At the anniversary of Brown Vs. Board of Education in Topeka, we gathered at the capital steps to talk about what had happened here - and what was happening. The kind of changes being made and the impact of those changes on our children and community.
At the AFT Union Hall in Topeka, several of us hosted a roundtable, featuring myself, Randi Weingarten, Heather Ousley, and Lucinda Noches Talbert as well as representatives from Kansas organization groups.
We talked education and Brownback policies. I was asked before the panel happened: was I willing to take the risk?
The idea of advocating for public schools in a blue state doesn't seem risky.
The idea of advocating for democratic causes in a blue state doesn't seem to have real risk.
But openly 'outing' yourself in a red state carries real risks. Not fake risks. Not ha-ha risks. As the tweets and mentions went out last week linking this ID (tmservo433) with myself in person as presented on the Young Turks, I knew that the risks I would face would be real, and different.
On my first night of Netroots Nation, I received this email:
Your services will no longer be required at our business
It would be the first client, and unfortunately not the last who over the course of the week would make the connection and due to their conservative views fire our small IT company - my day job - from their services in relation to our progressive views as advocated here.
On Friday morning/mid afternoon, I received this nice piece of information:
Fuck you you socialist piece of shit.
I rarely talk - and I mean rarely, about the real impact of linking a blog like this one to your real name in a state like Kansas. At the DailyKos Caucus, I asked openly about it. By the time that caucus was underway, I knew that I was fully 'out' as I told the crowd, and that I might as well embrace it.
Upon my return to Kansas, before I left for our event in Lyon County.. before I started thinking about Hutchinson, and before I made my first follow ups with political people, I posted this in the open to my facebook:
This morning, on my travels back, I read a story about a young family who, like us, struggle with a child with a disability. They worried day to day about how the cuts to their programs, the changes in education in Kansas - like the 18 year limit - would impact their loved one. I try not to be too direct on politics because I have many views on many things.. but let me say this: Being Pro-Life means being PRO the life of the people living it. Sam Brownback has been an complete enemy of those who struggle with mental and physical disability. He has been an enemy of those who raise children with disability. He has been an enemy of those who try to educate those with disability. The Bible Tells us: "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?" I say this now: If you are in my feed and you are backing Sam Brownback, you are NO Christian of any sort I know of. You are free to unfriend me but I will make no bones about it: I will not stand on the side that hands stones to those who need it most. Period.
I want to tell you that I receive these messages and frankly a direct hit to my income because I made a stand to stay behind what I believe in. I took that risk because I care about it.
On Saturday night, for the first time I ever delved into it with anyone at netroots,jlms qkw and I discussed the risks we were taking in red states. We red staters face real challenges that others don't quite grasp from the outside. BlueBarnStormer, Myself and others continued the discussion to late in the night, trying to figure out the best way to work in our state. I thank all of them for defraying some nerves.
In the panel we talked about segregation and the impact of children. We discussed mental health issues, infrastructure issues and more. I went to Topeka because I knew I couldn't hide behind just my words to candidates and my organizing behind the scene.
I had to take a real and personal risk that goes far beyond just being an advocate. I had to let my real world life collide with my DailyKos life. People would go back and read everything I have ever written - positions on gay rights, on women's rights, my comments that were sometimes smart and well informed and sometimes foolish.
At Netroots Nation, my phone would chime to receive:
You're a fucking traitor douchebag
From people who knew I had written speeches for Republicans in the past, that I had helped with a message for them in a seeming 'past life'. They knew now that for 10 years plus, I had been working against them and since I was no longer behind the scenes they felt the impact.
My risks, however, are nothing compared to the candidates I have asked to put themselves out there.. to walk the trail in western Kansas. They are nothing to people like Lucinda Talbert Noches, a grand-daughter of one of the members of Brown v Board. It is nothing compared to those who are LGBT in Kansas. It is nothing to those who face real pushback.
This week I am planning for Hutchinson. More than 170 democrats turned up in Emporia - a population 25,000 town when Brownback couldn't get 100 people in Wichita (population 385,000). I expect the kind of crowd we haven't seen in Kansas in years in Emporia.
Your family would be ashamed
I knew the risk I was taking. I thought hard about it. I understood the financial implications, the real world impact it would have on an outside contractor and I knew that it would hurt relationships I've had with clients over the years.
I posted on Saturday that I was "All In". This, to me, is what All In is.
I'm asking you on DailyKos to stand with us. To help us fight for the red states - where activists are putting themselves on the line to fight for the right thing. It's not just me - the people at netroots will tell you - it represents people from Kentucky, from Utah, from Montana and Oklahoma. It represents Mississippi and Alabama and Georgia.
If you are near Hutchinson this weekend, I encourage you - come, stand with us. Stand with us and be not afraid. Stand with us and know you have friends here. Stand with us because you know it is the right thing. But mostly, stand with us because you know that the risk we all take in doing so is nothing compared to the risk we take of doing nothing.
If you cannot come to Hutchinson, but would like to help (monetarily or otherwise) please, KosMail. There are several great organizations in our state who are taking the risk and fighting the fight who have worked with us to help change things. Donating a $5 or $10 seems like little to so many - but for people taking the risk it represents a sign that others care that we are sticking our neck out. That small encouragement means a lot to everyone involved.