Birth of a Bastard Nation

This is an archive of the original Bastard Quarterly newsletter, edited by Damsel Plum and Charles Filius. It was published in print and on the web between 1997 and 2002.

Birth of a Bastard Nation

by Shea Grimm

(This article first appeared in the Spring 1997 issue of the Bastard Quarterly.)

A number of months ago I displayed my lack of prophetic gifts by declaring that Bastard Nation had no mission statement and probably never would, as it was nothing more than a insider Usenet joke. A few weeks later I was part of the self-ordained Executive Committee of Bastard Nation, diligently drafting a mission statement and bylaws, and studying tax laws for the purpose of incorporating. I never had time to wonder what had changed. Now, as this newsletter goes to press, I am compelled to examine our roots in the hope of finding words which will inspire each of you who are making history by reading the first words of the first BQ, to make history yourselves by taking up the cause of open records for adult adoptees.

How to do justice to the Birth of a Bastard Nation has eluded me. You will find no clarion calls in this column. What you will find are some personal ruminations on why Bastard Nation came to be more than a mere Internet joke, and why I know that we will succeed in opening records.

Bastard Nation is the result of an intense frustration with the lack of progress the adoption reform movement has made in securing open records in the past two decades. It's a nation of the formerly disillusioned. Many of us who have previously been involved in adoption reform have noticed the dearth of young adoptees and male triadians. Bastard Nation's membership is over 30% male, and over 85% are adoptees. BN has also attracted an incredible array of Bastard talent, as you will see in this newsletter. Graphic artists, writers, cartoonists, satirists, researchers, attorneys, scientists, and most importantly, the impassioned, flood our membership rolls. Comments in our Website guestbook, our email, our faxes, our letters, and our voicemails reveal that people who discover us feel like they have finally found their home. In Bastard Nation, adoptees have found a voice. We are loud, powerful, and ready to demand justice in the form of open records. The Era of the Bastard has arrived.

The Bastard Quarterly intends to provide a forum for Bastard Nationals to express themselves in a way that traditional triad media have simply not allowed. In addition, we intend to address subjects on which other organizations have remained conspicuously silent. Bastard Nation believes that the road which leads to open records does not have detours , such as intermediary systems, disclosure vetoes, or contact vetoes. These systems are demeaning and are simply not acceptable. We believe unequivocally that open records are no less than the constitutional right of adoptees, a right which cannot be bargained or compromised away by paternalistic controls, and systems of 'permission-granting'. Adult adoptees should not have to have permission to access what every other citizen in the United States accesses freely; their original birth certificates.

This edition of the newsletter tackles the issue of contact vetoes, and why they must not be allowed to stand. We are mobilizing our membership for legislative success through education, training, and triad outreach. Bastard Nation is also engaged in a number of special projects, such as our Terminal Illness Emergency Search program for adoptees in emergency search situations, and our positive pickets of the film Secrets and Lies, detailed in this edition by Deb Schwarz. L.B. LaRocco debuts her regular column on the Bastard Moment, and feature writer Damsel Plum provides inspiration for Bastard activists. David Winge and Ian K. Hagemann have contributed articles addressing why, in adoption, the personal IS the political.

In the next few months, Bastard Nation will be a visible presence at national conferences, such as the AAC's International conference in Dallas, and our own Birth of a Bastard Nation conference in July in Chicago (see Calendar for more information). We hope you will join us in spreading our message. We will open records because truth and justice are on our side. Believe it, and GO BASTARDS!

Shea Grimm is a reunited adoptee of mixed Native ancestry who resides with her husband and three children in the Seattle area.

(This article first appeared in the Spring 1997 issue of the Bastard Quarterly.)