SistahSpeak

Posted by Robinswing on September 17, 2011 in Anti-Racism, Civil Rights, Sistahspeak, White Privilege

Last Sunday I wrote a diary challenging the actions of the great and mighty Kos. I called for a boycott of your site for one week. Many people voiced solidarity. Your voice was silent. Until Friday. And you yelled…uncle.

I challenged you and your decisions. I looked you right in the eye and did so. A bigger person might have behaved with dignity. You have shown you have none. Yeah, I said it. You have no dignity. You also have no where to hide from your own decisions. It can no longer be said that you were unaware of your actions. The curtain has been pulled and anyone who wants to can see the Wizard of Kos.

To be fair I didn’t post the lyrics to one of my favorite way back rap songs. You know…Don’t. Push. Me. Cause I’m. Close. To. The. Edge. That one. A smarter man woulda known.

A business is generally reflective of it’s owner. Your business The Daily Kos is where people have since at least 2007 when I first posted, mocked, ridiculed and minimized black people, their concerns and yes try to silence their voices. You proved that your site reflects who you are. Perfectly. You no longer get the benefit of the doubt.

I was staring into the face of racist before your tired ass was born. I am not scared of the likes of you. Therein lies the problem.

See, some so called Progressive White Folk (SCPWF) like the idea of their color-blind selves. They believe their own mythology about black people. As long as we are not as smart, educated, articulate and able to defend ourselves, we meet the criteria for Acceptable Black People (ABP). Those like our President who are smarter, better educated and more articulate have to be taken down a peg. Go ahead and admit it. Oh wait…you already did.

On your site as long as the black community does history lessons, they can be accepted. Don’t you dare call out the bullshit racism that is endemic in SCPWP. They, like you, turn nasty. Real fast. Ask me how I know.

I am one of those black folk who make SCPWP uncomfortable. I do not endeavor to make racism palatable to grown folk. Not since a very hot day in Cicero Illinois have I stood (mostly) silent in the face of racism. It ain’t that kind of party.

So I can say it now without any reservation. You try to shut down the voices of strong black people on your site. When you banned me on Friday this was indeed your truth. Shining through. If you don’t like it, I don’t care.

I looked you in the eye. You blinked. The Wizard of Kos. Ha!

And so I dedicate a song by Aretha Franklin to you mighty Kos.

And this one:

Now run and tell that!

Also posted at http://progressivepoc.com/2011/09/18/sistahspeak/

(20)

Anonymous

I just went back to dk after boycotting, and found your response to my comment (yes, I AM that cranky, let’s be friends! ;)) and saw that you were banned. I….don’t know what to say. I’ve been at DK since 05, lurking, since 07 registered. I’m appalled.

There are a few people there I read and am friends with, but pretty much all the people I met through there have left it – and that includes several ex-editors/fp posters. Over the years, it got to them. I was peripheral enough (due to my own health issues, still ongoing) that I didn’t see the whys and where-fors, but now I do.

Ugh.

I’m glad I found you again though – googled for Robinswing!

txvoodoo/lisa.
- Anonymous
  
  Welcome friend. You are indeed my kinda woman.
  
  I started reading probably around the time you did. Joined in 2007 after reading a front page article decrying the lack of black female voices. Ha!
  
  It has been worth it for the real and sincere friendships I have formed as a result.
  
  Sending prayers that your health issues will evaporate and be as nothing.
  
  Next time I’m feeling cranky I’ll tell them to just go the hell away! (smiling in your direction.)
Anonymous

I could do another diary about the signs that you are in the wrong
doctors office. But basically my philosophy boils down to this

Whether a doctor,plumber,electrician or lawyer, they are hired help. We
may pay more to compensate for the skills acquired through education
but they are hired to help. Their time is not more valuable than mine
since I am the one paying. They do not get to speak to me from the mount
as it were. I will not allow myself to be rushed,hurried or unheard by
people I am paying to help me.

I was seriously blessed and supported through this experience. The
person known online as amazinggrace flew in twice to cook and clean and
organize a small kitchen for me upstairs. She also vacuum sealed
everything from her gumbo to pot roast and put them in individual vacuum
sealed packages so that the microwave would provide me with delicious
home style food for those times when eating was possible. Greater love
hath no person than to lay aside their lives for a time to help another.
Anonymous

I am very late to get here to comment but I am furious that Kos banned you.
I now see him as nothing more than a “silencer.” This is horrible. I have been with Gulf Watchers for a long time and don’t know how I can give up that community and I also am very committed to Indigo Kalliope-Poems From the Left, but I don’t know if I can go back now that I know he banned you.
What the f**k is wrong with him?
- Anonymous
  
  I said what I think is wrong with him in my diary. Since so many at DKos follow me round the tubes to report back perhaps they can report back or have him post here. His input would be welcomed. My deal is simple enough. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.
  
  Listen… I took some time and read some of the comments about me. I had to laugh as some of the worst abusers of people of color chimed in with their foolishness. “Robinswing is a serial ratings abuser!” Bullshit. In my diary about the boycott I admitted to my uprates and in the instance of this so called zombie(because I didn’t and still don’t believe that is true) I uprated perfectly reasonable responses to this passive aggressive woman. Said that in my diary too. I also admitted that I had uprated things I normally wouldn’t have if not for the instance of hounding that goes unpunished on the site Starting with BWD who many of the folk who came into SistahSpeak actually thought was black. This hounding of people of color or people perceived to be of color went unchecked for almost two years. I won’t even go into the blackface diary written by Harveymilk that sent Fabooj a sistah who is a great writer and was considered a valuable member of the community over the edge as she tried to get some admin to do something about it. That was in 2007.
  
  I never wrote to MB or Kos complaining until about two weeks ago when I sent him(Kos) the link of LoE’s bullshit. For the most part I dealt with it best as I could along with brothers like Adept2U,TIMT,Mallyroyal and sistahs like the ones who got ratings privileges removed and amazinggrace who left because of the toxicity a while back. Ditto Fedupcitizen. The list is longer than this response. LOL .
  
  In the four years I’ve been there I got one HR and it was in error a couple of weeks ago. I kos mailed him and by the time he got to it it ws too late for him to remove it. Never warned about anything. Evah. Hell I wasn’t even there from last September until July of this year. All y’all reading this, check LoE nasty vile comment about me and my cancer. It’s the one with 28 Hr’s and 4 uprates. Uprated by Dallasdoc who 48 hrs. later called for donuts for someone whose remarks about a white woman with cancer he objected to. He didn’t object to Land of Enchantments hr’d statement about a black woman. All of the abusers of black folk on that site, the serial upraters of vile racist comments like Slinkerwink are in fact still there. She uprated some of the nastiest comments made by the two who were banned. As did ohmyheck,robbobagger(or whatever his name is) themomcat. I could go on but I won’t. The evidence is in the threads.
  
  There was apparently no sense of irony in calling my efforts at both BKOS and SistahSpeak an attempt at tribalism. There were those who tried to speak up in my behalf. I appreciate their efforts but they are unnecessary. I am glad to be away from there. Period. I’m too old to make ‘nice’ or try to build bridges with folk who have torches in their hands. Let someone else do it if they so desire. Been there. Done that.
  
  Having said all that…if there are things that you get there that mean something to you then by all means pursue them. Like Adept and TIMT said I wouldn’t even consider coming back. For me the disrespect and racism that some show toward the President, I had already seen in BKOS and SistahSpeak diaries. It is a disrespect for Black people and to quote Stevie Wonder I aint gonna stand for it.
  - Anonymous
    
    I’m sorry to be so late to thank you for your response. I realize that you don’t know me or even of me and it was nice of you to take the time.
    
    I hope none of you ever go back. You are all worth too much to waste any of your time.
    
    I could not even believe that any entity that would call themselves human could ever speak about another human being and their illness the way that LoE did about you and yours.
    
    I am with you, I do not want to reconcile with those people.
    I’ve been in many a tussle with them and it was futile.
    
    I am glad that TPV is here, populated with sane people.
    - Anonymous
      
      Speaking strictly for myself going back is not an option. It would be going backward.
      Bless you rubtsjones. Bless you. And TPV and this site and others like it where indeed the sane may gather.
Anonymous

I wasn’t surprised to hear about you being “banned” from that place. If you offend the delicate sensibilities of the DK majority, you are portrayed as being intimidating and a rule breaker.

Meanwhile, all around you, people are breaking the rules and organizing group retaliations… and they are still in good standing there as of last Sunday.

I don’t expect that things will change much. There are still some good people there who probably will work hard to stay inbounds, and still push back on racism. Unfortunately, most of them are white liberals who mean well but have no personal familiarity with how it is to be Black in American society.

This problem existed well before the election of President Obama, and it isn’t going to be fixed anytime soon. Daily Kos will make a show of mending fences in time for the next election.

(formerly blindyone)
- Anonymous
  
  Hey Sis!
  I took a look at what’s going on over there. It is past pitiful. Glad to be done with it.
  - Anonymous
    
    Agree that some of the loudest voices there are people who claim to have worked hours and hours (and wrote so many checks!) to the Obama campaign, but, somehow, got disappointed within two or three months of his inauguration and started writing hair on fire critical diaries and criticizing him in personal and racist ways.
    
    So, I’ve never believed in their pose as disappointed former supporters.
    
    You could be right about the Presidential campaign. Arguing about some possible primary candidates might bring a lot of traffic over there.
    
    I’m thinking that some of the usual rec list critics will do a big 180 turn in time to be posting GOTV diaries in an effort to remain on top of the rec list which is what they seem to live for.
    
    We’ll see.
    
    (formerly blindyone)
    - Anonymous
      
      I would hope you are right about this but the mission statement quietly changed a while ago and it is not about electing more and better Democrats.
Anonymous

Emotional here you have to excuse me. Lots of layers of thought converging, I think the first I want to convey is gratitude for the strong Black woman. I don’t want to remember how many times they straight pissed me off and you were able to make me feel better, and still energized to fight. That is a key ingredient to the production of strong Black man, and you were a rock. I want to also acknowledge the many times you inspired me, for the many times you and the other participants of the Sistah Speak series supported me and especially my Sisters I’m just now finding out are White I want to say thank you. You provide some of the things I fight to protect, and as hard as I was on racism in their I tried to be equally as hard on sexism and had to tell many a person over there to kiss my ass over that. So nice to be free.

Now that I’ve found out how to log in here, I’ll love participating, and now that I’ve hooked up with TPV (write Deaniac and ask to contribute!) and especially the Motley Moose (um that place is actually full of nice people and might be what anyone was looking for in a DK same kind of interface and everything) I can at present only think of two events that would make me want to ever participate at the DK again.

UFOs land appoint me as an ambassador to the human race and ask me to use the DK as a platform, or Markos front pages an apology to all the banned Black people and re-instates us with infinite mojo. I think the former has a better chance of happening.
- Seeta Persaud
  
  Hey {{{{{{Adept}}}}}!! It is so wonderful to see you here and I am deeply honored by your presence. I can’t possibly overstate how much I have learned from you in your articles, posts, and commentary. Yours is a perspective and voice I deeply respect. As you know, I also enjoy your UFO series. I’m very happy to see the explosion of choices out there — progressive blogs by poc thru a poc lens.
  
  On a side note, sorry about the login trouble — but I am glad you finally made it. I will post a faq later about the difference between site and comment login. One does not need to to register with the site to comment. Anyone can comment using the ‘disqus’ system, which I like because it allows folks to use the same commenting system to post on a variety of blog spaces.
  
  Looking forward to building the future with so many of you.
  
  Sending you warm wishes for a Happy Sunday.
  
  Namaste!
- Anonymous
  
  Just know that you are loved. Fight the Power!
  - Anonymous
    
    As well as… stuff that thinks itself to be power. So ridiculous. So unnecessary. So not self-informed. Yep, it was those bad black people who made the place so darn uncomfortable bringing up racism as they’ve lived it. As you would say, how insensitive!
    - Anonymous
      
      Girl
      There is no hope whatsoever for most of those folk. I just read a thread where someone mentioned me being banned for calling for the boycott and ‘they’ wanted proof. One said that it might be for comments I’ve made on other sites but that I might be able to come back. She apparently follows me and has the name that in the movies Native Americans used for liar. What a maroon. Many of the worst offenders are in Doppers diary calling for civility.LoE being the biggest hypocrite onsite…at least for today. LOL
      - Anonymous
        
        Again, comments on other sites are supposed to be restricted to relevance on those other sites. Unless one writes “I’m going to virus that MFin place up,” or a reasonable facsimile, it doesn’t mean jack about jack. That’s just common sense. Oh, wait… Don’t get me started on that person. Wouldn’t know civility if it introduced itself to her.
      - Anonymous
        
        LMBAO…
Anonymous

Good to see you out and about Sistah!!!!!

As I just said over at Progressive POC – we don’t need no stinkin’ Kos!
- Anonymous
  
  Amen to that. I wonder though if the boycott had a greater effect than I thought???LMBAO
  - Jarbyus
    
    Yes, I think it did. I, for one, am debating whether to return because I so love the Readers and Book Lovers series. I may go back and read those diaries only, sort of a continuing partial boycott. I am not sure yet. But this I know: the boycott has brought me here, and, although I might not contribute much, I will read and comment.
    
    jarbyus
    - Anonymous
      
      Thank you for commenting now. This is a great site peopled by real progressives that are working for real change and not some fools wearing superman pajamas and typing from their mother’s basement.
      - Anonymous
        
        “peopled by real progressives that are working for real change and not
        some fools wearing superman pajamas and typing from their mother’s
        basement.”
        
        I am sorry to be so late to say that this is one of the very best comments that I have read anywhere, at any time. Perfect!
      - Anonymous
        
        Hey Ruby
        Thanks but that is how I see many of those fools on you know what site. LOL
      - Anonymous
        
        That’s exactly how I feel too.
- Anonymous
  
  Could not find your comment there. Will you post it again?
  - Anonymous
    
    It shows up for me saying that its awaiting moderation.
Kay W

Thank you, Robinswing, for your strength, vision, integrity.

Here’s to the future: where POC voices are centered and amplified and valued. Critical Mass Progress is one beautiful place where that is happening.
- Anonymous
  
  It is an honor to be banned from that site. Truly an honor.
Anonymous

i bowed out about a month ago. the way of the site is the way of the dick swing (TDS) and since that has always been the way of the site, it isn’t going to change anytime soon. so, i went dark (La Femme Nikita reference). i will read the first diary that goes up there about race, just to mark it. anyway, i’m around, as always, reading. it’s great to see everyone landed on such great sites. namaste to all. :-)
- Anonymous
  
  Hey KJ!
  Always good to see you. Always.
Anonymous

wait…kos banned you?

What for? Organizing a boycott? Defending yourself against hounding and racist attacks? Opening people’s eyes to the racism at kos? Not simply sitting down and shutting up?

That is crap. Complete crap. Everyone who has read your diaries and looked at the comments knows that you were FOLLOWED and HARASSED in nearly every single diary you posted, and what do you get for your troubles? A banning?

Just know, Robinswing, that I’ll follow you to the end of the internet just to read your writing. I know that isn’t much….but its the least I could do, your thoughts have helped me wake up and see our culture for what it is.
- Anonymous
  
  Yep. Did it Friday. No email from anyone.
  I have no other reason than the boycott and what I said in this posting. Kos does not appreciate strong black women who have the gall to challenge him.
  Armando went into a few diaries last week asking them what it would take to keep them from boycotting. He did not ask me and I was the one who called for it. Told me all I needed to know.
  Now Armando has a new community group set up to discuss race on DK. If you look at the names many will be familiar since they either harassed or like Slinkerwink, up-rated the racist attacks. Good luck with that.
  Thank you for your support. It is deeply appreciated.
  - Anonymous
    
    oh this angers me at how you were treated … Daily Kos and the owner are now going to be know as that web site that banned all the strong black voices and allowed systematic hounding and harassing of those voices.. Markos banned you for speaking up and organizing a protest… How F**king republican of him… ugh… anyway i love reading your writing Robinswing and i truly appreciate your voice and feel like i have learned so much from you.. especially how to be strong and speak up no matter what..
    - Anonymous
      
      I’m aware that my post sounds angry,but the reality is I’m not. I just wanted to express myself to him since I know he will read it. Either him or one of his spies.
      I do think that people need to pay more attention to what has been going on. It is not site about electing more and better democrats. The mission statement changed a while ago. Don’t think most people are aware of this.
      do I think Markos is a racist? Hell to the yeah. He and his site are one. No getting around it.
      Thank you for your support. I deeply appreciate it.
  - Anonymous
    
    Clearly a case of reverse racism! How dare you make them subject you to their acid-tipped arrows?! You tricksy negress.
    - Anonymous
      
      LOL…that’s me alright.
Anonymous
Anonymous

Word, Sis Robin, Word! I can’t tell you have freeing it is to be out under the microscope of those who live in the land of mirrors.
- Anonymous
  
  Hey Girl
  I shoulda put Kool andd the Gang as a link…You know It’s a Celebration. LOL How U?
  - Anonymous
    
    I’m good! Feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders! Free to be me, without being trolled. Too much on the line to worry about somebody else’s pockets.
    - Anonymous
    - Kay W
      
      amen. I feel the same way. Lots of work to do going forward.
  - Seeta Persaud
    
    So honored and humbled to have you speak truth here sis Wing.
    
    I am one of those black folk who make SCPWP uncomfortable. I do not
    endeavor to make racism palatable to grown folk. Not since a very hot
    day in Cicero Illinois have I stood (mostly) silent in the face of
    racism. It ain’t that kind of party.
    
    Always powerful, always resonant, and always real. I love it.
    - Anonymous
      
      Sent a facebook message.
      - Anonymous
        
        i’m cedwynchaosfaerie on facebook. please find me!
        
        and seeta’s right. this was seriously awesome:
        
        “I am one of those black folk who make SCPWP uncomfortable. I do not
        endeavor to make racism palatable to grown folk. Not since a very hot
        day in Cicero Illinois have I stood (mostly) silent in the face of
        racism. It ain’t that kind of party.”
        
        this whole episode makes me very sad, but i look forward to what’s to come.
        
        i will be back at dkos; i’ve been there since 2004 and have seen it do and be too much good to give up entirely just yet.
        
        black kos, CIK, and sistahspeak absolutely did open some eyes. it was quite awe-inspiring to read in the pro-boycott diaries about people who really understood white privilege for the first time by reading diaries from you amazing women (and dopper…heh). it gave me hope.
        
        http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2011/09/if-i-drink-enough-maybe-ill-turn-white.html
        
        i refuse to stop trying.
      - Anonymous
        
        I will look you up on FB though I’m not there that much. I hope for someone like you that your being there brings you peace. Leaving the toxic,hypocritical and racist works better for me. Blessings dear Cedwyn.
    - Anonymous
      
      The honor is mine. You are amazing.
  - nancy a heitzeg
    
    ha!! Ask and You Shall Receive :)
    
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeTgx_pj6m8
    - Anonymous
      
      Can always count on you for the music.

CMP

Educate, Agitate, Organize

SistahSpeak