Thank you for a very inspiring column. Congratulations on your new book. Since the November election, I've been visiting museums, parks, and historical sites that honor those who stood up for their beliefs and took action -- including the Harriet Tubman historical trail in Maryland and Charles Demuth's home and studio in Lancaster, PA. Demuth was openly gay during the early 20th century, also diabetic. He spent many years in Lancaster, PA, now a conservative hotbed for Trump, yet he lived a peaceful life surrounded by his family and friends (Georgia O'Keeffe would come down from NYC to visit him). There are pockets of good history around the US, and we should visit them, learn from them, and preserve them.
"Yes, that includes if they voted for Donald Trump or supported overturning Roe or oppose transgender rights. People do change and we have to encourage those changes by working with them on what we do agree with, not shunning them for what don’t agree with. "
This is an argument for working with, say, outright Nazis if they agree that Israel is doing bad things; and it is therefore an argument for surrender.
Maybe. But some people have never met someone who is transgender, so when you tell them about your next door neighbor's child who has transitioned and is still a lovely person it might crack their shell.
Then you can talk about your daughter's friend who is trans and terrified, but determined to raise her child with love and respect.
Thanks, Eric, for your contributions to history, both in terms of knowledge and by pointing out direction. Your words, " I think we can accomplish just as much as any past great leader of social change did. In fact, I think we can accomplish more," reminded me of the comment that "pygmies who stand on the shoulders of giants can often see farther than did the giants." Building coalitions means drawing lines--what differences can be overlooked or even forgiven, and what cannot be accepted; we must think carefully before drawing those lines. The Felon-in-Chief displays his ignorant, arrogant narcissism with his "beautiful" this and "beautiful" that statements and his binary mind where all is either good or bad.
I miss the academic challenges but salute you as you continue to face them. Ave magister. Best wishes.
I get it. But. I would have a hard time voting for a Democrat who was anti-choice. Saying you don't agree with someone about 10% of their positions is fine in theory, but when it comes down to brass tacks... Obviously I could see voting for an anti-choice Dem instead of an anti-choice Repub. But maybe I now understand "just not voting". Or what about I agree with an anti-choice Dem with 90% of everything else matching, but a pro-choice Repub where I disagree with 90% but that 10% is the one thing that is most likely to impact me personally? Am I just supposed to give up my bodily autonomy for the "greater good"? Sure, I'll be forced to remain pregnant and deliver a child, but at least my pre-natal visits and delivery are covered and I get a year of maternity leave and child care is free but I just DID NOT WANT TO BE PREGNANT IN THE FIRST PLACE?
My husband and I were just talking about this very concept. It’s hard because too many people think that in order to help, they need to be MLK, fully dedicated to the cause and fighting every day. For a lot of people that isn’t just overwhelming, it’s not feasible with jobs, family etc, so they just end up doing nothing. There aren’t a lot of ideas on how people can help that isn’t “commit all your extra time and energy to this”, and not enough conversation about what a how important a lot of people doing a little is. So many of my conversations with people revolve around a general feeling of helplessness and not having any idea on how they can help. Having conversations like this about how important earnest effort is, particularly in our communities, is a brilliant start.
If one is a person of color in these nominal "United States" -- on whom this burden of the "reach out" is so often arguably disproportionately placed -- how is one to tell the difference between one of these people and the ones who would as soon see us jailed in a private prison or executed by some anonymous racist cop under the direction of Tom Thumb Homan who is making money off Palantir surveillance by virtue of his stock purchases that have not been vetted for any kind of conflict of interest ...?
I wrote one book, a history, and it was published in print by a genuine publisher, in 2003. It sold 2,000 copies and I made real money from it. Yes, it was hard work. It also was a fun challenge and one of the few things I am really proud of.
EDIT, sorry. My book is now free on line for anybody to read. The photos look better than they do in print on paper. It's at www.yasme.org. Go to "The YASME Book."
My biggest criticism of the young progressives I run into is their insistence on everyone being 100% with them, and their insane purity tests. While this is of course a generalization, it is the thing that sticks out the most to me, a lifelong liberal Democrat who has had enough of some of these types. It has taken decades, but some of my oldest friends who were raised as Reagan Republicans are finally breaking under the weight of our current politics, and have been open to more liberal ideas. It is possible to move people with compassion. It can be frustratingly slow, but I am all about gathering people who are mostly like minded, and banning together against the heinous actions happening right now. I look forward to catching up with this book.
Best wishes for sales and readership.
Thanks for this, Erik - adding your book to my "read it!" list
Thank you for a very inspiring column. Congratulations on your new book. Since the November election, I've been visiting museums, parks, and historical sites that honor those who stood up for their beliefs and took action -- including the Harriet Tubman historical trail in Maryland and Charles Demuth's home and studio in Lancaster, PA. Demuth was openly gay during the early 20th century, also diabetic. He spent many years in Lancaster, PA, now a conservative hotbed for Trump, yet he lived a peaceful life surrounded by his family and friends (Georgia O'Keeffe would come down from NYC to visit him). There are pockets of good history around the US, and we should visit them, learn from them, and preserve them.
"Yes, that includes if they voted for Donald Trump or supported overturning Roe or oppose transgender rights. People do change and we have to encourage those changes by working with them on what we do agree with, not shunning them for what don’t agree with. "
This is an argument for working with, say, outright Nazis if they agree that Israel is doing bad things; and it is therefore an argument for surrender.
Maybe. But some people have never met someone who is transgender, so when you tell them about your next door neighbor's child who has transitioned and is still a lovely person it might crack their shell.
Then you can talk about your daughter's friend who is trans and terrified, but determined to raise her child with love and respect.
Nope. They can rot. I’m not making common cause with Nazis.
Ta, Erik, and big congratulations on your newest book. I look forward to reading it
Thanks, Eric, for your contributions to history, both in terms of knowledge and by pointing out direction. Your words, " I think we can accomplish just as much as any past great leader of social change did. In fact, I think we can accomplish more," reminded me of the comment that "pygmies who stand on the shoulders of giants can often see farther than did the giants." Building coalitions means drawing lines--what differences can be overlooked or even forgiven, and what cannot be accepted; we must think carefully before drawing those lines. The Felon-in-Chief displays his ignorant, arrogant narcissism with his "beautiful" this and "beautiful" that statements and his binary mind where all is either good or bad.
I miss the academic challenges but salute you as you continue to face them. Ave magister. Best wishes.
I get it. But. I would have a hard time voting for a Democrat who was anti-choice. Saying you don't agree with someone about 10% of their positions is fine in theory, but when it comes down to brass tacks... Obviously I could see voting for an anti-choice Dem instead of an anti-choice Repub. But maybe I now understand "just not voting". Or what about I agree with an anti-choice Dem with 90% of everything else matching, but a pro-choice Repub where I disagree with 90% but that 10% is the one thing that is most likely to impact me personally? Am I just supposed to give up my bodily autonomy for the "greater good"? Sure, I'll be forced to remain pregnant and deliver a child, but at least my pre-natal visits and delivery are covered and I get a year of maternity leave and child care is free but I just DID NOT WANT TO BE PREGNANT IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Ordering it now. Thanks Erik. This is important stuff.
Just ordered the E-book of Organizing America from Bookshop.org. Thank you so much for what you do, Erik!
If you spend more money on cops than you spend on prosecuting attorneys and judges, what are you planning to do with the people you arrest?
Let's not forget defense attorneys, also too, as well.
My husband and I were just talking about this very concept. It’s hard because too many people think that in order to help, they need to be MLK, fully dedicated to the cause and fighting every day. For a lot of people that isn’t just overwhelming, it’s not feasible with jobs, family etc, so they just end up doing nothing. There aren’t a lot of ideas on how people can help that isn’t “commit all your extra time and energy to this”, and not enough conversation about what a how important a lot of people doing a little is. So many of my conversations with people revolve around a general feeling of helplessness and not having any idea on how they can help. Having conversations like this about how important earnest effort is, particularly in our communities, is a brilliant start.
"𝑀𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒."
If one is a person of color in these nominal "United States" -- on whom this burden of the "reach out" is so often arguably disproportionately placed -- how is one to tell the difference between one of these people and the ones who would as soon see us jailed in a private prison or executed by some anonymous racist cop under the direction of Tom Thumb Homan who is making money off Palantir surveillance by virtue of his stock purchases that have not been vetted for any kind of conflict of interest ...?
This is a real tax-the-rich moment
So -- especially for those of us who agree with you -- then I think we have to dig into why it's NOT happening
I wrote one book, a history, and it was published in print by a genuine publisher, in 2003. It sold 2,000 copies and I made real money from it. Yes, it was hard work. It also was a fun challenge and one of the few things I am really proud of.
EDIT, sorry. My book is now free on line for anybody to read. The photos look better than they do in print on paper. It's at www.yasme.org. Go to "The YASME Book."
My biggest criticism of the young progressives I run into is their insistence on everyone being 100% with them, and their insane purity tests. While this is of course a generalization, it is the thing that sticks out the most to me, a lifelong liberal Democrat who has had enough of some of these types. It has taken decades, but some of my oldest friends who were raised as Reagan Republicans are finally breaking under the weight of our current politics, and have been open to more liberal ideas. It is possible to move people with compassion. It can be frustratingly slow, but I am all about gathering people who are mostly like minded, and banning together against the heinous actions happening right now. I look forward to catching up with this book.
"𝑀𝑦 𝑏𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝐼 𝑟𝑢𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 100% 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑠."
Those "purity tests" tend to come from White people, regardless of age.
Funny how reluctant so many folks seem to be to have THAT conversation ...
Speaking as a white people, you may be correct! I mean, just look at all the white people at Bernie rallys.
Likely true, but what sources indicate this?
Are you kidding
Did you miss the 2024 national election
Thank you