The title is the sign I wanted to carry with me during my attendance at NN on Saturday.
I had one experience at Netroots Nation where I was specifically excluded. I'm sure there were others. And it was not an official event but an event that is a part of the NN tradition.
I have lots of experience in not making the cut. I'm Transgender it comes with the territory. But something I would have never dreamed would be something I would experience with progressives.
Now I am aware that I do piss people off. I challenge the dominant paradigm as naturally as breathing, so this is normal. But I also attempt to be a gentleman in my interactions with others.
I said attempt.
And even more so in meatspace. I get some satisfaction when I can restrain my temper and take the high ground as far as interacting with others in an adversarial environment.
But I have strong opinions that I will not cede unless there is significant evidence to the contrary. I have my own values. But others that do not share my values and seem to take disagreement in one or more aspects of politics and society as warring words. They place their own opinion of what they perceive to be the right direction, so to speak, as paramount.
How so?, you may ask.
Well if they, for instance, are comfortable living in a country where unregulated firearms are a threat to the health and safety of everyone. And if I share my opinion that weapons of that sort have no use in modern society they not only attack me on that position but cease to be an ally on other issues.
This, is quite frankly stupid.
Now again not that I am perfect. But I don't care if you don't agree this country would be better off making firearms an earned privilege like driving. If you need to promote another issue that I concurrently support I will put my efforts to the cause. I don't care if I don't like the other opinions the source has, on that specific issue I will work with them. Now there are those that have so soured my impression of them that I will republish and share their posts with a bad taste in my mouth.
Now hateful hurtful stuff like homophobia, Transphobia and racism are not acceptable to me and I will distance myself from persons of that sort. So there are exceptions. But for the most part I feel we are a team.
We are a team. We work together as a society to define who we are as a nation and a planet through political interaction. We basically want the same thing. A future. It is just in the details of that future we tend to bicker. And as we have seen here at DK that bickering can be epic. And eminently destructive. Divide and conquer. We don't need the Right to do it to us, we can do it to ourselves quite handily.
So I see my rejection to the event as indicative of the political immaturity that plagues DK. Don't get me wrong, coalitions do form and we do get things done. But we can do more , much more. But instead of building larger and larger coalitions. We snipe and cut at each other until all but the gladiators are driven away. So we have to start over. Remaking the wheel instead of building bigger and better wheels will keep us occupied does little for the betterment we seek.
Now I understand my perspective is my team is the human team and the divisions we artificially create to organize our culture is just that, artificial. And if we can build it we can also very well take it down.
So please be aware that when you engage in the politics of division you are harming not only those you disagree with, but yourself as well.
1:53 PM PT: To add. Going to Netroots is my reward for doggedly posting what I find. So having that reward restricted by others is offensive to me. Sorry, despite a lifetime of conditioning in order to prevent my seeking human interaction I still have the need to feel a part of.