Win the Day: Volume 10 (The Day After)

Posted November 7, 2018

When we started Win The Day, we knew we’d need to play some defense.  (See our recent post after the anti-Semitic violence in Pittsburgh.)  But we also knew we’d need to go on the offense.  And while there is much celebrate after last night’s elections, there is even more work to do.  How we do that, who we talk with, who we center, what language we use -- that’s what our narrative work is focused on.

Win the Day: Volume 9 (Election Day Eve)

Posted November 5, 2018

Tomorrow we vote. And the day after that, we’ll rest.  (Actually, we’re going bowling.)  And then, win or lose (and it’s usually some of both), we’ll keep organizing.  However things go on Tuesday, we’re still in.  We have to be.  There’s too much at stake: how we care for each other, what we build together, the future we’re leaving for those who follow. The Politics of Joy have kept us grounded this year. We’re both scrambling for the win and dreaming about what’s possible.  We can hear the dog-whistlers, we can name them, and then we go prove them wrong.  Yeah, we’re on the team that sings.

Win the Day Volume 8

Posted October 29, 2018

When we started writing this blog eight weeks ago we thought we had a pretty straightforward purpose: to inoculate against dog-whistle politics. It seemed obvious that some politicians were going to race & gender code words to try to divide voters, to build their own careers. Then last week happened. Our hearts go out to families and communities in Pittsburgh. And Louisville. And New York, and D.C., and Florida, and California. The line from dog-whistles to hate-speech to right-wing political violence is unmistakable. And sadly predictable. Politicians have been warned. Studies have been published. Survivors have spoken out. Still, some politicians hide behind false equivalencies, whataboutism, and plausible deniability. To this we say: we see you. Your dog-whistle is disqualifying. Your anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, anti-woman rhetoric is more than irresponsible; it is a contribution. It is participation. It is a building block of political violence. But while we are angry; we can’t act out of anger. We won’t demonize or name-call. We also won’t act out of fear (though we’ll admit we do feel that too). The people being targeted by right-wing hate are the very people who inspire us. People and communities who experience oppression, but still show up, still act together, they have something we want. That’s why we’re so invested in political healing. Developed by women of color, like Cara Page, it’s an active, deliberate response to the historic & everyday trauma that too many communities have lived through.