Saturday, December 30, 2006

Declaration

What it comes down to is this. No one wants to be the bad guy. No one wants their friends and allies to be the bad guys. That's a given.

The question is, what -else- drives you to do what you do? Or don't do? And that is a general "you."

i mean, as a "progressive," that is. Liberal. Leftist, radical, small-d democrat, one who would transform the body politic, what you will.

and the other given: no one--well, most people--enjoys fighting. a lot of well-meaning people are reaching for the Pepto this morning, I think, for one reason or another. it's not the first time this has happened, or the thousandth, and won't be the last.

people don't want trouble. but sometimes, trouble is already there, and speaking is better than silence. and sometimes, when speaking doesn't seem to be having any effect, it gets raised to a shout.

which, i would have thought, is kind of the point of being a progressive, small-d-democrat, whatever you want to call it, in the first place, understanding that, be it feminist or anti-racist or plain old I-hate-the-Bush-admin-and-what-it's-done-to-our-country.

"we have met the enemy, and they is us."

it doesn't -have- to be that way, no. that's the -good- news. but, it's not gonna get any better if we keep clinging to our old defenses in the stark face of this isn't working anymore, and yes, i mean me, too. All of us. Goddamit.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

good stuff 'mana. what sparked this?

Victoria Marinelli said...

WRT: a lot of well-meaning people are reaching for the Pepto this morning -

And I fear I may have driven at least one such Pepto-imbibing individual to an incorrect conclusion that I'd been critical of him and others who blogged the whole twisted (pun intended) mess over "transphobic comments @ IBTP." To be quite clear (as I just attempted to explain at JackGoff's blog), no criticism was intended. Just, you know, an effort toward observation ('feminist internecine warfare in a petri dish' as I put it yesterday), from the perspective of the iconoclastic would-be (and obviously mad) feminist social scientist in me.

:)

P.S. Why hello, nezua. This is apparently my week for running into you on various blogs.

belledame222 said...

nezua: o where to begin. various intrablog fights busting out all over, which all seem to stem once again from I Blame the Patriarchy, even those that have trickled down into completely other places and fights. just consider though the various blowups wrt race (which have gotten in there, too, of course, here and there, along various fissures) and substitute transphobia. throw in a few uber-hateful, post-logic or empathy people/energy sinks from the Bizarro World, and a whole shitload of posturing and defensiveness and unconscious protection of structural privilege and slightly less unconscious personal shit. Mix well. add some people getting merrily or not so merrily shitfaced over this the holiday season, which of course is in no way extra stressful and snarl-making. stand...well...back...

it's the same old shit again, though, really. the struggle continues. semi-coherently, but there is i believe a narrative, of the sort Kai was talking about. among other things.

belledame222 said...

-waves at Victoria- i liked your posts at antiprincess' yesterday.

Anonymous said...

hmm. haha! okay... i think i wasn't following everything. but this post did feel like a "in response to," or "kicked off by" or "cont" so i was curiouso.

a lot of the time it can be hard to find that line between how much to plug into others' reality (because we need to if we are to help anything, esp ourselves) and how much not to get caught up in someone else's agenda or dysreality...jeje, because it steals from us without giving enough back.

hola bictorrrria!

Donna said...

I'm depressed that both BA and BFP are going offline. I hope it's really short and they come back soon!

belledame222 said...

me too. i think they probably will be. i don't blame them for needing a head shower, though.

you know, i observe once again, as a general note, as much as structural issues, teh big Monoliths and our places therein, are huge and difficult enough all by themselves, it is amazing the damage even a single energy sink can do to even-or maybe especially-the best intentioned people. two or three and you may as well have walked into a tornado's worth of broken glass. that is usually how i see it playing out, anyway, in these situations.

just notin'. mileage undoubtedly varies.

belledame222 said...

people and communities, i should say.

"re-integrative shaming," yes, but some people simply can't or won't be integrated, no matter how gentle the shaming.

Anonymous said...

It's a struggle for me; I try to live as though "the better world" on any given issue was already here, and operate daily by its rules without at the same time turning a blind eye towards the existing injustices and unkindnesses that go on every day in the world as it is. It's tricky to find ways to productively resist without falling into the dualistic dynamic of for/against because that's an absolutist discourse in which both parties are inextricably bound to the other. There's got to be a way, but at this point I'm still looking.

belledame222 said...

yeah, it's a delicate balance. mostly i think: never pass up on joy for the sake of a principle. do pass up on apathy, fear, resentment, for the sake of a principle, if you can. my deep thought for the day, i guess.

Donna said...

You know that burka thing? That wasn't about racism or colonialism, it was the "usual crew" harrassing busy bloggers who don't have time to moderate their comments in four fucking days. It's funny how she has time to post several times a day and drop into comments not only at her place but all over the blogosphere, but that burka post, gosh too busy.

Here's what I'm talking about:
A post at Pinko Feminist Hellcat

Donna said...

Forgot to say it's in the comments section.

Donna said...

Is B|L having a problem keeping her site online today, or is it just my browser acting up?

Anonymous said...

Is B|L having a problem keeping her site online today, or is it just my browser acting up?

Definitely not just you. Glad you posted this, because I was wondering if it was just me!

Not that I have any damned business reading anything else today anyhow, my eyes are about to fall out of my head. Sheesh!

Tomorrow= NO BLOGGING *or commenting on others' blogs* FOR VICTORIA DAY. If I break this oath, somebody smack me. (Note: the thing I just now posted WRT Hillbilly identity doesn't count.)

In fact, I hereby vow to post nothing further for the remainder of the year. :)

Good night y'all.

belledame222 said...

BL was having site issues, yes.

that is a good resolution, i should make it: GET OFF THE FUCKING COMPUTER MORE OFTEN.

especially when i'm hungry or tired or.

like right now.

i should.

Anonymous said...

W/R/T IBTP: Oh, look, an affluent white person who habitually mistakes personal preference for moral imperative. Thank god, 'cause the Internet didn't have nearly enough of that already.

W/R/T The question is, what -else- drives you to do what you do? Or don't do? And that is a general "you."

i mean, as a "progressive," that is. Liberal. Leftist, radical, small-d democrat, one who would transform the body politic, what you will.


What drives me, in particular, is a belief that greatness is an emergent property of a life dedicated to goodness. All of human history notwithstanding.

Not that I am, constitutionally, all that driven, per se. But that's why I don't not get up in the morning.

Happy New Year, bd.