2022 Book Two: Fight Like a Mother by Shannon Watts

 As a mother, educator, daughter, sibling, aunt, great-aunt, cousin, friend, neighbor and community member, I will tell you that every time a life is lost to senseless violence, I ache. Accidental deaths are often beyond our control, but purposeful death or deaths due to negligence are not beyond our control. Too many of us express frustration, worry, sadness and anger when these deaths occur, but too few of us act in ways that promote positive change. 

That is why I chose Shannon Watts' book, Fight Like a Mother, to read. I want to hear the story of how one woman moved from frustration to action. I want to find ways to follow her lead because to idly sit back and hear day after day about the senseless death of innocents to gun violence is a poor response to a situaiton we can change. 

As I read the book, I'll enter Watts' world, consider her thoughts and actions and make some decisions about next steps. My first book of 2022 was Randall Kennedy's, Say it Loud, which served to strengthen my resolve to work against racial inequities and prejudice in the culture, systems, discussion and decisions. Throughout the book, Kennedy describes one inhumane situation after another as well as the many ways advocates worked to make positive change. The book affirmed that we have to learn about our history to change it, and we need to also learn about the way people in the past have been successful with that work 

I will provide notes related to each chapter of Watts' book as I read. 

Introduction

Shannon Watts, a mother of five, brings us into her world on that terrible December 14, 2012 morning when children were massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. I too remember that day and like Watts, I wanted to reach out and help those children, educators and family members. Later I read everything I could about the situation coming the conclusion that many stayed quiet as a mother introduced her troubled, challenged son to guns, likely did not provide the supports needed for the child and left those guns accessible to him. Also society had no laws/policies barring the challenged child from accessing lethal weapons. This carnage could have been avoided with better parenting and better laws/policies related to supporting challenged youth and gun access/use. 

Watts started the Facebook Page: Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. I now follow tht page and joined the movement. 

Chapter One: Use MOMentum

Watts discusses the start of the gun safety advocacy. She reminds women everywhere that "You have so much potential to effect change--more than you know." In the chapter, Watts describes what activists can do to create change. She erases the myth that an activist has to work around the clock or chain themselves to fences to effect change, and shows us the many ways we can contribute to advocacy. She states, "Some activism is better than none. Every action, no matter how small, is like drips on a rock--over time, they can carve a canyon through even the thickest, most immovable layer of rock."

Watts remind us of women's power by telling us that women comprise the majority of the voting population and make 80% of spending decisions for their families. She cautions us about not claiming our motherhood and letting others use it as a weapon with the words, ". . . let's refraim our ability to manage all the things we do as the perfect qualifications for moving mountains." In this chapter,  many creative ways that Moms Demand Action employ are described. Watt's demonstrates how our advocacy spreads when she writes, "When you demonstrate your commitment, the naysayers in your life often become supportive--and sometimes they even get involved."

Chapter Two: Build the Plane as You Fly It

Watts encourages those who feel passionate about an idea to not let a need to be perfect get in the way, instead get started. She describes her own start with Moms Demand Action including the fears she had. She notes, ". . .you have to be very careful about whose voices you let in your head." as well as the need to find out what you don't know from people who know that information, "borrow the expertise of others." Watts also encourages people to accept and trust the help others offer and resist the urge to do it all with the words, ". .you've got to ensure that the workload is shared. Sharing the work in an organized way keeps engagement high and builds a foundation for long-term growth." There will be mistakes, Watts reminds us, and then advises with the words, "I've learned that acknowledging mistakes, correcting them quickly, and then meeting with your leadership team to break down what happened and how to avoid it in the future is as effective an approach for volunteer organizations as it is for Fortune 500 companies."

Chapter Three: Channel Your Inner Badass