It’s About Community, Not Competition

By Jorge Antonio Vallejos

I’ve been running my website for two years and five months.  My concept in terms of how I highlight writers is original: review, interview, video.  It’s a whole week on a writer.  How I weave my politics in to the site is cool but other writers do the same. 

Many other writers.

And sometimes the stuff that I post compliments and overlaps with what other writers post.  We strengthen our causes and learn from each other.

Yesterday, a friend turned new blogger wrote me an email that was surprising and nice:

Hey sweets,

heads up on direction that blog post from last week is taking….looks like I’ll be doing a regular (weekly) go at it so I wanted to touch base with you. I just got a domain on Dreamhost and got WordPress up on it. I want to make sure before I give this a go that we’re on the same page and that I don’t tread on any toes because we share so many intersecting commonalities….thoughts? I want to go in the right direction and be mindful of the wonderful work that is already out there…

Both of us are of colour and have lefty politics.  We care about many of the same issues:

Stopping Violence Against Women

Indigenous Solidarity

Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women

Queer Rights

Ending Racism

I was touched and I responded immediately:

M,

That is so considerate of you.

We are community, NOT competition!

Write away!

Did you see my last VLOG: Write Your Path. Check it and SHARE.

We should do coffee as fellow bloggers and share ideas. If you have any questions I can share what I know, and vice versa.

Hugs,

BCP

She responded:

I would love to have coffee and talk! Better yet, give me a few days to kick this flu and come for dinner so I can send you off with some books, as promised…

There are so many things to write about.  Just because we may highlight the same issues does not mean we are the same people.  Even though we have similar politics we approach things from different angles.  We all have our own writing style and our own ideas about how to do things. 

And not everything will overlap.  For example, I have not written anything on the Idle No More movement.  Everyone is doing that from big media to little known blogs.  And many are doing a much better job than I would as their hearts are solely focused on the issue.  I’m focused on literature with lots of politics mixed in.  My site can be one that people view before or after they read about Idle No More and the many other movements and topics I do not write about.

There’s room for all of us.  We may have visions for the same destination such as ending oppression but we’re all on our own paths.

She ended our correspondence with:

I like the ‘Community, not competition’ sentiment… I share it whole-heartedly…

Love, 


M