Connecting with Joy

 Yesterday was one of the most joyous ever, despite the chaos. There were far more, and far more delightful, people dressed in lingerie and PRIDE flags than there were misogynist men and women calling for everyone to shut up and ask their imaginary leader for protection from their thoughts and actions. It was so very noisy, amusing, and inspiring.

Those community members came to make sure that the center of town remains the community gathering place as declared in the 1850s, which though transformed many times with streets and buildings, is still powerful in its role and championing of free speech. The ugly pictures and intolerant ravings of people set on imposing their will on the majority did not win a thing yesterday, and were ebulliently escorted off the blocks when they decided to give up. Their message of silencing women and others was not getting across as women and others would not be silenced. 

My position throughout has been to ignore these proselytizers, whom I call the X-tians, who are from some other planet from the one I live on. Disrupting my day of work in the space I rent is not a fair plan from them, so I refuse to give them my energy. But I also support clowning them as hard as possible, which is what happened so well yesterday.

Amid the cold and inopportune showers, I tried to remain working and had a successful time of it. My foot hurt all day but I stand up, which is part of my success and I enjoy it. As always I got a lot of appreciation, visits from friends and neighbors, and food for thought from observing the actions and words around me. It's heaven for a writer and I wrote 12 pages today without even trying. I doubt I will ever run out of things to say.

Maintaining the frame of mind to do it is the challenge. I'm lucky to know people who can see me in my best light and stick with me while I shine. It's a gratifying time for me, with all of the current Kareng Fund success and a solid 50 years of membership behind me. I'm proud of what we built together and care about so deeply. I'm happy to host the community to come and express themselves, whether I agree or disagree with their thoughts and words. We wouldn't attract those X-tians and their formidable opposition if we weren't the power center that we are.

The irony was thick, as leaders from my own organization struck out to deny the rights of me and my fellow observers and joyful warriors. A leader sent out a market-wide email, something that is not available to most of us, to say that there are three bad actors who need to be removed from the membership for their opinions, but it landed badly and caused a lot of nasty comments on his apparent FB post, which I did not see. I did see a lot of people agreeing with his position, that throwing out members with derision and marginalization is a good value for our leadership to hold, and actions to take against their fellow members when they don't agree with them. Really? 

He didn't name names, so there were some people who think we are friends who piled on me, their friend. Would they really throw me out? Anyone who knows any history at all has seen me in it. I would say there is a preponderance of evidence that I work for the common good, lead from the middle, and care deeply about what the members want and need, coming from a deep understanding of our membership. It was obvious that there are plenty of members who don't know who these three people are, and were willing to believe the false narrative that there are only three of us having problems. It's in the hundreds, folks, which is why the leadership is so desperate to put out this fire.

Nobody likes to be lied to and manipulated and used, but I do think the truth will come out. I see that credit for the financials was not given to the Treasurer who resigned after preparing them and doing so for free for two years. He was so quickly erased and his words not shared, that it astonishes me. He told me something no one is being told...the 2025 taxes have not yet been paid. Those were due at the end of our fiscal year, March 31st. That should come out of 2025 income. So that financial statement is not exactly accurate. The previous year that happened took a result of "just" $30,000 in losses to $70,000. Yes, a deficit of $70,000. And no one was accountable for that, clear, obvious, mismanagement of our money by our manager. It is in the GM job description. That person in that position is accountable for that duty to keep us fiscally responsible. Not the volunteer Treasurer or the Budget Committee, who did their jobs. The "lead professional." And the Board Chair is the boss of that employee, so the Board is also responsible. 

So firing the GM has been on the table. It's not something that just came up from 3 people. The truth is we are operating beyond our means, and nothing is being done about it but a series of crippling fee raises. It sounds like a lot of people spoke about the fees and finances at the Town Hall, but we still don't have the leadership to address it beyond putting bandaids on it. Because everything is fine!

Everything is so not fine. Half the reserved members did not come yesterday, mostly because they prefer not to sell in iffy weather, and no doubt some members looked at the costs of gas, the raised fees, and their own increased materials costs and said no to what could have been a marginal selling day. We will see this more often, the higher the costs go. We are not in a normal situation that is going to be fixed by selling some branded merchandise, particularly since we don't have a skilled artist on staff to direct or create such merch. I know. I sold my own, created, produced, and paid for by me, for four years with no institutional support. I donated 50 to 100% of the money I made to the market, in 2020 through 2023, when I turned to donating 50% to the Kareng Fund instead, where the need was greater. I got not one post by the market celebrating said merch. Not one, even after I asked for it. Customers loved it. I donated more than $4000. 

I stopped making it and gave the rest away when I began to truly see how much vitriol was being directed at me by the so-called wonderful staff I was paying for. I know what they said, and are saying now, to make a narrative where I am deserving of banning from the community. I know what my reality is. I don't recognize the narrative where everything is fine. For whom?  

Members losing their member rights, being banned from selling, losing their investments, being coerced to sign loyalty pledges that only go one way (supporting staff, not members or the org in general) all know what is not fine. We are being slow-walked to our demise as an organization that ought to be above destruction, as important as it is to thousands of people in our city and region.

And, amidst that miasma of irony and pain, every Saturday we come and connect with our joy. We smile until we hurt, affirm our long, lifetime friendships and family relationships, as well as thr brand new ones, and keep growing together in harmony week by week as we have for all this time. We stand there, feet hurting, and give. And give, and receive to give some more. 

Artisans are among the most generous, loving people in the world, which comes from the way our hands fit our clay, our tools bite into our wood, our stitches line up in graceful lines and spirals. Our kids learn to bake, to make things, to appreciate the process of it and the sometimes awkward results as we work together and apart to make our world hold meaning that can be shared. The value doesn't even fully translate on a day like yesterday, when we struggled to do it in the disarray, the disorder, and the beautiful dissension that is free speech.

So maybe kicking out three or four people who care enough to speak up might be a little shortsighted. Don't just listen to me, though. Think for yourself. 

On Saturday, did you stand with the bullies, or the liberators? What flag are you waving? Mine looks like this: 

 And this: