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Kitchen Table Kibitzing 7/27/2026: Running from Jason Kander (A Social Anxiety Tale) [1]

['News Corpse', 'Greg Dworkin']

Date: 2026-07-27  

Good evening, Kibitzers. I normally post food, but the BF and I are getting ready to travel this week, so we’re focused on eating what has already been cooked. I thought I would instead share a story tonight. Some of you already know the story, because Thinking Fella has brought it up here in KTK from time to time. It was funny when it happened, and I think it’s even funnier looking back at it. Enjoy this one at my expense!

Thinking Fella can correct me on details if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure this happened at the 2017 Netroots Nation in Atlanta. That was my first Netroots Nation, and while it wasn’t my first time meeting other Kossacks, it was my first time meeting so many at one time. One of the Kossacks I met at that event was Thinking Fella, who is every bit as chill and funny as he is online. I’ve always struggled with social anxiety, and even more so back then (I wasn’t medicated like I am now!), so going to Netroots Nation was scary for me. While I enjoyed meeting people I’ve known online for years, I also preferred to be in the background and not have too much attention on me. My social anxiety made me hyperaware of myself and how I assumed others perceived me (which was projection, of course). But everybody was so nice, and Thinking Fella, in particular, kind of put my anxiety at ease.

That is, until the escalator. If you’ve ever been to a Netroots Nation, you know that you can come into close contact with a lot of Democratic “stars” while walking around. We’d just finished at some session, and we were headed up an escalator to go somewhere else. Thinking Fella spotted none other than Jason Kander, who was at that time (I think) the Missouri Secretary of State, a former U.S. Senate candidate, and frequently mentioned as a rising Democratic star. I wasn’t the one to spot him, but if I had, I would have probably whispered to somebody about it. Thinking about this with my medicated brain, it makes more sense to ask for a picture with him. How many chances do you get to take a picture with Jason Kander, after all? But again, that’s not how my brain was working at the time. So imagine my horror when Thinking Fella called out, “IS THAT JASON KANDER? HEY JASON KANDER!”

It was like an alarm was pulled inside my brain. When I realized that Jason Kander was about to perceive me (horror!), I decided I couldn’t bear such a thing. The restrooms were straight ahead, and I needed to go anyway. I move very fast when I want to. Before Thinking Fella even realized what was happening, I was just gone. Poof. Disappeared. No trace!

Tenor GIFs

Needless to say, I did not meet Jason Kander that day. Thinking Fella, I believe, got a nice picture with him. But I let the social anxiety win.

Like I said above, it was funny at the time (even I could laugh about it), and it’s even funnier looking back at it with a clearer, less anxious brain. I still deal with anxiety, even social anxiety, but not to this extent anymore. If you’ve never dealt with it, believe me, it makes a person do some weird things. If Jason Kander is reading this (always a possibility), I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s me!

What’s on your mind (or plate) this evening?

🫖 💭 🥂 🍽️ ☕

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/7/27/800075637/community/kitchen-table-kibitzing-7-27-2026-running-from-jason-kander-a-social-anxiety-tale/

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