine months that many of the 501c3 organizations that have taken over the ALEC discourse are intentionally trying to silence the voice of the grassroots activists by deliberately not acknowledging the work done by citizen activists – mostly because we “do not follow the language protocol” prescribed by “the suits”.

Unfortunately for the US when the information contained in blogs is ignored and not heard – the movement becomes stagnant, dominated by homogenous voices that can “only inform” – because their 501c3 status does not allow them to place calls to action.   

Unfortunately for the US, most citizens are waiting for the 501c3 to make a call to action - which won't happen  –  and very little action occurs.

Let the 501c3's do what they do best – inform.
Let them be in front of the camera giving their information to the public.  

Let the citizen activist do what they do best – stir up the pot a bit - activate others.   

Neither approach is better than or superior to the other 

  – both are needed
  – neither one of them should or can be the dominant voice

  – both should be acknowledged and encouraged.

Solid information is needed – as the basis for action.

Without action, there can be no change.   

Unless something is DONE – nothing will change.

Bloggers sometimes have a different type of voice, one that demands change.   “Suits” – don’t “demand” anything and for the most part they don’t like grassroots activists who “demand” things – so the blog entry above would have been totally ignored by the “activist suits” – which it was. 

While the emails/letters noted above do not fit the prescribed “language protocol” methodology that activists who wear “suits” require from their activist constituency 

– it’s a good letter 

– to the point, 

– doesn’t kiss butt, 

– exposes the nastiness of Buck, and 

– says a lot of things that others would like to say, but don’t say.   

Why don’t they say it – because being republished/retweeted by "the suits" is more important than having their individual "stir the pot" activist voice heard.

Our democracy depends on ALL voices – not just the voices of “the suits” or the "wanna-be suits".
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the message of  "the suits" or the "wanna-be suits" JUST LIKE there is absolutely nothing wrong with the messaging of bloggers!!!

Neither approach is better than or superior to the other 

  – both are needed
  – neither one of them should or can be the dominant voice.

We must work in unison 

– together,

– equally,

– rather than bestowing superiority to one specific type of activist discourse.

Intentionally silencing or eliminating the messaging of those who are working toward the same goal as you - is just plain stupid!  No one holds the message as exclusively theirs.
To impact and activate the many - the message must be varied.
The message should be appreciated, acknowledged and encouraged by all - for all.

What I am talking about has happened before
It happened during Occupy, 

society demanded they speak “the language protocol” prescribed by “the suits” 

– and we must not let this type myopic activist mindset of language protocol continue or be tolerated - it is all about the first amendment.

It was suggested to me - by someone whose revolutions bring them closer to the ALEC sun than me - that I shouldn't write this cause it would make us look "divided" and thereby have less strength in our ALEC movement.  Now that's a handy lie - we are divided and look what has been accomplished over the past two years.  Just think of the possibilities if we would actually come together.  Wow - imagine the exponential progress we would make.

Because of this – going forward I will spend more time seeking out blog entries that focus on ALEC and reporting them to you.

Our democracy depends on ALL voices 

– not just the voices of the 501c3’s.  

Neither approach is better than or superior to the other 

  – both are needed
  – neither one of them should or can be the dominant voice

  – both should be acknowledged and encouraged.

 

I absolutely feel that it is OUR responsibility to make sure the voices of citizen activists are heard – retweeted – applauded – cause 

………  501c3’s do not a democracy make 

– just look at what the American Legislative Exchange Council and their myopic followers have done in the name of "501c3 education".