I’m using large font because it’s less eye strain. No worries about your delay. You got to connect your family life with your work in the community and the world in general. The personal is political, as some feminists have been saying.
Yeah, a democratic process for addressing the Eden Foods issue at the co op. That’s what I should have said to you at the outset, instead of ranting about the “progressive propaganda machine.” Sometimes in my contrarianism and my attempts at being a ‘radical, post-progressive’ I unintentionally express ideas I later realize are in error.
I’m not the only one doing that. I’ve encountered some folk who call themselves anarchists and disparage democracy. They’re probably doing it because of the flaws of democracy, and because genuine unanimity would be better. But they might forget that, at least sometimes, when genuine unanimity is not feasible, democratic decision-making processes are better than autocratic or cliquish ones.
Similarly, I sometimes lose my ethical footing when engaging in satire. Sometimes I get it right such as here http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/a-courageous-stand-in-support-of-factory-farming But sometimes I’ve gotten it wrong. At this Doo Dah Parade, I was in the vegan contingent on my pedicab wearing a bloody glove and necktie, saying “Peace, love, and blood” in an attempt to needle progressive parade observers who’ve yet to include nonhuman animals in their social justice concerns. That left me feeling a bit icky inside. Next year, I plan to be more prepared.
Ok, yeah, write for the co op site and the Free Press. How about helping me build a forum with which folk can build relationships with each other? The Free Press and other outlets don’t offer a venue with content that’s community/user-driven and non-hierarchically peer-to-peer. I plan to use the domain and concept of “organize kindness.org” for a forum, while flyering and distributing cards and stickers. It’s not my site, per se. It’s blank so far. But the concept of ‘organize kindness’ defies political ideology. Can grassroots power to undo the abuses of the corporate state be built without alliances that defy current left-vs-right thinking ?
I plan to continue involvement with Mid Ohio Workers Association. In at least some areas, I don’t plan on reinventing the wheel, so to speak. I don’t know how they are funded, but, linked with some sister orgs, they have developed a sort of community outreach infrastructure we can learn from, though not limit ourselves to their model. I suggest you come to the dinner on July 25 or just stop by their office sometime (AND JOIN OUR CULT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
The upcoming elections, per se, don’t intrigue me, but I intend to make use of whatever community involvement benefit they might generate, similar to how I used the Houston Rodeo to talk with some customers about veganism and pay off some bills so as to have some more freedom to engage in activism when I got back to Columbus.
What were some of the red flags with Socialist Alternative ? For me, it was the fact that one meeting dragged on and on while a particular person bullied a few of those present and quibbled over details at the expense of the core issues. On top of that, it’s simplistic to seek to transplant a movement from Seattle in a cookie cutter fashion and apply it to Columbus. $15 hr in Seattle would probably mean calling the organization 11 or 12 Now Columbus, due to differences in costs of living.
Perhaps one of things Occupy folk were trying to get at was that process matters. As King and others said, means and ends should be congruent. Determining (1) what the problem is; (2) what the solutions might be ; (3) brainstorming solutions; (4) planning; and (5) carrying out plans should be a democratic process when unanimity is not an option.
Too often, middle class activists ( they have middle class connections and options, though thru their activism they may not have middle class financial status), talk amongst themselves in relatively small, ideologically based circles to figure out what to do and then talk about (and sometimes actually follow thru with) building support for the initiative by ‘educating’ the community members they claim to be standing up for.
That’s why I am helping with Mid Ohio Workers Association. At least they go door to door in historically under-served communities and make phone calls with the aim of building relationships. Too often, progressive activists meet in private. Meetings, meetings, meetings, so that we can plan other meetings where we’ll talk about the possibility of planning for a really big meeting, so we can create elaborate committees and give ourselves titles.
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