So from what I am reading, real people are experiencing attacks, theats and violence because they support Senator Obama. These situations have practical impacts on people.
I'm writing this diary to ask if other people are interested in organizing/creating some sort of online structure or system to address the practical basic grounded side of these situations in a no- or low-drama manner -- and if so to open up a discussion of what kind of system or structure we might be able to quickly but wisely implement to facilitate such a thing. Please keep reading if this interests you.
Okay, so the question is: Would it be useful to organize/create something that would systematically focus at least some of our energy on responding to the practical needs that emerge in these situations while at the same time minimizing the drama and heat of that response? If so what is it and what do we need to do to make it happen?
Here are some examples of how I'm thinking, just to try to give a sense:
Example 1: A recent rec'd diary described people getting their tires slashed (I think at an Obama-focused rally/event). In this situation, there are two examples of a practical focus that stand out for me:
~If there are people this happened to who seriously cannot afford to get their tires replaced, could dailykos be a clearinghouse and resource for getting the money to them for replacement and assisting with any other fallout (eg if someone loses X hours of wage work, could we also help make up for that)?
~As a matter of preparation, it seems that Obama events (at least in certain areas?) might need to have volunteer security people just walking around and watching the lots if there is no other security. Is there a way to help get this tip out to our fellow Obama supporters who are organizing local events and may not think about that as a matter of course?
Example 2: A recent rec'd diary described a family (or families) that had received death threats because of an Obama sign on their lawn.
My question would be, is there any way that we could assist in whatever needs thinking about or doing to help these families marshall support for their day to day well-being?
For example -- this is just speculation on my part since I don't know the real neighborhood context it may not be practical and of course the real thing would be to be in communication with those families to try to get at what, if anything can be done, but ... but thinking out loud here, what if volunteers from outside the area, or people from that area, or both, were to go door to door in that neighborhood talking to people about the death threat and asking them to help keep an eye out for the family/families that were threatened? Could there be a point of agreement among the majority of the neighbors that even thought there are differing politics, it is never appropriate to threaten people's lives like that?
I think from the comments I understand that the area this happened in is very Republican. But my suspicion is that most Republicans, no matter how strongly they might feel politically, would not feel it appropriate for someone to threaten their neighbors with death for having and displaying a political opinion. So, even though there are political differences, would it be possible for the people in that area to help look out for the safety of their neighbors -- and if so what would need to happen to make that occur and what kind of help might be useful in making that happen?
(I should also mention that when I was growing up, someone from our neighborhood put a swastika on one of our windows; we were one of only a very few Jewish families in the neighborhood. In that case, it turned out to be the teenagers from a family down the block. Though their parents were very likely anti-Semitic, when it came into the open they did not condone what their kids had done -- they were about talk, not acting on that talk. The swastika crossed a line for them and they told their kids that. So it is possible that we might see things done and the people around the do-ers who might talk in certain ways might still step up and say to the ones who do it that doing these things is wrong.)
Again, this is just thinking out loud just to give a sense of where I'm coming from here.
Overall, though: I'm thinking of something that could be a mix of practical resource/organzing type assistance, and grounded practical tips and ideas so people can learn from experience and what is working (or could have worked) for others. Maybe other uses, too, but those are what immediately comes to my mind. Hopefully something practical and easy to implement given whatever skills and resources we have available among those who are interested.
So again, my question to is: given how much energy there is on this site to talk about these incidents, do you think there would be any use to trying to make some sort of system or clearinghouse site or something that could focus on practical needs in a no-drama tone, something that could then pull assistance and resources from concerned people here on the dailykos?
If so -- what would/could it look like, what skills do we need to set it up and keep it working, and who among us having this discussion (or people you know who you can reasonably volunteer) has the skills that we need?
Final important logistical note: If you comment here with ideas, please keep checking back to see if/how the discussion evolves in terms of practical plans, and/or send me an email to michellesbells@myway.com saying that you want to get involved if any actual project emerges from this discussion. Also, if you comment with interest and ideas but don't have an email listed on your account, please email me from an address I can use to reach you and tell me your dkos username, just in case that turns out to be necessary.
Can we do something with this?