I've been following the dismissive and sometimes ugly posts and comments about the quantity and quality of writings in the TPMCafe.  I've had a chance to sleep on it now.  I don't really care about the origins of the posts or the comments or about who said what to whom.  I care more about the Cafe voices that might now be stilled because they see their published works as diminished and not worthy.

My title is a quote from the great Maggie Kuhn, the leader of the Gray Panthers.  I saw that quote when I was still new to writing--when I did, in fact, quake in my boots at the thought of anyone reading and critiquing the words I worked so hard at perfecting.  I felt as protective about them as any mother hen. 

What I've found along the way is that there is no "perfecting" to writing. It's never perfect.  It is always hard work to hone your thoughts into words sufficient enough to put into print, and writing the first draft is only the beginning.  I also found that no matter how good I thought my words were, there were always going to be those who didn't agree.  There were also always going to be those who wrote infinitely better than I ever could.

It takes great courage to push that "publish" button when you're not sure that what you have to say will mean anything to anybody but you.  The beauty of the Cafe is that it is a nurturing place for new writers--people who have found a voice and are building the confidence to go on using it.  It's sometimes rather thrilling to watch these new writers grow and flourish as they discover they do, in fact, have a gift for expressing themselves.

I won't pretend that there aren't any posts here in the cafe that are thrown together and sent out without a lot of care. There are.  But again, the beauty of the cafe is that you can read what you want to and leave the rest alone.

The Cafe is different from Muckraker or DC, even though many of the same posts appear in all three places.  To those who don't like what they see here, I would suggest that you go to the other areas of TPM to find what you're looking for.  TPM is unique because of the readers and writers, not in spite of them.

To those who feel intimidated by the remarks you've read in the last few days, I can only offer this:  Write what you want to write, when you want to write it, and share it where you feel the need.  It doesn't matter that there will be some who won't appreciate it. You'll have to get used to that if you're going to put your words out there for all to see. 

And remember the words of Maggie Kuhn: "Leave safety behind. Put your body on the line. Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind - even if your voice shakes. When you least expect it, someone may actually listen to what you have to say. Well-aimed slingshots can topple giants. And do your homework."