So what is this “Fiery Roots U.S.A. project” mentioned in the letter Chairman Paulk said contained “veiled threats”? LAKE couldn’t find any threats in the letter, and we hadn’t heard of its author, Russell Anderson, so let’s look at the organization he lists, whose name didn’t ring a bell with us, either.

The “Fiery Roots U.S.A. project” says:

Collective Progression’s mission is to engage individuals and grassroots organizations in order to document social and environmental justice struggles and solutions. We will be providing live and online trainings, resources, and networking opportunities that empower people to effect positive change in their communities.

Hm, well, except for the specific focus, that’s pretty much what LAKE does. More:

CollectiveProgression.org seeks to document community struggles and initiatives by meeting people where they are in their experience, goals, and capacities. We hope this will increase awareness of the interrelation of seemingly isolated community struggles by providing a platform that enables people to share experiences and connect with a broader audience. We will strive to achieve this while maintaining an open spirit of collaboration and a deep respect for the experiences and understandings of the local communities.

That sounds awful like the flip side of “Covering the planners to connect the dots”, which was the theme of our most recent LAKE meeting. We mostly concentrate on covering existing governmental and related organizations. It sounds like this “Fiery Roots” concentrates more on covering non-governmental groups.

The motto of CollectiveProgression.org is:

Firing up the Grassroots!

Maybe some readers aren’t familiar with the obvious allusion to the Obama campaign’s call-and-response slogan:

Fired up! Ready to go!

That’s fired up as in “fire in the belly” and enthusiastic for the task. Presumably that’s where the “Fiery” in Fiery Roots comes from: fired-up grassroots organizing. What is so scary about that?

Maybe a bit too fired up and in need of some reflection before posting, judging by the way their letter rambled into calling out the Langdales, who so far as I know have no known connection with the particular project questioned by the letter. However, that’s not surprising for a couple of recent college graduates, which appears to be who Fiery Roots is.

What is surprising is the intemperant response. Swatting at gnats just makes people wonder what smell has attracted them, far more than letting them buzz ever would.

-jsq

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