DFNYC And This Blog

As my blog expands its readership, some concerns have been raised. I take this opportunity to make a few things clear, because I expect the readership of this blog to expand more as the mayoral election progresses, and I seem to be getting more sucked into it. I mean, if Dean keeps showing up, I am going to keep showing up.

I am a staunch member of DFNYC, and I might be one of the very first members of Dean 2008. But this blog is not officially affiliated with DFNYC. The organization has its official site. This blog is one person talking. I usually will post a blog entry and then email the permalink for it to a few people over email. That way I take less space in their inbox. And they get to see the topic before they decide if they want to even click on the link. If they choose not to, that just shows their interest did not get piqued. Which is just fine. And my politics is not my private life, it is my public life. I think I am already at a point where I don't know my entire readership. And that is great. I would love to have a ton of readership.

I want to make that absolutely clear. I would have thought that was already clear. It is in the nature of the blog to be that way. This is Paramendra Bhagat's blog.

Blogging is not just writing, although writing it is. Blogging is not reporting, although it can be that. Blogging is blogging. It has to be seen as something new and kind of stand-alone.

Blogs are brainscans of the crowd's mind.

I encourage more and more DFNYC members and Deaniacs to get into blogging. Let a million blogs bloom.

Having a blog is like having an email account, I think. It is that fundamental. If you are not going to launch one now, I think you are going to do it later.

And I do expect to deal with some social progressive issues also within the progressive movement. And I am up for it. The productive way for people who are genuinely trying to get along is to keep an open channel of communication at the collective identity level also.

If you are a 6, you are still within the Democratic camp on social issues, but you are not a 9 yet.

2008: Some Themes

If there is a common sense assumption out there that there is some sort of a hiearachy - white male, white female, minority male, minority female - I don't subscribe to it. Not in my personal space. I am a progressive, seriously.

I think for the most part we interact as individuals, but channels of communication have to be kept open at the collective identity level also. We need to expand the agenda.

Like on gender. We need to expand it beyond foetus talk. We need to dig up issues and comfortably talk about them.

Race and gender are mirror images to each other.

Race Relations, Pesonal Relations, Free Trade
Gender Consciousness Vs. Feminist Consciousness
The Intersection of Race and Gender Relations: A Contemporary Perspective