LETTERS
To the Editors of What She Wants:
Judy Gregory's article "Conscious Consuming" in last month's What She Wants used two paragraphs to mention the increased involvement of feminists and feminist organizations in electoral politics.
While, obviously, this topic could be the subject of a whole issue's worth of debate, analysis and argument, I'd like to make a few comments about feminists and electoral efforts, particularly as they pertain to Cleveland.
'As a staff person in a pro-choice organization, I
News National
CONTENTS
Sonia Johnson and the NOW Election.........6 Cleveland Woman Sues U. of Minnesota......5 Chemical Sterilization...
....6
Local
Rape Crisis Center in Turmoil..
...1
Visiting Nurses Strike........
.4
New Director at WomenSpace.....
.5
Features
Power Relations Among Women...
..7
Conscious Consuming...
Lesbian Battery....
.11 .....10
Find It Fastest....
...back cover
2
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7 .15-19
19
Letters
Reviews.
Commentaries.....
What's Happening.
Classifieds..........
Cover Photo by Suzanne Britt
WHAT SHE WANTS IS:
A monthly news journal produced for all women. We always like input from our readers in the form of articles, personal experiences, poetry, art, announcements, and letters. We welcome women who are willing to help us in specific areas of the paper (writing, lay-out, advertising, distribution, publicity, etc.) and/or who are interested in our collective.
WHAT SHE WANTS ADVOCATES:
...equal and civil rights
...the right to earnings based on our need, merit, and interest ...access to job training, salaries, and promotions we choose ...the right to organize in unions and coalitions to advance our cause ...the right to decent health care and health information ...the right to safe, effective birth control and to safe, legal abortions ...the right to accept or reject motherhood
...the right to choose and express sexual preference without harass-
看 ment
...access to quality education and freedom from prejudice in learning materials
DISTRIBUTION OUTLETS:
Fast: Appletree Books, Coventry Books, CWRU Bookstore, Food Communities, Food Project, Hemming & Hulbert
Central: Barnes & Noble, Isis, Publix Book Mart, WomenSpace West: American Indian Center, CCC Bookstore, Plants Plus, Six Steps Down, Isis
Chagrin Falls: Little Professor Book Center Akron: Cooperative Market
Kent: Keni Natural Foods Store Columbus: Fan the Flames Bookstore Boston, MA: New Words Bookstore
WSW COLLECTIVE Linda Jane, Jean Loria. Mary Walsh WSW ASSOCIATES
Suzanne Britt, Louise Luczak, Gail Powers, Randi Powers, Pat Randle, Susan Woodworth
Page 2/What She Wants/October-November, 1982
couldn't help but notice that,no mention was made of the political organizing done by the Cleveland Abortion Rights Action League in both the 1980 and 1982 elections.
If any women's issue jumps to mind as the issue affecting traditional party politics, certainly abortion rights is it. In the spectrum of single issue battles, abortion has been the impetus for organizing, whether the Moral Majority uses it or the women's vote turns out. In Cleveland, CARAL has been the pioneer organization in influencing candidates to take a particular stand on a specific women's issue-and then backing up that position with money, volunteers and votes. Name a candidate for state or federal representative, and CARAL has been there to "hold their feet to the fire!" Remember, many politicians court the position that offers the most (or threatens the most). The first priority of every candidate is to win. Sometimes, only sometimes, is it their second priority to take a good or fair. or honest position on an issue.
We have a lot to learn about using electoral politics to our ends vs. having women used to maintain an electoral system that offers us very little in return. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have ever really gone to work on behalf of women. And while the thought of "taking over the party" is glamorous, it's highly improbable.
So far, single issue organizing has been one of the few political avenues open to us, mostly for selfprotection. But more than likely we're hindering our own political progress. The examples come to mind easily and almost no group is without guilt. CARAL is concerned only with where a candidates stands on choice, while the Women's Political Caucus in Ohio doesn't even have a stand on that issue, nor does Cleveland Women Working.
Each organization is so afraid of losing the support of its constituency that we are unable to produce and work for a feminist agenda. This arms-length approach keeps women politically fragmented and it means less political clout for all the issues.
Developing women candidates who subscribe to a feminist agenda is a possible solution. But we shouldn't underestimate the difficulty of changing entrenched political systems. One or two good candidates aren't enough to shake up the "old boys' network" of the Democratic Party. Nor should we take on mediocre candidates. Does Mary Rose Oakar have a right to feminist support?
Other states have elected not liberal, but radical or Socialist feminists to office. So at least they have some choice. Wouldn't that be a goal worth working for?
Dear Sisters,
-Christine Link
This letter is to give womyn who have asked for additional information on the land fund, land ownership and We Want the Music Cooperative business structure a clearer picture of our organization, including the land purchase plan.
WWTMC is owned and operated by Lisa and Kristie Vogel. We are two of the five original Collective members who formulated the initial festival plans in 1975. Our beginning legal structure was a Non-Profit Corporation and we remained a collective for the following four years. By 1980 the business had evolved into a cooperative structure with two remaining original collective members (Kris and Lisa) acting as Directors-guiding the progression of the festival and assuming the business liabilities.
The business debts following the 1981 festival (totalling $35,000) forced the closure of the NonProfit business. We then formed a temporary (for profit) Partnership and continued to work in cooperation with the 150 womyn who coordinate the various areas of the festival. The present cooperative
structure is comprised of a group of coordinatorelected representatives with whom we define and establish policies that affect the internal workings of the festival, political policies, and general festival direction. Kristie and I maintain autonomy in the purely business (and purely personal) matters of the festival while individual coordinators maintain autonomy in their respective areas.
The financial backing for the new land has been accumulating from two sources, sources, the business (WWTMC), and community donations (collected through mail, at the festival, and community fundraising events). Separate land fund ledgers have been kept for both income and expenditures. The initial "earnest money" put down on the land bid came from $2,000 in land donations collected at the 1981 festival and $5,000 from the business. Throughout 1982 there has been approximately $10,000 raised for the land primarily through the raffle and miscellaneous donations. The business has invested (1982) $24,480 in land electricity, $9,500 in water wells, $2,000 in road repair, $900 in security gates-totalling $36,880. Each of these investments would have had to be made by anyone purchasing the property and each of these investments will remain on the land if and when we leave. The size of the improvements are of course festival scale, and we are now in the process of figuring out what is really a festival expenditure and what is clearly expected land development. Sizable improvements still need to be made, particularly those needed to provide disabled access to the land.
Given these elements, we will be putting the land deed into the names of Kristie and Lisa Vogel. The policies governing land usage and accompanying issues will be made by Kristie, Lisa and the Coordinator-Representatives. Although we are hopeful about our land donation drive, even with the entire community behind us 100 percent, it will be difficult to raise the remainder of the $50,000 downpayment through contributions by the October 15th deadline. Kris and I each have taken only a $4,000, salary for our full year's work in order to put the remainder of our projected salaries into the land fund. We are presently lining up loans (which at this time are the business's liabilities to help cover whal we are unable to raise through donations and fundraising. We will continue to research an alternative business structure to define our company and the land ownership. We will also continue to research investment possibilities that are broader-ranged than donations and loans. But for now this is where we stand.
We realize that some womyn may have difficulty with two womyn's names being on this deed. We hope that this letter clarifies our reasoning for this choice. We understand that other womyn simply wanted to know what was doing-and we hope that this letter answers your questions. We know that we need the support of our community, both soulfully and financially, to pull this project off. We also know that we're asking for this help within a short time frame in order to meet the October 15th deadline. We can do it if you're with us, and we here are doing all we can.
There will be other updates coming through the womyn's press on our progress with securing the land and our evolving legal/organizational structures. Please feel free to write with your questions, criticisms, suggestions and support. We'll answer you as quickly and as thoroughly as we can. Thank you for your consideration.
Womonkindly, Lisa Vogel
for We Want the Music
Cooperative
1501 Lyons Street
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858