Thread by @socialistdogmom

broke: civic disengagement
woke: attending boring city committee meetings
bespoke: attending city committee meetings and pretending to take notes on your phone but actually just liking hundreds of pics of dogs on instagram

I CHOSE THE WRONG NIGHT to attend a human rights commission meeting. hour one was a presentation by the city attorney on the conflict of interest policy, FOIA requests, public records, etc. now they are arguing about whether the threshold to call a public meeting is 2 or 3 people

what’s up, the meeting is running over time, it’s like 14 degrees in here, and i got a little heated while making a public comment. just a regular thursday night here on the hellmouth.

there was some skepticism about racial bias in city council chambers. i felt compelled to say that my loud white self has never even been looked at by a cop, despite being one of the more disruptive elements at those meetings. meanwhile black women are physically dragged out.

i’mma keep saying it until we’re on the same page: “civility” is barely coded racism. i have stood on a chair and shouted obscenities. but i’m a blonde white woman. meanwhile, powerful black activists are silenced & arrested for refusing to stop speaking truth to power.

my comrade & i honestly weren’t fully clear on the scope/power of the human rights commission, but after some clarification about my complaint, they agree that unequal policing in chambers is a human rights issue. for whatever it’s worth (probably not much), they’ll look into it

as dull as the first hour and a half was, i’m really glad i went. i highly recommend attending these board & committee meetings if you can. real discussion happens there! they have the power to apply real pressure to the city if we pressure them to do it!

i spent 5 hours in city meetings today, plus an hour in court this morning. i went all dressed for the gym, but the meeting ran long and now it’s 10pm and the gym is closed and i haven’t even fed my poor dogs yet. babysitting this city is damn near a full time job.

so i got home but then i remembered how, in an earlier meeting, a white man interrupted a black man to whitesplain the legacy of mlk, specifically re: what is/isn't civil disobedience as dr. king envisioned it. specifically regarding an action taken by a friend & comrade of mine.

i liked a LOT of dog pics during tonight’s school board budget work session.

i’m back on my bullshit at this budget work session.

update, february 5: i wish i were liking pics of dogs right now