Happy Summer Solstice to all of our Defend Feminists supporters! Thistle spent the longest day of the year out in her neighborhood playing for an official Make Music Madison event. We are happy to report there was no incident of disruption and that the live streamed video of her performance publicly available online, has over 350 views on Facebook!
Who is the real “hateful bigot”? A woman who organizes her neighbors to grow food together in community gardens or the “activists” who defame and tear down this woman and her life’s work?
Please consider sending this video of Thistle’s Summer Solstice 2019 performance to Bob Hemauer (bob.hemauer@gmail.com) president of the Wil-Mar board of directors, and/or to David Devereaux-Weber, (ddweber@wortfm.org) president of the WORT board of directors and/or to Ritt Dietz, (ritt@rittdeitz.com) director of the neighborhood-based musical group ESAE, that kicked Thistle out due to the attacks on her being “too controversial.” Tell them that it is not Thistle who is “controversial” nor the “hateful bigot” but those calling her that, destroying her reputation and her ability to do the positive songwriting, performance and common good works she loves to do, not just for women, but for people as a whole, especially in her hometown of Madison.
Below are the lyrics to Thistle’s song about the community garden she coordinates in her neighborhood:
The Garden Song
by Thistle Pettersen
Out back behind the dumpsters
we grew ourselves some food
broccoli, beans and carrots
you know our lives are good!
Neighbors comin’ together
in the neighborhood
out back behind the dumpsters
we grew a little food!
The squirrels they are a climbin’
up and down our many trees
then out onto the high wire
searching for their next tea!
Some squirrels like to write songs
others to gather nuts
still others enjoy the patio!
The fire flies light us up! Oh yeah, the fire flies!
Me? I’ve traveled far and wide
but I’ve finally settled down
back to the place where I grew up
you know this is MY TOWN!
So thank you for bein’ my neighbor
I hope I don’t let you down
Out back behind the dumpsters
we grew on common ground!
Oh yeah, we grew on common ground!