Protesting is so hard, but I must continue.

Protesting and demonstrating is really hard. Picketing is mentally tough. Talking with Tea partiers and conservatives who have misinformation and racist classist ideas is really difficult. After my last action, I was mentally spent. It is difficult to stand up for my beliefs, but I have to do it.

I have learned how to calmly discuss these issues with the misinformed. I can keep things from escalating to a yelling match, which is important. I am good at keeping things civil.

But what I can not handle is the number of people who believe the lie that public sector unions are bringing down the economy, and that if we can only eliminate them, we will magically have great education systems and lots of money just like Utah, Texas, Mississippi, Arizona, oh wait, it didn't work out so well in those places..... oh well.

I am not going to individually decry every statement from every whack-a-nut conservative fake statistics factory right here, but I can. I have good information and a good argument in favor of public sector unions, the reasonable funding of public schools (the voucher program described in this budget will segregate the schools), and The need to not make these horrendous, unnecessary changes to Badgercare.

I actually haven't had a lot of opportunity to talk to pro-walker supporters face to face. I get a lot of yelling, lots of one-liners, and handouts full of random statistics from the Maciver institute, and the few times I have been around Pro-walker people, they have really wanted to make a point, but would not listen to anything that I have had to say. Of course, part of what I am saying is that to support Walker is to deliberately and needlessly hurt the most vulnerable of society; That to support this 'budget' is to allow too much power to one man over for the state badgercare program; that to not fund ESL in public schools is in effect racist, and that public workers are just the lastest group targeted by the GOP, as the cause of all of our problems.

Remember 'welfare queens' from 1995? Yeah, well, turns out there really weren't any. So there was a giant uproar, tons of welfare reform, which was a solution without a problem. The whole 'welfare queens' deal did serve to unite conservatives in hating poor black women with children, which is always good for America.

Part of this targeting of public employees is to build up support among conservatives so they can be united in their hatred of something. 10 years ago it was illegal immigrants- remember the giant wall proposed on the Mexico border?- and the right still hates non-english speakers, but there are more public workers, they are more visible, and they also play into all of the anti-intellectual fears of the right.

I am not sure how to best fight against this fear mongering, but fight against it I must.

I have been avoiding extra curricular activities at my church because I know that many people there are sympathetic to the Conservative anti-union, anti-public employee, anti-immigrant(racist), anti-social safety net stance of this Administration. However that is about to change. I have been sleeping outside, carrying signs, singing and praying in public for this cause. I am recommitting to talk to people being duped by the tea party who are in my life. I do not want my inaction to be misinterpreted as consent to their crazy ideas. I am not going to bring it up, but I am not backing away when the subject is introduced.

I am sure that it won't make any difference in general, but when I was a kid I believed the lies about welfare queens and that the poor were less morally good than the wealthy. It took a few good history classes, several good books, and one excellent sociology class to change my mind. Education does work, so I have to go out everyday and educate the population about these issues.

I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to be educated, and also to be exposed to times of unemployment and poverty because if not, I may still be a fearful, close-minded conservative.