I think there's a combo of why and to what end people speak out on different things. Some of it's harassment, yeah, but some of it's also a question of goals — ie. Allyson Felix encouraging women to vote is a goal that aligns with who she is and what she's about, but every person I know posting their specific thoughts to FB about what the Democratic Party "needs to do" is not really very useful.
(I mean if they need to get those feelings out, sure, that's up to them. But one very quickly gets into a situation where there becomes a judgement or expectation of saying something online v. not over and over, and saying something online is not necessarily the same as doing work offline on those issues, right. It's the thing I always think: If someone need to get their feelings out publicly that's understandable, but conversely not performing your feelings publicly also doesn't mean anything other than that.)
I also think, from a 'what to say' standpoint — ie. writing a newsletter — it becomes a little bit about what can you add that only you can add. I've seen a lot of newsletters come out about what Kamala "did wrong" or what the US should learn, from writers whose beats are not political analysis. Writing, here on Fast Women, about how this election impacts running and the trends and concerns you've seen play out in the women's sports space makes sense, because it comes from a place of knowledge and expertise. If that makes sense?
This is a wonderful post — I loved the interview with Emma Grace and also the time and attention you pay to the running world writ large (and how it fits into the larger cultural and political landscape). Thank you for all you do!
Thanks Alison, I appreciate your words and I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said. You summed it up better then I ever could.
Thank you for this post…all of it. 💙
I think there's a combo of why and to what end people speak out on different things. Some of it's harassment, yeah, but some of it's also a question of goals — ie. Allyson Felix encouraging women to vote is a goal that aligns with who she is and what she's about, but every person I know posting their specific thoughts to FB about what the Democratic Party "needs to do" is not really very useful.
(I mean if they need to get those feelings out, sure, that's up to them. But one very quickly gets into a situation where there becomes a judgement or expectation of saying something online v. not over and over, and saying something online is not necessarily the same as doing work offline on those issues, right. It's the thing I always think: If someone need to get their feelings out publicly that's understandable, but conversely not performing your feelings publicly also doesn't mean anything other than that.)
I also think, from a 'what to say' standpoint — ie. writing a newsletter — it becomes a little bit about what can you add that only you can add. I've seen a lot of newsletters come out about what Kamala "did wrong" or what the US should learn, from writers whose beats are not political analysis. Writing, here on Fast Women, about how this election impacts running and the trends and concerns you've seen play out in the women's sports space makes sense, because it comes from a place of knowledge and expertise. If that makes sense?
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This is a wonderful post — I loved the interview with Emma Grace and also the time and attention you pay to the running world writ large (and how it fits into the larger cultural and political landscape). Thank you for all you do!
You are not alone in feeling devastated. I’m so sad, angry, and disappointed. Thank you for writing this!