Why I am Suiting Up And Showing Up for the BATS Rally (and You Should Too)
By Morna McDermott
United Opt Out administrator
The BATS are holding an event at the steps of the US Dept. of Education this coming Sunday and Monday. There are a myriad of reasons why I am attending, which I will expound upon here …and none of them has to do with Arne Duncan.
If, following the event (to which we hope thousands will attend) Arne steps outside with a facial expression that resembles Woody from Toy Story and smacks his forehead and says, “Oh my God, you’re right!” and ends his reign of terror over public education, I’ll eat my protest cowboy hat (shown here).
No….that’s not gonna happen. So…WHY should we attend? Here’s why:
Rewind to 2011 and the SOS March and Rally in Washington DC. I became involved with that event because of my dear friend Bess Altwerger who was one of the lead organizers. I spent my summer crafting a cemetery symbolizing the death of public education.
I brought 60 dolls in boxes, made by students and teachers from around the country as a message saying we refuse to be “boxed in” by standardized testing.
There, I met Ceresta Smith and Laurie Murphy, both original co-administrators for United Opt Out, which sprung forward following that event.
In April of 2012 United Opt Out, not even a year old, held an “Occupy the US Dept of Education” four- day event. During those days I met more amazing people from all over the country, including Ruth Rodriguez, Rosemarie Jensen, and Denisha Jones, all of whom have recently joined the UOO administrative team. It’s where I met Becky Smith, who following meeting people at that event is now a leader in the SOS community. And it was here that I first heard the phrase “Bad Ass Teacher Association” ever uttered.
In April of 2013 UOO rallied again at the steps of the US Dept of Ed….Arne was out of town. Who cares. I met even more amazing people, and forged new friendships and rekindled connections with folks I had not seen since Occupy 2012. What keeps me going in this fight are the relationships and friendships I have made over the years.
In April 2014, UOO went to Denver. We tapped into the strengths and needs of a local community, and realized the power that making time to meet and organize can have. Sure, our website was hacked and totally destroyed that same weekend. But I met (or re connected with folks)—we all walked away with new sets of tools and ideas to MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. We have actualized so many of them already.
In June of 2014 I attended the WA BATS rally at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I reconnected with familiar faces like Becca Ritchie and Anthony Cody. I finally got to meet social media friends like Susan DuFresne and Michal Pena.
The moral of the story is this: None of these alliances, friendships, campaigns, events, movements happen unless we are there to make them happen.
The events of this coming week are not for, or about Arne Duncan or the US Dept of Education (speaking for myself at least)…it’s for, and about, us.
The revolution will not happen on Facebook. Social media is a powerful tool for organizing and sharing information, for making new friends –or provoking (in)fighting on occasion which saps our collective energies in unnecessary ways. Whether good or bad….corporate reform will not stop because any of us spent enough of our time talking with one another on Twitter, Facebook, or our blogs. Corporate reform will end when we continue to suit up and show up whenever and where ever we can. We march, we block school closures, we talk back at legislative sessions, we host informational meetings to help parents, we show up to support teachers–the list goes on with one thing in common: WE SHOW UP. We need solidarity and we need each other.It’s hard not to feel defeated on a regular basis. Sometimes marches and rallies become game changers…sometimes not. But something powerful always happens, every time for me. I create stronger, more trusting and much needed alliances and friendships. I always….always…leave changed for the better.
I have attended events that have had thousands of people…while others were attended by a dozen at best. They all mattered,because I was there. Not because I am “so important” but because if I don’t show up, it means I have given up. We can only be defeated by a mentality of “why bother?” As Elie Wiesel said, “the opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” If we don’t show up—at PTA meetings, Board of Ed meetings, protests, info sessions, union meetings—they will take our democracy and public Why I am Suiting Up And Showing Up for the BATS Rally (and You Should Too) - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform: