October 19th
Dear friends,
At the outset of the Amy Coney Barrett hearings, I confess that I believed that she was probably better qualified than any presidential appointee in the last several years. That was before I heard her say that climate change is “a very contentious matter of public debate.” And then, there was the matter of her confusion about whether sexual orientation is a ‘preference’, and her support for the hate group Alliance Defending Freedom (and their support for her). And then, this weekend, I read that she was part of a three-judge panel that overturned “a district court which found a Wisconsin county liable for millions in damages to a woman who alleged she had been repeatedly raped by a jail guard.” Her rationale was chilling: because the rapes were “outside the scope of employment,” the guard’s employer could not be held liable. This is some nefarious shit, and the fact that she is also the kind of smart that doesn’t need notes when answering — or not answering — questions, makes her scarier still. There is no visible path to stopping Barrett’s confirmation, and that has me pretty heartsick.
We can win control of the Senate. Donate to Harrison (SC), Bollier (KS), and Cunningham (NC). You can listen to personalized thank-you songs to some of Bollier’s supporters, sung by Mandy Patinkin (Kansas University, class of ‘70). If you’re feeling flush and feisty, support Hegar (TX), Espy (MS) and Gross (AK), who are closing polling gaps and could deliver major upsets.
I’ve been in touch with many of you who have sent piles of letters and postcards and have been phone-banking, text-banking, and digging deep to support Biden/Harris and down-ballot candidates. This is encouraging, but the joyless curmudgeon who has taken over my body needs to see results.
We do have to be ready if the electoral results are in jeopardy. One part of this preparation is commitment to Non-Violent Discipline. George Lakey, who led the how-to-stop-a-power-grab training that I attended, described events during the 1991 coup in Russia, when Gorbachev was taken under house arrest. Lakey, who was in Russia at the time, recalled that the people faced down the army, telling the soldiers, “You don’t want to shoot us! You want to join us!” Whole military units joined the resistance. I know it seems implausible, but it happened. For those who don’t remember, Gorbachev was released and remained in power until the end of that year, when he resigned.
This summer, I was part of a small protest BLM protest in Bay Ridge, when a group of police officers surrounded us in riot gear. The 18-year old activist at the head of the group immediately began to rhyme in his booming street activist voice: “I don’t see a riot here! Why are you in riot gear?” My friend and I were blown away by his brilliant response and a little alarmed by the aggressive presence of the police, but the 30-40 protesters in our group held our ground, peacefully. Perhaps you also participated in protests where the group chanted “This is a Peaceful Protest!” The Russian military might have been easier to turn than a bunch of racist cops in Bay Ridge, but the point about discipline is clear.
with love,
L