Help DKG Solidarity Group celebrate Valentine's Day! This story is part of a series of I ❤️ DK Guild posts written by Community members to show their support for the writing, activism, and site services work of DK Guild members. All of us together make Daily Kos the most vibrant progressive community on the net. Let's do everything we can to keep it that way!
Many years ago I was a student in what was then West Germany. It was an eye-opening experience for a privileged white student. It was in a beautiful university town that I first learned about solidarity.
The Viet Nam War was still in progress, and many German students were outraged about the kinds of atrocities that war brought. Our university was something of a hotbed for political fervor, and it had acquired the name: die rote Universität. (The red university.) The larger groups were Marxists or Leninists, but there were so many permutations, not even they could tell you how many.
So solidarity was clearly very political, and they cared a great deal about exploitation of labor, and how people were treated and respected in every scenario, not just in war.
Flash forward very many years and we find so many of our friends and allies under threat with their jobs, even here, on a supposedly progressive political website.
Many years later, I was asked to be part of a Valentine’s Day diary initiative supporting these exceptional people. Honored to oblige.
In 2013 I wrote a diary about an episode of the old tv series, M*A*S*H, starring Alan Alda and other greats actors of the period. The episode in Question was first shown in Season Two, Episode 7, on Oct. 27, 1973. It featured a story in which Hawkeye (Alda’s character) had fallen in love with a lieutenant played by Corinne Comacho. (Interestingly, she has a wikipedia page on wikipedia’s German website, but not on the English language site, though IMDB has her listed.)
One of the enlisted soldiers in the camp had become involved with a Korean girl, which resulted in a baby. The soldier wanted to marry her and take her and the baby home with him, as he was due to be shipped back very soon. So Hawkeye was working to clear out the roadblocks for this young family. He wound up missing a rendezvous with the lieutenant, so she asked about it.
She wasn’t happy to learn that Hawkeye had prioritized helping a Korean over spending time with her. But her surprise was nothing compared to Hawkeye’s, at learning that the lieutenant was so racist. So he ended the relationship, unable to reconcile his attraction for her with his awareness of her racist attitudes. Not all attractiveness is more than skin deep.
So, how does that pertain to Daily Kos Guild facing layoffs for some of its members?
Our Daily Kos Guild friends and allies are beautiful in ways Hawkeye’s lieutenant was not. Their beauty is way beyond skin deep. They support our workers, they support women, they support children, the elderly, minorities of most every kind. They support our schools, they support our workers, they support our environment, our planet, our democracy …
I know you know all of this. We have worked on and enjoyed this site with them for years, so we know them pretty well, even if we haven’t met in person. We know their inner beauty, their moral beauty.
What more would we ask of those we love? What more could we ask of those beside whom we stand, work and fight?
The members of Daily Kos Guid deserve our support, and it was in this spirit this diary was written. Thank you for reading.
How to Support the Daily Kos Guild:
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Leave a comment, even if it is just a word or two, to let them know you are an ally. Memes, gifs, union logos, photos, emojis, anything—say hello!
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Follow the DKG Solidarity group!
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Share a link to all stories posted within the DK Guild Solidarity group on all social media, and tag us @DailyKosGuild on Twitter and Instagram.
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Use these hashtags when possible: #DailyKosGuild #NegotiateWithDKG #Solidarity
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Please sign the DK Guild petition: Tell Daily Kos to uphold its mission, values, and commitment to working people, and share the petition link with others
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Finally, a note to our DK Guild friends. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the hard work you have put in for our party and our people (and our site). It is deeply appreciated. I hope this is not farewell, but even if it is, we know you will continue working to make ours a better, safer world. That’s why we love you. And wish you the best, always.