BASTARD NATION BEST PRACTICE 12 YEARS LATER: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SELF-DEFEATISM IN ADOPTION REFORM BY DAMSEL PLUM

In 1997, Bastard Nation co-founder Damsel Plum wrote an essay, which in my opinion, is one of the foundational documents of the bastard/adoptee rights movement: The Psychology of Self-Defeatism in Adoption Reform. Unfortunately, what was true in 1997 is true today, with mainstream adoption reformists pimping a non-rights paradigm of search, reunion, primal wound, therapy, compliance, apology, disempowerment, compromise, and shame. The National Council for Adoption, the bishops, “right to life,” and the ACLU are a piece of cake next to these people. While bastard rightists promote free un-restricted it’s-none-of-your-business-why-we-want access to state-held records of our birth and adoption, adoption reformers diddle in personal need, therapy, and affairs of the heart.They say a bith certificate will make them “whole.” They suffer a “primal wound.” They demeaningly and futilely make nice with those who hold power and our records. A hat in the hand is worth two in the bush. They reject civil rights strategies that work. For a blatant rejection of civil rights and the bastard voice see my Calitornia Update: CARE’s Problem with History–BastardS Have None. In this entry, I posted a letter from former adoptee right’s activist now reunion shill Jean Strauss in which she not only rejects Continue Reading →