Were you politically active prior to 911?

[mogster]

Poll question: Were you politically active prior to 911?

I wasn't much, but I was very informed about what was going on, newswise.

Just wondered about the political experience of people here, although anybody reading this board would agree that the level of political knowhow at the DU is, in general, high.

I mean political experience as having been actively involved in some political work; party or NGO*, or school politics.

* Non-Governmental Organization

[midnight]

1. Yes I was. But after 9-11 being active means taking hits. Being

arrested and charged for crimes you didn't do. Taxes being audited, phones not working, police parking in front of your home and watching it. I could go on, but my point is something is very different now about being active.

[mogster]

6. Yes, I agree

Politics is different after 911. It is interesting to hear the point of view from somebody being active before 911, though, so thanks for replying :-)

[MrCoffee]

2. yes, political party.

[mogster]

7. Here's to the ground people, the liberal party-workers

:toast:

On edit: managed to mistype smiley code, good grief...

[MrCoffee]

10. lol, thanks

i was so appalled that my undergrad school didn't have a College Dems chapter that I started one in time for the 2000 elections. that was my first "real" experience (i'd done some protesting outside the 1992 repuke national convention in Houston, back in high school).

i was lucky enough to get the chance to work closely with Rep. Lynn Rivers, who was an outstanding progressive congresswoman before she got redistricted out of office.

it was great fun.

[Cha]

19. Now that's sad..hearing about someone

who got voted out because of all that Texas redistricting! I hope people like Lynn Rivers are doing well and doing what they want..even making a congressional come back if they want.

[MrCoffee]

26. it was sad...she was a fantastic rep

just to clarify, she was from michigan (where i went to undergrad), not texas. i actually met a DUer who knows her. apparently she's teaching at the Univ of Michigan.

[fasttense]

3. I had marched in several pro choice rallies before 9/11

but aside from women's rights, I was not very active. Now I track several issues aside from women's rights, the Iraq occupation, Impeachment, neocon economic war and civil rights. It just seems like there are so many more problems today then ever before.

[mogster]

12. More problems needs more informing people, I guess

It's the main drive in politics today imho, to inform people of current and historical events.

[in_cog_ni_to]

4. Yes. I was politically active the day after the SCOTUS appointed the psycho to be prez. n/t

[EFerrari]

14. Same here. I'd not been very active while raising my kids

and going to school / working although I was before they were born.

[mogster]

20. Good point.

Maybe the question in the poll really should have been 'Were you politically active prior to the 2000 election?'.
I recently went back and read the archives of the LBN to see what went on in 2001 before 911, and got a little picture of the US 'mood' at the same time, through the comments of the early DU'ers. I actually read most threads from number 1 up to 87, when 911 was reported.

[EFerrari]

25. Wow. The infancy of DU.

:)

I was out to lunch during the Clinton years except for a small number smaller actions that I could access on campus. That seems to me now to have been a mistake but, what was possible in a 24 hour day when you put the unread pages of your homework under your pillow hoping the information will migrate upward during the night.

lol

[AZBlue]

34. That brought about the big change in me too.

I was somewhat active before then, but it was hit or miss.

[in_cog_ni_to]

35. Same here. I worked on Carol Moseley Braun's campaign, but that's about it. I learned my lesson!

DEMOCRACY IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT.....we must participate!

[AZBlue]

37. We must!

I used to be a little lazy if my issue or person was going to be the winner - because if you have the votes, you'll win, right?

Ha! Learned that one the hard way.

[sueh]

5. Became active when I was old enough to vote 30 years ago.

[renie408]

8. There should be an "I THOUGHT I was informed because I watched CNN." choice. n/t

[blm]

9. Followed corruption issues and tracking of terrorism since late 80s.

Unfortunately, few listened to the connections and warnings then, and worse - many now STILL work to deny the reality of the last few decades, because it means acknowledging that some powerful Democrats added to the problem through their wrong choices.


http://consortiumnews.com/2006/111106.html


And too many want to see those wrong decisions CONTINUE to benefit the powerful elite.

[Bluerthanblue]

11. well, put NGO but needed Other i think-

i protested Vietnam as a kid- was environmentally active back in the dark ages- anti nuke 'clamshell alliance'- supporter. very active against nuclear waste disposal problems/dangers- protested gulf war I- War on Terra, Iraq war etc. and in amongst all this i was politically 'pro-life' for a while. :eyes:

But i was woefully ignorant about some of the more sinister aspects of our governmental history. Especially foreign policy issues ie. Iran Contra- Cuban Missle Crisis- S.American/Nicaragua issues-
Much of the less well know facts around WWII- things never taught in public school in my day, and not discussed socially-

there is so much i'm ignorant about. good and bad.

[mogster]

28. It could have had 'Independent activism' as poll option, I guess

I was also very ignorant, especially about US politics (mostly European orientated), until 1993, when I worked at a oil project in the North Sea, it was the building of this platform (Click 'Stort bilde' for larger photo). I handled mail for many Americans on that project until 1995, and got the chance to read the news of what happened in the US, as they left their mags and papers lying around when finished with it. I developed a taste for Mike Luckovich and Mother Jones back then, lol ;-)

[Mrs. Overall]

13. I kept up with mainstream news before 9/11. But after 9/11 and the anthrax

attacks and Bush at 90% (or thereabouts) approval, something seemed amiss to me, so I began digging deeper and finding alternative news sources, like Amy Goodman on Democracy Now. When we attacked Iraq in 2003, I was distraught and by chance, I stumbled upon Democratic Underground, where a whole world of information opened up. I became politically active and turned off mainstream media coverage forever. DU is my source for news and it provides the inspiration that my small voice can make a difference.

[davsand]

15. I was on DU following local reports on 9/11.

I dunno how many of our current DUers were active here prior to 9/11, (I suspect quite a few were) but one of the things that really was emphasized for me on 9/11 was how much I value DU as a source of news because of the diversity of our membership. We had reports FROM New York and DC. Much as I realize you can't trust eye witness stuff 100%, I also think you learn a LOT more from somebody that was there...


I was first politically active in about 1988, and I have never really stopped. I was a clinic escort, I worked the Abortion Rights Coalition information tables at events, and I even did actions in the student union. I was active with the local GLBT groups and I was on actions with them. I worked on the issues around health care access and poverty, and I had established myself in the local Dem party and the local Labor community before the 9/11 attack.

I was actually working in a statewide Pro Bono organization on the day of 9/11. We organized volunteer legal programs for indigent people and civil legal cases. I was in my car on the way to the office when I heard about the first plane. My office building was locked down because the FBI office was down the hall from mine. I remember sitting in my office waiting for DU to load, weeping, and I remember saying that day the media was already spinning it as a reason for a war.

I do think the political climate has shifted some since 9/11. In part, it is due to the number of people who are new to the process and are now involved. They are so passionate! It has been a big shot in the arm, really, for some of us folks who have been at it for a while. It has also been a problem to watch the anger that consumes so many of the folks new to the process. While I feel that same anger, I also realize this is a war of attrition--meaning LASTING change is NOT an overnight thing. I still rage at the things I see, but I also realize my rage will burn out unless I channel it constructively. I'm not sure the younger folks GET that yet. They will, with time, but it is still hard to watch.

DU has evolved, too, and I salute Skinner and Earl and Elad and all the mods for the child they have birthed. It has some flaws, but for the most part, it is a pretty stellar place to be.

Regards!


Laura

[supernova]

16. Politically active since the mid 80s

I was very concerned even then with the rise of the Religious Right and was looking for ways to counteract it. Joining the Dem party seemed the best option. I lived in Maryland then too.

Sadly I've only gotten more worried, not relieved, as time has gone on. Dem party leaders really don't know what they are dealing with. I suppose thinking of any other option is just too terrible. :evilfrown:

[goodgd_yall]

31. Same here---with political interest since I was 9.

I paid close attention to the Civil Rights movement when I was a kid. I was outraged by racial prejudice and segregation at a young age (living in Mississippi for awhile sensitized me to the issue).

[H2O Man]

17. Decades of experience

in many areas.

[mogster]

38. Your experience is appreciated, H2O Man

Especially the links down in history - important in a world that is mostly internet-orientated :-)

[Cha]

18. I'm sure all want to hear :)

I entered the arena of politics as a newbie in 2000 cause I figured if I wanted Social Security..the least I could do was get active and make sure it was there for me and the people who earned it.

I don't know what put that thought in my head because I had no idea what a bushit was.

Yeah, I was GREEN but I knew I wanted Al Gore and I didn't believe that shit the msm(which turned out to be the cwm) was putting out regarding Gore, in fact, I was appalled..Appalled I tell you!

I just got a tv in '98 I was looking at fauxnoise which I thought at first was all glittering and a different way to present "news" and then real soon I saw their slant with snide remarks against Dems and I was outta there.


It's gone way beyond Social Security but bushits would love to give that to wall street, too.

Edit~ I would listen to c-span and I saw Katrina vanden Heuvel and heard about The Nation so when I was in New York City over New Year's 2001 I got a copy of The Nation at a newsstand and got a subscription. Then one issue had alternate news scources in it and DU was mentioned. Then I had to have a computer! I joined DU in late September 2002 and the rest is posting history! Gotta luv DU..Good, Bad, and the Sublime!

[Lilith Velkor]

21. I was a pie-flinging DC anarchist

When B*sh came to town, we stopped bothering with baking and took to chucking eggs and various produce items.

After 9/11, all we could do was play rope-a-dope with the cops whilst some random kid wheatpasted nudie pix in Ashcroft's neighborhood.

Fun times, but perhaps this is not what you mean by "politics." :shrug:

[DemocratSinceBirth]

22. I Have Been Political Active My Entire Life

Thank you.

[ProfessorGAC]

23. Yep. Since Nixon

The Professor

[TahitiNut]

24. NGO work is, for me, far more aligned with my ethics.

I've had some experience working in support of specific candidates but it always left a bad taste in my mouth when I found myself in opposition to the candidate (or his/her proxies) regarding specific issues. It was like farting in church, with most of the congregation speding more time scowling at me than listening to the bully pulpiteer.

I never found any such animosity toward my expression of such viewpoints when working with an NGO on issue-specific advocacy. Whether associated with GLBT, 'feminist,' veterans, or minority issues, the NGO groups with which I've worked have been far more 'democratic' and conscience-oriented than the candidate campaign groups.

My association with political activities goes back to my childhood, in a family with an uncle on Governor "Soapy" Williams' staff and close cousins who were supporters, neighbors, and friends to the Reuther family. My family has been largely liberal and union, with a share of right-wing GOP "black sheep."

That experience has confirmed my choice to adhere to an independent (anti-partisan) affilation. I just don't respond cooperatively or passively to bullying and threatening or personal attacks. Advocates who employ such tactics will almost invariably lose my support.

[sallyseven]

27. I have been politically active for over 50 years

beginning with John Kennedy's campaign. I am still active in Massachusetts in every election.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

29. I still have a SDS button from about 1967.

When we still believed we had a say in how things are run in this country.

[goodgd_yall]

30. Another category---protests, demonstrations

I only did a little political party work. Mostly I've taken part in demonstrations since the early 80s.

[mmonk]

32. Yes, political party.

I've been shifting to NGO's lately.

[tnlefty]

33. Political party here!

Well before 9/11 or '00. I stuffed envelopes, etc., things that I could do when my young'uns were younger. I've taken on more as they've gotten older, and they had to cover my precinct for me in '06, after they got out of school as I was in our headquarters still driving people to the polls to vote.

My oldest attended our last county re-organization with me and he understood that it was an opportunity to see how the process of electing officers at all levels in the county is done before he registers to vote in Feb. '08. They're involved even if it's by accident. :evilgrin:

[Initech]

36. I knew I hated Bush before 9/11 but 9/11 sent me over the edge.