Fight Like A Mother

Fight Like A Mother

Adult nonfiction
December 14, 2012 was a day many of us will never forget. I had
just stopped by Asa Adams Elementary which was one of the schools
covered by the school committee I was then vice chair of. I have no
clue what business I'd been there to conduct because people directed
my attention to breaking coverage of the Sandy Hook shooting. It
kinda knocked all other thoughts out of my head.
My children were in school: my daughters at the University of
Maine, my son starting his first year at Bangor High. I couldn't
imaging the horror experienced by the children and teachers trapped in
a worst nightmare come to life in a place where (damn it) they
deserved to feel safe or the terror experienced by the parents rushing
to the scene, some to be confronted with the worst kind of loss
imaginable.
That same morning Shannon Watts was at home folding laundry when
she heard the news. Like my kids her children were all in school.
Her heart broke for the small, terrified children and the parents
frantically racing to the school, some to be confronted by the need to
bury a beloved son or daughter.
"Devastatingly, what had happened inside the school was worse
than anyone could have imagined. That morning, a twenty-year-old man
had used a semiautomatic rifle and two semiautomatic pistols to shoot
his way through the locked doors of a small-town elementary school--an
iconic representation of the innocence of childhood--and murder six
educators and twenty first-graders as they hid in bathrooms and
closets."
Watts knew that the empty condolences unaccompanied by action
once again being offered by pundits and officials were not enough.
She went online to find a community of like minded people...
...and came up empty. There were small groups working on local
issues, but nothing of the magnitude she envisioned. She created a
Facebook page which she titled One Million Moms for Gun Control (later
renamed Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America).
"This site is dedicated to action on gun control--not just dialogue
about anti-gun violence. Change will require action by angry
Americans outside of Washington, DC..."
Watts immediately began getting likes and messages. Other women
had been traumatized and angered by news of Sandy Hook. They wanted
to join her organization before she even realized that she had one.
And what an organization! Moms Demand Action became David to the
powerful NRA (and their minions in government) Goliath. Within six
years a highly organized cadre of hundreds of thousands of volunteers
had become a force to be reckoned with, helping get good gun safety
bills passed and bad gun bills axed all over the country.
Watts' Fight Like A Mother tells the fascinating history of her
organization through a very effective lens. Each chapter is framed
around an activist strategy such as "Build the Plane as You Fly It"
and (my favorite) "Channel Your Inner Badass." That's because she
knows that there are a lot of moms with potential to be effective
activists sitting on the sideline for reasons like lack of self
confidence. The goal of the book is to get them knowledgeable,
confident, and inspired enough to make a difference in the world.
Whether you're on the sidelines, angry or worried about events
in the world, and wanting to find out how to channel these feelings
into something more productive than depression and anxiety, a seasoned
activist wanting to learn new ways to be effective, or anywhere in
between, you will find Fight Like A Mother to be a must read. Believe
me--it will charge your batteries.
On a purrrsonal note, I can't remember when I wasn't an activist. I
was a little kid when my parents led a successful fight to save our
working waterfront neighborhood from Urban Renewal. That taught me
that if something wrong is going down you fight even if the odds feel
stacked against you. It took me three years, for example, to get
elected to school committee in a town where I was largely considered
trailer park trash. Once elected, I served 11 years as a voice for
lower income children and families, over half of my tenure as vice
chair or chair. Currently I fit my activism in with the demands of
working my way through graduate school while commuting and maintaining
home and family. I mostly volunteer through working canteen and
donating (one pint away from ten gallons) at Red Cross blood drives,
shelf reading in the juvenile wing of Orono Public Library, fighting
food insecurity through a community garden and an on campus food
pantry, and taking part in lots of UMaine events. What I love best is
being an empowering influence on the many undergraduates who trust
their Aunt Jules.
A great big shout out goes out to the moms (and allies) out there
fighting for a better world for our children because we are beautiful,
bold, and badass.
jules hathaway


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