WisCon 35: This is What Democracy Looks Like: The Wisconsin Protests
Panel Description
Madison, Wisconsin, home of WisCon, became the center of national attention this spring when newly elected Republican Governor Scott Walker introduced a "Budget Repair" Bill that eviscerated the collective bargaining rights of most state workers' unions. This sparked daily demonstrations of up to 150,000 at the Capitol and around Wisconsin as protestors peacefully stood up for teachers, police, firefighters and other state workers. The drama has included kids getting a living civics lesson on participatory democracy by coming with their parents to march in solidarity with their teachers; the pranking of Governor Walker, who inadvertently disclosed his anti-democratic plans via a phone call he thought was from a billionaire donor; the 14 Democratic senators fleeing the state in order to prevent a voting quorum and to buy some time for citizens to learn what was really in the bill; and Egyptians calling from overseas to purchase and donate pizzas to protestors. Come listen to those who of us who have been a part of it and learn what we're doing as the struggle goes on.
Panelists: L. Timmel Duchamp (moderator), Cabell Gathman, Cat Hanna, Victor Raymond, Fred Schepartz
I was pretty disappointed with this panel. My impressions are not intended to be a transcript, nor a complete representation of what was discussed.
I came to the panel a few minutes late, as the last panelist (Schepartz) was introducing himself. He seemed to be discussing how he posted about the protests/etc. on Facebook multiple times every day during the protests.
People in the audience periodically stood up to explain how they also posted news to Facebook, to offer how many nights they had slept at the Capitol, to show their own protest posters to the rest of the audience.
I had a glimmer of hope when Timmi commented that in democracies, public spaces are necessary, and that during the Wisconsin's protests, the concept of the "people's house" was taken very seriously (the space being the Capitol itself). Protestors occupied this space, retook the building after having been kicked out, etc.
Cabell also chimed in, stating that in addition to physical public spaces, virtual public space was vital in these protests, with people sharing news on Twitter, protestors stuck inside the Capitol communicating with those outside of it, etc.
But other panelists, and more importantly, the audience, didn't really pick up on this thread, and the conversation drifted back to what I found to be self-congratulatory discussions, people giving their personal stories.
I'm not trying to belittle other people's activism, nor their pride in it. I guess I just expected there to be some deeper analysis on this panel, it being WisCon.
The subject of the police was broached a few times, but mostly people just remarked on the fact that in these protests, the police agreed with the protestors, and it was an oddity as compared to other protests.
I think this would have been a perfect opportunity to discuss the fact that police cooperation/endorsement was (in my opinion) a key reason why the protests were successful. However, I think that reinforces the power of the police, in deeming which social groups are worthy/etc. This is especially concerning when one considers the mostly-white, self-identified "middle class" makeup of the crowd. How would the protests have turned out if the topic were different, if the protesters were primarily people of color?
I opted not to say anything, partly because I was low on spoons but also because a person sitting behind us made a few comments like, "The police are NEVER on your side," etc. and I didn't want to get more angry/start a fight (I have multiple close relatives who are cops).
This panel had some similar issues to the one on Class that came before it, and I think
bcholmes hits it on the nose when discussing the attitudes of those who took part in the protests:
I feel like we have an interesting influx of people who've become politicized by the protests in February/March. And I don't want to sound as if I'm saying, "oh noes we're totally being invaded by people who are not us", but I do feel like the content of their contributions has been much more "worker power rah rah rah" and not quite in the geeky analytic way that I'm accustomed to.
So. Feel free to talk about the protests or class (or both) in the comments; feel free to also discuss the intersectionality with race, etc.
I might not respond to all comments right away because I've been low on spoons lately, but I will eventually.
Madison, Wisconsin, home of WisCon, became the center of national attention this spring when newly elected Republican Governor Scott Walker introduced a "Budget Repair" Bill that eviscerated the collective bargaining rights of most state workers' unions. This sparked daily demonstrations of up to 150,000 at the Capitol and around Wisconsin as protestors peacefully stood up for teachers, police, firefighters and other state workers. The drama has included kids getting a living civics lesson on participatory democracy by coming with their parents to march in solidarity with their teachers; the pranking of Governor Walker, who inadvertently disclosed his anti-democratic plans via a phone call he thought was from a billionaire donor; the 14 Democratic senators fleeing the state in order to prevent a voting quorum and to buy some time for citizens to learn what was really in the bill; and Egyptians calling from overseas to purchase and donate pizzas to protestors. Come listen to those who of us who have been a part of it and learn what we're doing as the struggle goes on.
Panelists: L. Timmel Duchamp (moderator), Cabell Gathman, Cat Hanna, Victor Raymond, Fred Schepartz
I was pretty disappointed with this panel. My impressions are not intended to be a transcript, nor a complete representation of what was discussed.
I came to the panel a few minutes late, as the last panelist (Schepartz) was introducing himself. He seemed to be discussing how he posted about the protests/etc. on Facebook multiple times every day during the protests.
People in the audience periodically stood up to explain how they also posted news to Facebook, to offer how many nights they had slept at the Capitol, to show their own protest posters to the rest of the audience.
I had a glimmer of hope when Timmi commented that in democracies, public spaces are necessary, and that during the Wisconsin's protests, the concept of the "people's house" was taken very seriously (the space being the Capitol itself). Protestors occupied this space, retook the building after having been kicked out, etc.
Cabell also chimed in, stating that in addition to physical public spaces, virtual public space was vital in these protests, with people sharing news on Twitter, protestors stuck inside the Capitol communicating with those outside of it, etc.
But other panelists, and more importantly, the audience, didn't really pick up on this thread, and the conversation drifted back to what I found to be self-congratulatory discussions, people giving their personal stories.
I'm not trying to belittle other people's activism, nor their pride in it. I guess I just expected there to be some deeper analysis on this panel, it being WisCon.
The subject of the police was broached a few times, but mostly people just remarked on the fact that in these protests, the police agreed with the protestors, and it was an oddity as compared to other protests.
I think this would have been a perfect opportunity to discuss the fact that police cooperation/endorsement was (in my opinion) a key reason why the protests were successful. However, I think that reinforces the power of the police, in deeming which social groups are worthy/etc. This is especially concerning when one considers the mostly-white, self-identified "middle class" makeup of the crowd. How would the protests have turned out if the topic were different, if the protesters were primarily people of color?
I opted not to say anything, partly because I was low on spoons but also because a person sitting behind us made a few comments like, "The police are NEVER on your side," etc. and I didn't want to get more angry/start a fight (I have multiple close relatives who are cops).
This panel had some similar issues to the one on Class that came before it, and I think
bcholmes hits it on the nose when discussing the attitudes of those who took part in the protests:
I feel like we have an interesting influx of people who've become politicized by the protests in February/March. And I don't want to sound as if I'm saying, "oh noes we're totally being invaded by people who are not us", but I do feel like the content of their contributions has been much more "worker power rah rah rah" and not quite in the geeky analytic way that I'm accustomed to.
So. Feel free to talk about the protests or class (or both) in the comments; feel free to also discuss the intersectionality with race, etc.
I might not respond to all comments right away because I've been low on spoons lately, but I will eventually.