Choose Your Fighter: Moms v Moms Edition

By Jen Maravegias | Politics | June 26, 2023 |

By Jen Maravegias | Politics | June 26, 2023 |

“I am sure we’re all sick to death of ‘Moms For Liberty’, the far-right hate group that sprang forth from the minds of three Florida Karens in 2021. They’ve weaponized the term “woke” and are using it to rally other Karens to ban books and quote Hitler nationwide.

As a group, they’ve become adept at using social media to target teachers, librarians, and administrators; accusing them of trying to “indoctrinate” children into a lifestyle of empathy, compassion, and knowledge. They portray themselves as a larger group than they actually are. But make no mistake, their numbers are growing. Supporters of the group won 40% of the seats on New York City’s parent councils in a recent election. (Just a quick reminder that voting matters, people! Even in NYC!)

They’re dangerous, and sometimes it feels like there’s no way to fight them, because how do you fight moms? Who signs up for that? Other moms do.

While doom-scrolling the other day, I stumbled across some Tweets by a group called ‘Moms For Libros,’ who also have an Instagram page. This small group, based in Florida, is fighting back against DeSantis’ reign of censorship and hatred. Although they don’t have a website yet, you can go here to sign up for their newsletter, which is full of local calls to action. It may not seem like much, but remember, ‘Moms for Liberty’ was just three-Karens tall when it started, and they’ve captured national attention and even have a presidential candidate speaking at one of their summits. (Please, no one vote for that guy.)

Can positive messages of acceptance spread as quickly as messages of hate and divisiveness? Probably not. Hate and fear are easy, lazy emotions. That’s why they spread like wildfire and are effective in motivating the base supporters of political groups. But it’s encouraging to see that the opposition is finding vocal, local support that wants to get into the game and shake things up on behalf of all that is good, decent, and “woke.”

‘Moms for Liberty’ couldn’t have accomplished what it has without organizing parents to back their actions. If we’re going to effectively fight back against the group’s rhetoric and actions, we need to organize. Maybe ‘Moms For Libros’ is the group we need as a rallying point.

The header picture is of Christie Cantin Davis, who ran (and lost) as a Florida State Rep in 2022 and then created the I Woke Up In Florida campaign to inspire residents to get involved in politics and social causes. And they have shirts! I wear a large, in case anyone’s buying.