Thursday, February 24, 2011

Thank you, Wisconsin!


A certain Anonymous…the good kind, not the bad kind…asked why I have not weighed in on the movement in Wisconsin to defend worker’s rights against the union busting greed of The Man.

Good question…and I’ve got an answer.

I stand in solidarity with the workers and students in Wisconsin.  My sister was born in Madison, so I’ve got a soft spot for that town…and I come from a union family, so I was raised on a steady diet of “united we bargain, divided we beg.”

I’m tardy in posting on this subject because I’ve been soaking up the inspiration.

Sometimes I just need to witness a happening...and Gawd knows I needed to this time.

Last week, I was beyond low.  They call it a struggle for a reason and sometimes the relentless siege against justice just plain weighs on me.

I woke up one morning last week and I just didn’t think anything I was doing as an activist made a difference...

…and then I clicked on the television and saw a sea of workers organized to defend their rights in Wisconsin.

And I’ve been soaking up the energy.

I’ve listened as workers sang the national anthem in the hall of their state government.

I watched as the people spoke truth to those elected to serve them.

Sometimes social justice work can feel so lonely…even a bitch needs something to hold on to!

Trust that I am inspired…refueled…fired up and ready to dive back in because of the movement work happening in Wisconsin and other states.

And I’ve been reminded of that truth that I was raised on but somehow lost sight of for a minute… this isn’t about what I can or can’t do on my own.

This is about what we can do that together.

To the workers in Wisconsin and Ohio and across this nation, thank you for your inspiration and activism.  

What you do benefits us all and I know that, respect that, and appreciate the hell out of it.

I stand with you and we shall not be moved!

5 comments:

Aimee said...

Rah rah!! I can't believe I've never heard the slogan " united we bargain, divided we beg" but I'm putting it up on the top of my blog.

Joy said...

Thanks, ABB. I'm originally from Wisconsin, and my parents have made the 3 1/2-hour drive to Madison a couple of times in the last two weeks to protest. The action in Wisconsin makes me cry, it makes me grin, and it gives me much-needed inspiration in these trying times. Your blog is similar for me, and I should have told you this before. I come here when I'm feeling low, and your energy and enthusiasm and activism help me to viscerally KNOW that it's worth keeping up the many fights. "They call it a struggle for a reason." Thanks.

Mark said...

Hi Shark Fu. It's Mark in Madison.. the one who asked about the soul food, if you recall. My dad is originally from Wisconsin, so I felt compelled to return to Wisconsin for undergrad college, which I did, and I am now in Madison for grad school. Compared to both places where I lived before, Madison, our Capitol, feels like a "big city" to me. Yes, I am a bumpkin, LOL. But a proud one... I have never been prouder of my long ancestry in this state, and the generations of people who have proven, time and again, that we will not put up with nonsense from those in power... and that behind the proverbial good manners is Fighting Spirit, plain and simple. I was going to prompt you for a blog on this topic if Anon. hadn't. I marched down to the Capitol every day last week, before I got sick and projects started coming due.

Bless you, Shark-fu. And bless the fighting people of Wisconsin.

MyBeautifulMalcontent said...

Thanks so much for your support of Wisconsin workers. I live in WI, and my husband and I are both educators. I've rallied in my city of Green Bay and have gone to Madison to protest also. I'm not willing to give up on this fight yet, but at the same time, I feel we may not succeed in preserving our worker rights. It's hard to be optimistic. However, if it gives others in this nation inspiration to prevent something like this from happening elsewhere, then I'm glad of it, and it will have been worth it.

JoyMama said...

Adding my thanks from Wisconsin -- a little late -- I'm so behind on blog-reading due to all the organizing and writing and protesting! I agree with MK Chang that it's hard to hold on to optimism, and yet I also feel that the extent of the GOP over-reach in Wisconsin is pulling the curtain in a very explicit way on the broader agenda that has oozed in over time in some of the redder states. Walker has no idea what he's unleashed here.

Oh, and don't believe the crowd-counts you hear from today. Folks on the ground say the protests were at least double and maybe triple what the WI DOA is saying.

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