WebDems
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Jeff Gannon -- brought low by the Marge Piercy principle as it was applied by netizens, February 8, 2005.
The Low Road by Marge Piercy
What can they do
to you? Whatever they want.
They can set you up, they can
bust you, they can break
your fingers, they can
burn your brain with electricity,
blur you with drugs till you
can't walk, can't remember, they can
take your child, wall up
your lover. They can do anything
you can't stop them
from doing. How can you stop
them? Alone, you can fight,
you can refuse, you can
take what revenge you can
but they roll over you.
But two people fighting
back to back can cut through
a mob, a snake-dancing file
can break a cordon, an army
can meet an army.
Two people can keep each other
sane, can give support, conviction,
love, massage, hope, sex.
Three people are a delegation,
a committee, a wedge. With four
you can play bridge and start
an organization. With six
you can rent a whole house,
eat pie for dinner with no
seconds, and hold a fund raising party.
A dozen make a demonstration.
A hundred fill a hall.
A thousand have solidarity and your own newsletter;
ten thousand, power and your own paper;
a hundred thousand, your own media;
ten million, your own country.
It goes on one at a time,
it starts when you care
to act, it starts when you do
it again and they said no,
it starts when you say We
and know you who you mean, and each
day you mean one more.
And so it goes with the growing chorus of righteous zeal from the blogosphere. It took nearly a year, from my first post on this blog to today's message of resignation from Gannon. And it took a mighty band of netizens to learn enough about Gannon to force him to step aside. (Details are available at KOS and DU.)
Gannon sent me a pesky, impertinent e-mail soon after the November election. He wrote "Where are you? In January, I'll still be in the White House."
Power to the people, baby. It starts when we say "we."
