The US Social Forum: Kossacks Ignorant

The biggest, most diverse, exciting grassroots progressive conference ever held in the United States is about to start tomorrow. and no, it's not the YearlyKos. It's the first ever US Social Forum, an outgrowth of the amazing World Social Forums previously held in Brazil, Venezuela and Kenya that focuses on building alternatives to the current globalization, neoliberal order.

https://www.ussf2007.org/

What disturbs me, as someone who has worked in this movement for years now, is how completely divided the progressive movement is, embodied in the fact that most so-called "progressive" netroots activists and Kossacks seem to have no clue that the US Social Forum is even going on, despite the 10,000 activists expected to show up tomorrow in Atlanta. It is always amusing to see the netroots claim to represent the progressive movement or the "Real grassroots" when it remains mostly an overwhelmingly white, secular, upper middle class phenomenon.

At the US Social Forum, you will find tremendous diversity in the speakers, the forum subjects that is going to be lacking at YearlyKos. Panels have been set up focusing on prison industrial complex, black thought in environmentalism, farmworker justice and numerous panels focusing on rural issues and farmers. There will be folks from the Immokalee Workers, an amazing group of low-income minority, mostly Latino, Mayan Indian, Haitians workers who have managed to win a campaign against Taco Bell for fairer wages and are now targeting Burger King.

http://www.ciw-online.org/...

I doubt that many of these folks will be represented at YearlyKos. There will be family farmers from across the US, most of whom have never heard of a "blog" or have internet access, who will be there. there will be minority hip hop activists. these are the voices of our progressive movement that often are not heard in places like DailyKos and MyDD.

the forum will also host a lot of the same panels i'm sure will be discussed at YearlyKos, including the Iraq war, crimes of the Bush administration, universal health care, etc.

But in the end, my point is this: we all need each other. the farmworkers and farmers know that white progressives are on our side. the sad thing is, most of these groups never talk to each other, confined to their isolated bubbles. so these folks at the US Social Forum will discuss their movements with the same folks they've known, the bloggers will discuss their issues among their same narrow confines, when all of us need to be building a bigger movement together to fight the forces of right wing corporatism because ultimately, we all share the same values and our planet depends on it.

so as white progressives (deservedly) pat themselves on the back for their hard work at putting on YearlyKos, remember the voices of all who are not yet part of the "netroots" and who don't have a voice here and won't be represented on many of the panels and whose issues will not be on the agenda. And if any of you are near Atlanta, try to make it to the US Social Forum and start building those bridges.

•  Here's the thing:

  I think the Social Forum is great.  I might be going myself if I didn't have an annual commitment on this particular weekend.

  But why do you have to frame the argument for it as an insult to people here?  It's not a good way to get people interested in something that is valuable and does deserve to be more known and discussed here.  I think by writing this the way you did you did a disservice to both your readers and your cause.

  by MissLaura on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 09:56:08 AM PDT

  •  The tone could change. Agreed.

    But he or she certainly has a point.

    by redstar on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:02:51 AM PDT

    •  That we need to broaden our coalitions

      is a valuable point.  Making it by attacking the people you're claiming to want to draw into coalition?  Not useful.

      That people should know about the Social Forum, attend it if possible, look for reports of it is a valuable point.  Making it in a way that might predispose readers to be hostile and choose to overlook those reports?  Not useful.

      by MissLaura on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:12:35 AM PDT

  •  I was thinking the same thing

    The diarist seems to make the assumption that farmers or farmworkers can't be white(even though I know for a fact they can since I live in a rural area and have been to some of the farms out here) or that folks here haven't attempted to reach out to different communities. I remember seeing a diary here about Burger King and I remember taking the time to write because I do see fair wages as important(and by the way if it makes the diarist feel any better Taco Bell does not pay their SERVICE folks much better a MANAGER at Taco bell makes $7.00) . I may not be black but I read black kos because I know that people don't exist in a vacumm and what affects the black community can and does affect me indirectly.

    The point was good. We do all affect each other. The message was framed in such a negative manner though that it was painful to get to that message.

    by cwaltz on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:09:05 AM PDT

    •  rural white farmers

      farmers are mostly white. and Republican. and very socially conservative. so even if they knew what a blog was (which they don't), they would tend not to hang out at a place like this, with all the "Abortion is my right!" and "religion/Christianity sucks" diaries. but i know they will be at the US Social Forum, which is why it will be such an amazing diverse forum.

      MissLaura (who has done a great job highlighting some of these cross-coalitions) issues cites that i should be more nice with my tone. perhaps. you can understand as a minority whose views are seldom understood on such a "progressive" site and who has had to deal with the structural racism of the MoveOns, DFAs of the world, i'm a little bitter at times. so i tried to make it more hopeful at the end.

      from my perspective, as a minority activist, seeing all the "progressive" sponsors of YearlyKos just gives me the heebie jeebies and stops any interest of mine from going because i know it's going to be a white white crowd with their white white issues.

      by ihlin on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:32:44 AM PDT

      •  Embrace your message

        Don't let those sponsors give you the heebie jeebies and don't be afraid to look past the color of folks skin and listen to their issues. You might be surprised. Our issues might just be very similar to your own. I roomed with an African American young woman while I was at Camp Pendleton and once we got past our fairly obvious difference, we realized that we had many things in common(Hint:I was poor as a teen. We both grew up in households that had strong faith foundations. We both had strong ties to our family. We both deplored mac and cheese as a result of growing up on the blue box,it seems to be a food pantry staple). I also had the good fortune of being welcomed into the filipino community because instead of assuming differences I searched for common ground(and there's a lot of it).

        I understand that it's hard not to be bitter when you have been treated unfairly by others(and I am incredibly sorry that you have) but you, in a way, are treating some of those white folks unfairly by assuming they are a certain way without giving them a chance to know them and prejudging. I'm sending you hugs because you sound like a remarkable individual and you deserve to be seen as one(just like everyone).

        by cwaltz on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 11:07:13 AM PDT

      •  It sounds like

        you would be a valuable and appreciated contributor.

        For what it's worth, the list of seminars/etc is a better indication of what it's about than the list of sponsors. The agenda was set by volunteers and most attendees pay their own way. That's not to say it won't be all "white white issues" anyway, but it won't be dictated by "the MoveOns, DFAs of the world".

        by opendna on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 12:25:22 PM PDT

  •  Agree with Laura

    You know, I'm glad you wrote this diary because I am aware of the Social Forum and was wondering why nobody was writing about it.

    That being said, you're condemning people for basically being ignorant about it, under the assumption that if they're talking not about it they must not care about it.

    I know about the US Social Forum because a friend who lives 200 miles away emailed me an announcement about scholarships to it. There is a tremendous progressive community around where I live and they would totally support it if they only KNEW about it.

    So, I blame this on the U.S. Social Forum for not being effective in advertising itself.

    Assuming that Kossacks wouldn't care and attacking them for it is itself a divisive act.

    Just educate people and you'll see interest.

    Can you do a daily diary on this for us? I assume that since you're taking this attitude you're actually in attendance, so please, please, let us know what's going on!!!

    by betson08 on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:09:05 AM PDT

    •  thank you

      you are right. i am heartened that you knew about the event. i was just puzzled why so many of the liberal blogs seem to just have no awareness that it was going on. and the agenda and participants seem to me to be quite starkly different from those at YearlyKos that i thought it worth mentioning.

      i am (sob) not going due to work. many coworkers and friends will be there, and i do hope to see some diaries and blogs about it.

      by ihlin on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:35:32 AM PDT

      •  Something you could do while the ...

        ...Forum is going on is find several people who ARE blogging about it and: 1) get them to cross-post here, 2) write your own Diary each day linking to several of the better blogs about the Forum.

        And, afterward, you could provide some follow-up.

        I agree with much of what you say here, but I really, really wish you had written something a week or two ago to spur more interest. There is at Daily Kos, as you well know, ihlin, a lot of interest in a lot of different arenas. It's hard to rouse people with one or two Diaries. It takes relentlessness.

        by Meteor Blades on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 12:03:23 PM PDT

  •  Attract more flies with honey, less vinegar

    I agree with Miss Laura. I think your content includes words to the wise, but the way you framed your educational case was unnecessarily harsh toward those who may not be aware of what you presently know.

    If you're going to be there, be the leader you're looking for. Please report on the Forum and tell us what's happening. Teach us. Be a liason for the blogosphere.

    I'll look forward to hearing about it and hope others will atttend.

    by Iddybud on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:11:06 AM PDT

  •  Funny, isn't it.

    Few people really like being called "ignorant." :-)

    by kath25 on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:19:08 AM PDT

  •  The diarist is a purity troll.

    Check the posting record.

    by Jon Meltzer on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:20:03 AM PDT

    •  Yep...

      this is pretty much commonplace for this diarist...come here, tell us that we know nothing and understand no one...etc.

      by Elise on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 12:25:21 PM PDT

  •  As one of the "ignorant" someones

    who hadn't heard about this till now, I can say that I'd like to hear more, but now there's this uncomfortable association in my mind between the existence of the event, and feeling scolded because I didn't happen to know about it.

    Tone matters!

    by AnnieJo on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 11:08:56 AM PDT

•  can you find it in your heart?

  Please forgive me for being progressive, white and mddle class.  I'll work on it I promise.

  by Countificus on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:01:33 AM PDT

•  You are correct for the most part...

  ...even if your tone is a little harsh. Ultimately, we all need each other to stand against the right-wing onslaught. I wish I was there in Atlanta.

  by lams712 on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:07:34 AM PDT

•  Is there a panel --

  is there a panel on the government's oft-made promise to bring high-speed internet to every home in America? Or anything dealing specifically with the digital divide?

  The digital divide is a larger problem than just keeping groups away from the blogs. I'd love to hear what the forum has going on about the social power of the internet and how to increase access.

  Any talk about Negroponte's $150 laptop?

  by kath25 on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:10:10 AM PDT

•  I agree with the first poster

  One of the great things about Dailykos is that anyone can write a diary and bring progressive news to a vast number of people who would not otherwise get it from reading the MSM.  Your diary, however, skips right over this important part and starts by condemning those on this community for not knowing or championing your cause.  Well the forum is here for you to do the championing, but in my opinion, your ruined it with your tone.

  by BDA in VA on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:21:33 AM PDT

•  I

  know about it, and I also have been frustrated at the lack of coverage here, but there's no way in hell I'm going from Minnesota to Atlanta, waaaaaaaaaay to expensive, and hot. Once it gets to the Midwest or somewhere I can train too I'll be going.

  However DailyKos and the netroots tend to be progressive Big Tent Democrats, The Social Forums tend to be more radical progressive socialists.

  Insulting people won't get anywhere though.

  by Populista on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:25:26 AM PDT

•  Questions

  How long was this conference in planning? Why didn't you post sooner? Were you at any of the earlier conferences? Were there any transcripts of the proceedings , workshops available on the net?

  by danmac on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:25:43 AM PDT

•  Sorry I missed all your previous posts about it.

  And I'll apologize for not being omniscient, while I'm at it.

  by TiaRachel on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:38:57 AM PDT

  •  previous posts?

    ihlin, if you wanted the participants of DailyKos to know about the US Social Forum, why didn't you write some diaries about it awhile ago?  

    Let us know it was going to happen ... pass along the agenda ... tell us about its meaning and its importance.

    What's the point of complaining that no one's there, just one day before the thing starts?  

    by N in Seattle on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 11:08:05 AM PDT

•  Perhaps the diary has been updated.

  But the only real hostile note is the last word of the title. (Of course it looms larger in the title than it would anywhere else.)

  The Nairobi Forum generated no interest here either as a matter of fact, despite two or three diaries on it all polite as could be. Neither do a lot of topics, if they can't be directly tied into whatever partisan political fracas of the day. That isn't even a criticism, it's just the way it is.

  There seems to be a little hypersensitivy in response to the diarst's observations.

  by melvin on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:45:57 AM PDT

  •  thanks

    my main point to bring up was to inject a little realism into the sometimes smug world of the liberal blogosphere, which purports to represent the "grassroots" when in fact it really does not and is quite isolated within the progressive movement (as are the minority groups i work with...)

    and for folks attending YearlyKos, to take stock of who is in attendance, what issues are being discussed and then see who is not in the conversation and ask why not...but i seldom see that level of self-awareness on the part of white liberals...

    by Farm Bill Girl on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 11:06:02 AM PDT

    •  I'm a little confused

      on who is who here, but we seem to be in basic agreement.

      by melvin on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 11:14:39 AM PDT

    •  Huh.

      i seldom see that level of self-awareness on the part of white liberals

      I find white liberals tend to have a hypersensitivity bordering on tokenism. That was true at YearlyKos too. When the causes of equal participation are differences in education, culture and access to resources (as opposed to active exclusion), finding a solution is more challenging.

      I wonder to what extent your comments remain true if the IndyMedia network is included in the description of 'bloggers' and 'netroots'.

      by opendna on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 11:55:13 AM PDT

•  Hey, who cares honey, vinegar you're only

  confirming the diarists' point: there's a wonderful first time convention of young and practicing activists converging on Atlanta...thanks to the diarist for pointing it out...the end result of blogging and/or street activism should be the same and it's more important than "instructing" others how to diary properly!

  by Arctor on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 10:48:13 AM PDT

•  I really wish I could be there

  but I cannot leave my wheelchair-bound hubby home alone that long.

  I was part of the host committee for the Southeastern Social Forum in Durham, NC, in 2006. This was one of the 10 regional pre-cursors for the national one taking place this year.

  I am white and middle-class and it did me a world of good to be part of an event that was anything but. Being a minority is good for the soul sometimes. I learned a lot. As a progressive activist, I have been mostly organizing with other white, middle-class folk and have heard the same white, middle-class, progressive talking points for years now. So this was a welcome and enlightening change.

  If white, middle-class progressives are serious about connecting with other groups, don't invite them to join your stuff! Go out and join their organizations and help with promoting their movements and putting on their events! But please, don't go and try to take them over--an unfortunate habit of many white progressives,  especially those of the male persuasion--hence the distrust of white progressives in minority circles. We're not there to teach them a thing--they know what they are doing; we are there to do what is needed. I found that actions are valued more than words, commitment to the community is a greater asset than education and intellectual prowess, women are often the movers and shakers and command respect.

  One of the reasons you have not heard much about the USSF via the usual channels is because the event is mostly promoted through social justice and labor networks that are, for the most part, non-white and non-middle-class (and doing miracles with very little funding I might add). Many of these groups exist in our own communities but outside our awareness because we don't interact socially with their members. This needs to change!

  One note of caution: people who live downstream of the American Empire and struggle daily against the indignities of institutionalized injustice and its progeny, poverty and violence, do not suffer fools gladly, especially the kind who are all talk and no can do. Unless you're willing to work for their cause(s), don't waste their time. It's not about you.

  by heiderose1 on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 11:51:34 AM PDT

  •  Hey!

    That comment is the draft of your first(?) diary!

    ...

    Please?

    It's clear you've got wisdom to share and I know there are a lot of young activists here who would appreciate your experience and advice.

    by opendna on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 12:04:35 PM PDT

  •  a breath of fresh air

    your comment. We all need to be reminded that it's "not about us" quite a bit more often. There is so much mistrust and grandstanding and demanding to be treated a certain way when it's "about us".

    by JMS on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 12:05:18 PM PDT

•  To be fair

  The Take Back America conference didn't get a whole lot of coverage here either, and they also count as the white, secular progressives demographic. Here is the search going back 2 weeks. I count one dedicated diary with over 200 comments (the one about Hillary getting boo'ed), two mentions in the Edwards Evening News, and a bunch of smaller diaries.

  I agree even less of us know about the US Social Forum than Take Back America, but overall our awareness of other conferences is pretty low.

  by dwcal on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 12:32:31 PM PDT

•  Wish I'd known about the WSF in advance...

  this looks very interesting.

  thanks for posting about it - first info I'd seen.

  I urge you to blog about it again during the conference, even tho' you won't be able to be there.

  There are many of us who would be interested and who care.

  Thank you for your work and for thinking to include us, even if you thought we might not care.

  by fhcec on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 12:39:40 PM PDT

  •  thanks for your comment

    i will try to link when i can.

    by ihlin on Wed Jun 27, 2007 at 02:18:08 PM PDT

    •  i understand from my daughter...

      that many of her friends will be there.

      good to hear that, too.

      by fhcec on Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 08:29:02 AM PDT