Holle B. says:
>So forgive me for pointing out the obvious - but there are many good
>non-partisan community events where volunteers could be promoting the
>Minneapolis-issues list, and increasing participation by diverse community
>members. For example, just last weekend there could have been a
>Minneapolis-issues table at the march for Peace and Justice in north
>Minneapolis. Or the upcoming Cinque de Mayo events, or the Heart of the
Beast
>festival in Powderhorn Park.
>My gentle suggestion is that there may be a disproportionate number of DFL
>activists and elected officials on this list already, and for the sake of
>truly reflecting "Minneapolis issues", some intentional outreach might be
>better made to underrepresented groups.
>But enough on this subject, which is probably a violation of list rules.
No, it's not a violation of list rules (those are only aimed at getting list
complaints to me, not the entire list. This falls under the rubric of a
Minneapolis community organization doing community organizing).
Lynnell got off her fanny and did the work to grow this list - for that, she
deserves only praise. And as the person who has done the work, she gets to
follow her bliss and go whatever event she deems fit. She and 2500 community
activists are going to be a meeting on Saturday. It's a fine place to
recruit.
My gentle suggestion is that it's not her responsibility to get the banner
to the events you cite - it's yours (and everyone who wants to see this list
grow and become more diverse). Lynnell has generously and publicly offered
the banner as "public property" that list members can take to any political
event or group gathering. In other words, the ball's in your -- or rather,
OUR -- court. If you believe strongly in diversity, thank Lynnell for
building the infrastructure and do the work to back up your rhetoric.
Lynnell has made it easier for all of us to do that.
Bottom line: This isn't about getting "them" to do something -- it's about
"us." We're all volunteers, so we all get to do the work.
It's fine to question things, and I'm the first one to admit we can do a
better job of increasing diversity. But I guess I'm a little perturbed by
the negative spin on this. The focus should not be on "too many" DFLers (how
do we really know what the proper mix is?), or unfounded implications that
the party subsidized Minneapolis-Issues work. This sort of cynicism saps
energy that should be thrown positive community building. Many Greens I know
feel they are better community organizers than DFLers - thanks to Lynnell's
"donation," you can prove it...and grow the list, too!
Myself, I am deeply grateful to Lynnell for doing this completely
independently of the E-Democracy board. She's giving back to something she's
valued - a genuine (and I believe, non-partisanly motivated) act of citizen
involvement that should be cheered and expanded upon.
David Brauer
King Field - Ward 10
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