:hexbear-retro: Time to organize, libs
We’re going to create a guide on how to start organizing by doing so as a group. We’ll use the experiences and questions of participants to form a living document (likely a wiki) that will bring people from start to finish on getting a community network up and running.
:arm-L: Challenge :arm-R:
Do at least one of the following by August 8th:
- Search for existing org chapters in your area and contact one of their members expressing interest
- Find to a single person you know who is politically aware and would dedicate a couple hours a week to organizing with you
- Plan a small gathering of people where you can get together, eat, and pitch the idea of starting to organize
:what: How does this help?
With sufficiently large groups of people coordinating with each other, we can achieve large effects with relatively small individual actions. However, organizations will often be very small for extended periods of time and consist of people only donating a few hours a week of their time. If an organization already exists in your area, this work has been done for you and you should be thankful. Otherwise, an easy start is a good way to beat decision paralysis. “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
:gigachad: Goals
What goals do you have for organizing? Do you have a hard time understanding how organizing can help you accomplish those goals?
:blob-help: Barriers
Are you having trouble with this week’s challenge? Are you having trouble with other projects you have going on?
:picard-excited: Successes
People who are currently organizing, what successes have you had over the last week?
If you picked up communism for the same reason you picked up fascism, of course you just feel like red fash (Or whatever word you wanna use/identify with on the right-hand side). Ideology hopping is inherently reactionary, which is why we encourage people to read theory. Theory plants roots and can help you decide whether or not you actually believe this and why.
Ideology as an identity is just a form of liberalism anyway. It’s one that a bunch of us struggle with, but it’s liberalism nonetheless. Communism is not supposed to be a Good Belief worn like a sports jersey or a way for you to self-actualize. You can use a lot of theory similar to self-help, but it’s certainly not intended for that use.
I’ll say if you’re lacking community, organizing can be a valid and healthy way to gain that, but the point is and will always be to make people’s lives better.
Edit:
You can do both, btw. Taking breaks from politics is fine and having hobbies is fine. Treating politics as a hobby isn’t very productive either. And I say that as someone who loves to sit around and talk politics with people
Edit 2: Just saw at the end that you said you’ve already a bit of theory. Definitely sounds like you need a break from the doomscroll. A lot of that shit is super dehumanizing and kinda promotes simple solutions to complicated conditions. Makes it that much harder thinking about climate change and/or packing infrastructure to organize. But we keep pushing forward to be a very small part of something very big.