We want to reflect for a moment on the outcome of last night’s Metropolitan Community College Board of Governors meeting, their vote to censure Adam Gotschell for his remarks, and the Board of Governors’ unanimous request that he resign.
While he refused to resign (and we don’t expect him to do so voluntarily), he did face the consequences of other careless actions. The kinds of actions that are quite commonplace among MAGA followers, who often think they are somehow above the law simply because they are mediocre white men… The law they claim to cherish so much, at least as long as it only pertains to people of color.
Moving on from that, we would like to address the remark made about how the warrant got into the hands of the women who provided it to the police. In a word, that was the work of community.
Build Your Community
A community is more than a group of people living in the same geographic area. It can be in-person or virtual, emotional or physical, fandom- and hobby-based or political. Your community no doubt already exists and is made up of people of various talents, abilities, knowledge, and levels of access to information.
Please look to the women who led the charge to push back against Adam Gotschall’s remarks as an example as to how you can also build or get involved in your community. Their work involved reaching out to others and asking for assistance in this situation. Whether that assistance took the form of speaking up on behalf of the woman who was the subject of the remarks in the “private chat” of 100 MAGA men or obtaining paperwork relevant to Adam Gotschall’s legal troubles, everyone had a role to play in holding him accountable for his words and actions.
When we say build your communities, we don’t just mean your neighbors. We mean in the ideological sense, people who share your beliefs and sense of justice. As an example, Pride celebrations around the world bring together a community of people who are LGBTQIA, their loved ones, friends and allies. However, it’s more than a once a year event, more than the parade and festival. The people who care are there for each other at all times, supporting one another through the good and the bad.
Communities are not selfish. They don’t bow to individualism. Instead, they help others overcome hardships.
MAGA doesn’t understand what it is to be selfless, giving or caring. But those who rallied last night to stand up for the dignity of women, LGBTQIA people, and the Omaha community do understand.
What Can You Do?
Maybe you don’t have a lot of money or you’re not comfortable speaking in public, or you don’t have the physical or emotional ability to volunteer. That’s okay. You are still an important part of your community.
You can write letters to elected representatives and their colleagues (which is exactly what got the Board of Governors to act on this matter last night). You can make public comment on legislative bills, in person or online. You can share your talents with others in ways you might not expect, whether you have specialized knowledge or access to certain information, or other abilities.
We’ve discussed it before (see the posts on Fighting Back, Activism and Craftivism, and Mutual Aid), but it bears reiterating. There are things you can do, regardless of your ability, that are valuable. We need all of them.
If you want to help, and you see a place where you may be able to do that, reach out. Or watch for the signs and signals letting you know that help is needed. And then don’t be afraid to step up.
Sometimes the smallest gestures make the biggest impact.