Netroots Nation #4: "Wrap It Up and Put a Bow on It!"

Now that it's over, some reflections on Netroots Nation....

1. Good Times! I had a great time. I am probably not as far to the left as many of the attendees, but all in all these are good people. In my informal survey (I enlisted others to help me with this) at least 35-40% of attendees were women. At least 30% were over 35 (with a significant number age 50 and above.) So, contrary to my thoughts going in to this...I fit in!! (of course, I seem to fit in wherever I go :) The one area that was lacking was the number of African-American and Latino bloggers at the convention. A shamefully low number! I remember a conference I went to a couple of years ago for conservative evangelical Christians.....about the same number of African-Americans in attendance as Netroots Nation. Both conferences have blacks on their boards, and blacks in prominent placement in programs...and of-course the mandatory session 'especially for African-American issues.' however....where the rubber meets the road...attendance...the numbers were low. Still....I had fun at Netroots, learned much, and met GOOD people.
2. Paper, paper, everywhere! After 25+ years of conventions and conferences, and with the new focus on living 'green,' these events still generate tons of paper. It starts with the conference bag, it continues with all the handouts, and then there are the cards. Even with the leap in technology the past few years...we are still passing out business cards just as we've done for decades! Perhaps one day we will be able to do some kind of 'terrorist bump' with our electronic device (pda, cell phone, whatever), and capture all needed info and a PICTURE of the person....and it would be automatically loaded into our database of choice! (NO MORE BUSINESS CARDS!) The technology exists, we're just not there yet.
3. The silent voice. It's the economy...it's the economy....it's the economy!!!! I made the same point at several of the sessions I attended and I feel there is a disconnect between many in the Netroots world and everyday America...so ONE MORE TIME.....when you are deciding how much meat you'll cook for the week, or how much milk you can buy for your family, you don't give a damn about the voting on the FISA bill! When you lose the equity in your home....or the house altogether...you aren't losing sleep over Karl Rove's arrest! When you can't afford to drive 80 miles to see your parents.....you're not concerned with impeachment! Yes...these may be valid issues, however they became 90% of the discussion--at the Ask the Speaker session with Pelosi, THERE WAS NOT ONE QUESTION ON THE ECONOMY!! Many of us are pissed off that no one is offering real solutions and getting out 'in front' of the problems the country is facing, (instead of holding hearings after the fact). There is fear and anxiety in mainstream America and I didn't see it discussed at this conference. Maybe it's time for us suburban moms to take to the streets?

In conclusion....a good (however, slightly self-serving) conference...and I am especially grateful to DFA for giving me a scholarship to attend! (It meant my family didn't have to eat cereal for a week :)

So, time to pull out all those business cards and start emailing....good meeting you!!!!!

God Bless,

Linnie

Netroots Nation #3 - "Identity Crisis"

Netroots is an organization in transition! I've seen this before...in corporations and in community groups....an organization views itself as one thing when in reality it is another.

There's an identity crisis going on here in Austin at the Netroots Nation Conference. Even Howard Dean is confused. Last night at his keynote he concluded by talking about passing the baton to a new generation of leaders...younger people. The reality is...one-third, OR MORE of the people here are over 35, and there is A LOT of gray hair at this convention! However, I understand Dean's confusion, as I wrote previously, I too thought this would be a convention of young twenty-somethings. WRONG!

The other identity crisis is that many here believe they speak for the masses. WRONG AGAIN! The masses aren't concerned with FISA votes, impeaching Bush, or arresting Rove. They're more concerned with buying gas and food.

I tried to make the point several times today-- if we are to win elections this year we had better be in tune with what is happening in our communities! Families are under assault financially!

Many times today, as I attended various sessions and panel discussions, I've felt they don't really GET IT here....they may be technically savvy.... however they are having the same arguments that the left and right have been having for years....they just do it over the net.

Perhaps, one day, Netroots Nation will include more voices from 'the silent majority' who are sick of labels, and us versus them, and the SOS. This is the real radical movement that's coming....

Netroots Nation #2 - "Different Strokes for Different Folks"

So yesterday I wondered if I would fit in..the answer: a resounding YES!

I am surprised at the number of middle-aged people at this convention of online political bloggers. At least one third of the attendees appear to be over forty. There are more men than women, however there are MANY women and we had a chance to discuss our issues at one of the women's caucuses yesterday. (There was a mom's caucus, a woman's caucus, and a feminist caucus...they wanted to reach all women....overkill if you ask me :)

My day started with a meeting of all the DFA scholarship winners...a diverse and jovial group...all of whom are thankful for the opportunity to be here. We were asked to attend a rally for Howard Dean who is on a bus tour 'Register for Change' and was on his way to Austin from Crawford, Texas. I attended the rally and then had lunch with a young woman blogger from Washington D.C.. (I tend to gravitate to people from D.C. since i lived there almost a decade). The woman is about to leave for Oxford to study public policy and I enjoyed hearing her viewpoints on government and public officials. Her concern is that neither candidate for President will make the needed changes to move the country forward. I disagree with her...I am unashamedly an Obama supporter...however, I am glad she will use her blog to document his efforts!

I attended the women's caucus and realized that most of the complaints I heard.....women getting lower pay...women being disrespected...women being the caregivers of the world....well, these are the same laments I hear from my women's Bible study groups. I make the point to the women that we need to stop dividing ourselves with labels: feminist, progressive, conservative, etc. we may disagree...however our issues are the SAME! (this seems to be a reoccurring theme for me in political discourse).

I also attended the African-American caucus and it was good to hear from black bloggers. There were only about 15 of us in the room and this convention still has a way to go as far as diversity. After the AA Caucus I met a woman who had attended the Latino caucus and she said our individual caucuses should have been held together....I agree with her. We have to move away from all the divisions! She is a DNC Super-Delegate from Colorado and we made plans to meet up in Denver since I am a delegate also.

Last night I attended the keynote by Wesley Clark and Howard Dean. I met a lovely woman from Austin and her Dad. We discussed juggling kids and family with political activism. Afterwards I had some of the BEST Bar-b-que, yams, and collard greens as I hit the Downtown Austin restaurant area with my fellow Netroots attendees.

Now that all of the 'affinity group' caucuses are out of the way, the real conference begins today!

I'm having a blast!!!

Netroots Nation #1 - "My Roots Aren't Net"

The next few days I will be blogging from the Netroots Nation Conference in Austin, Texas.

I've always considered myself more of a writer than a blogger, but I am thrilled to be on this journey. I guess you could call me a 'blogger-in-training.' So here I am at a conference put on by the Daily Kos people. A convention for 'progressive' activists.

A few hours before I got on the plane yesterday I realized I wasn't quite sure about the definition of a 'progressive' (versus liberal or radical). Fortunately, one of my politically aware friends called and offered this definition: "Liberals and progressives talk the same, but progresives act on their words." As an example, he said both groups espouse the value of public school, however a liberal was more likely to send his or her child to a private school.

This sounds more like a hypocrite to me, and I know we have those in all political areas. So I will continue my quest for the definition of a progressive versus a liberal.

My own political persuasion? I'm probably more of a moderate Democrat, and dare I say I am conservative on some issues?

So...I'm anxious to see how I am going to fit in with these progressive bloggers.

Let me back up and say I am here because of a scholarship I won from Democracy for America and I am thankful to all the 'progressives' who brought me and 29 others to this convention.

Will I fit in? I am a 52-year-old African-American, Christian, suburban mom. The image I have of bloggers is : young, geeky, white males. It occurs to be that my 18 year-old son would fit in here better that I.

I know the Netroots people are making an effort to make the conference more diverse....hence the scholarships.

Will I fit in? Will there be anyone like me who represents a community that is more concerned with buying gas and food than the FISA bill vote?

I'm headed downstairs to register....Stay tuned....