I am creating this group for civil, non name calling discussion of race issues at daily kos.
I will moderate the group and will insist on the following of these ground rules.
It is my hope that the boycott called last weekend will end and that the kossacks who made the decision to boycott will return. I'd like to discuss the issues raised by the boycott in a civil space.
If you are interested, please join the group. You can send me a dkmessage or leave a request in the comments.
UPDATE -I have sent invites to everyone who expressly asked to join or who messaged me. Some of the comments were ambiguous, and I erred on the side of not inviting. IF you want to join and did not get an invite, you can message me or ask expressly to join in a comment.
UPDATE 2 - I see there are new requests to join. I won't be able to handle them until tonight.l But everybody who asks will be invited. On that note, I want to make clear that EVERYBODY is welcome in this group - "history" is part of why we need this discussion imo. Some have pointed to my own history of critiques of the President as disqualifying me from having this kind of group. as a factual matter, obviously that's incorrect. ANY Trusted User can form a group. Conceptually, I will note that my "history," such as it is, includes being Latino, working for the reelection campaign of New York City's first African American Mayor, David Dinkins, and growing up in a predominantly African American and Latino community, where I attended public schools. Also I have been writing about and calling for more discussion of race at daily kos since I joined in 2003. the issue of race did not come into being, in the world or at daily kos, when Barack Obama became politically prominent.
In any event, I reject the construct anyway. We should be listening to anyone who has something worthwhile to say. All I am trying to do is creating a space where that discussion can take place in a civil manner. Nothing more, nothing less. As to the substance of what is discussed, that is up to all of us.
Final update (I will be out of pocket) - For members already invited and joined, and others who will, I'm asking to hold all diaries until Monday, so that those kossacks currently not with us will have an opportunity to join the discussion. Maybe none will, but I would like to make sure the opportunity is available.