Like a lot of activists, I was skeptical of what was going on at Occupy Wall Street, but started showing up just to see what it was all about. And then ended up staying. And then ended up volunteering and committing to “un-guy” OWS.

Which last night meant asserting a progressive stack at the Internet Working Group meeting, so that white tech dudes would not dominate the conversation (and calling out one directly when he continued to jump process to do so).

Which meant joining a smaller working group to ensure the stories of people who are actually on the ground at Occupy Wall Street are making it online, to counter the images of brogressivism and manarchism that have dominated.

It takes a lot of work and persistence to hold the Left accountable. I can understand completely why it is exhausting, why it makes people reluctant to do it. But this is so early. At the end of the meeting, we — a group of women and queer folks — had all got admin access to the “official” website, started an “official” Tumblr to share more firsthand accounts to complicate the OWS narrative, and are meeting over the next few days when we can to figure out how to share the richness and complexity of what’s going on down there. I’m not on-board with all of it, but I want people who cannot be in the Park to have an accurate picture of what’s going on before they come to conclusions about whether or not it merits their support.