[EM] October Update - from New Democracy
Donald E Davison
donald at mich.com
Sat Oct 2 11:39:21 PDT 1999
Greetings,
This update from New Democracy contains the following:
1) 13 Tips for Activists:
2) Pure Democracy, Direct Democracy, and my Ten Levels of Government
3) Humor - Technology for Country Folk:
Donald,
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1) 13 Tips for Activists:
The following forwarded list of 13 Tips was written by a `leftist' for
his fellow leftist, but we do not need to be a leftist in order to find
value for ourselves in what he has written.
Most of these tips are of value for any activists of any movement.
Donald
- - - - - - - - - Forwarded Letter - - - - - - - - -
Sent: 05 March 1999 00:49
To: Multiple recipients of list ACTNOW-L
Subject: 13 Tips for Activists
-----------------------Original message-------------------------
Things to keep in mind...
Inevitable Disclaimer:
This column is not meant to offend hard-working activists who are
devoting much of their time and energy to social and environmental
issues. It is meant as a critique of those qualities that may keep
us from building an actual Movement. I know of many activists that
are guilty of the things listed below, including myself. So please
don't feel offended (which brings us to our first point...)
I. Have a sense of humor.
The world is not going to change overnight, no matter how hard
you work. Take time out to laugh at how messed up things
really are. Take time out to laugh at yourself and the
incremental changes that you and others are striving so hard
for. A good chuckle now and then keeps things in perspective
and may actually make you feel better about the work you have
accomplished. Making fun of yourself and other activists may
be a form of critique, and we all know that...
II. Critique is necessary and vital for activism.
Analyzing what went wrong and what went right about an action
or a campaign may help you to not repeat the same mistakes.
Listen to what others outside your group have to say,
especially the opposition, which may be the perfect foil for
your cause. Many great activists and revolutionaries engaged
in rigorous self-criticism to realize what they did right or
wrong. Luckily, unlike Che or Durruti, we don't have to do
it under a hail of bullets (at least not yet).
III. Treat everyone as individuals.
It irks me when Marxists and anarchists refer to "the masses"
or when anti-corporate activists refer to their peers as "MTV
kids." By lumping people into faceless categories we forget
that we are dealing with people who have reasons for believing
the things they do, whether it is family upbringing, the
influence of religion or state propaganda, or just growing up
in this damn culture. When you approach people as
individuals, you remember that once upon a time you too may
not have had the beliefs you do now and may have been
alienated by how some activists can come off when trying to
spread their message. And so, the most important aspect of
reaching out to people may not be what you have to say but
actually to...
IV. Listen to what others have to say and know your audience.
Sometimes people's responses to what you have to say
may be the best guide for learning what you shouldn't do next
time. When you know who you are speaking to, you can craft
your message [so that] it appeals to them. This is something the
Christian Right learned long ago in their direct mail campaigns.
For example: By knowing your audience you can personalize the
issue so that [it] is not some abstract cause that they cannot
relate to their everyday experience. If you are talking about
immigrants' rights to some middle class white people, you can
preface your point by mentioning "Imagine if this had happened
to your grandparents when they were trying to escape the
(famines, wars, genocide, intolerance) that brought them
here." If you are talking to some kids on the street about
how McDonalds is screwed up, don't just dwell on the facts
that they kill millions of animals every year and use beef
grown on former rainforest land. Many of the kids in my
neighborhood can relate to the fact that McD's pays bad wages
and makes you work long, grueling hours.
And oh yeah... ditch the highfalutin lingo! If you insist on
"subsuming the other" and "deconstructing the privileged
hegemonies of socioeconomic systems" then don't expect much
of a response. If you know your audience then you can talk
to them at their level, not Foucault's. Besides, those big
words are a privilege of those lucky enough to have been
college educated and can set up an uncomfortable power
dynamic. What's the use of promoting social change when you
convey it in an elitist fashion?
V. And stop screaming all the time!
Yeah, we're irked, but if we are always screaming AT people
instead of talking to them, then they won't listen. So before
you go to a protest, go work out or jog or something. You'd
be surprised how people respond when you talk politely to
them. There IS a time for anger, and then there is a time for
discussion. So think before you scream.
VI. Single-issue activism can be problematic.
While we all have certain issues that are closest to our
hearts, we shouldn't close our minds to the possible
interconnections between these issues or stop from examining
how they may have similar historic roots. Sometimes
single-issue activism can be very detrimental, such as how
some environmentalists echo right-wing propaganda about
immigration or how some anti-racist activists are just as
homophobic as the KKK.
VII. Having progressive politics does not exempt you from being
a jerk.
There are more than a few "progressive" people who are sexist
pigs or hold some pretty questionable ideas about race and
class. And activists can be just as cliquey and backstabbing
as frat-people. The redeeming thing is that at least by
getting involved the door is open for talking about these
issues, right???
VIII. You can't save the world via e-mail.
Your computer is a product of the techno-capitalist system and
whatever good you do with it does not equal the power it has
given Corporate America. No matter how efficient, technology
can never replace the power and intimacy of human
communication and contact. The internet itself was designed
by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
as a way to decentralize communications in the advent of
nuclear war. And over 98% of the internet's usefulness has
been in speeding up commerce for speculative investment by
very wealthy people all over the world. Admittedly, the
internet has increased our communications and has helped to
make progressive movements more globally linked; the
Zapatistas may have been crushed if not for the e-mail updates
they sent out during their uprising. But we can't rely on
techno-activism all the time. And one other thing: Y2K.
IX. Leave the "ism's" at home.
"So that's nice. You are a (insert typical social change
label here)." To most people who don't share these beliefs,
these labels are loaded with media stereotypes and corporate
propaganda that demean the positive aspects that these labels
carry for you and me. For example, after saying to someone
"I am a multiculturalist," he responded with "So you hate
white people?" Instead, I should have said, "I believe in
seeing race as a historical construct; it is not real in any
physical or biological sense, but people are manipulated into
believing that it is and treating it so." And maybe that would
have spurred some lively discussion.
So before you announce yourself as some left-wing "ism-ist",
consider what may be going on in someone else's head about
what you label yourself. Just think of what you considered
a "communist" or "anarchist" before you became so enlightened;
what do most people hear about these terms from the media? Let
your actions define you, not your "ism's"
X. Lifestyle fascism sucks.
A major problem with many activists is instead of
personalizing the political, they politicize the personal.
Finding flaws in other people's lifestyles becomes something
of a hobby for many progressive-types, instead of identifying
and deconstructing the institutions that are the source of
violence against humans, animals and the environment. It is
an easy way out of making real change happen by just attacking
this or that consumption pattern.
What we need to remember is that by identifying certain
aspects of Western lifestyle, such as meat-eating, smoking,
or not boycotting the latest trendy issue, we are forgetting
that it is the whole damn system that is wrong. Our power is
more than our pocketbooks alone. To make real change we need
to organize and find things that more of us have in common,
not alienate others because they don't conform to some
lifestyle guidelines. Why recapitulate the authoritarian
tactics of the Christian Right or corporate America? Let
people decide for themselves what they can or cannot boycott
and get off the moral soapbox.
XI. Ha! Ha! Ha! You're gonna burnout!
Few things hurt our causes as much as exhaustion and the
implosion of those who have just "had enough." You make bad
decisions, you alienate friends and family, your personal
hygiene takes a nosedive. You know what? You need a break!
Take a nap, paint a picture, do something to relax your mind
and body. Let your energy and zeal come back. Activism is
tough and victories can be few and far between, so learn and
take it easy. Even Assata Shakur says that the most important
thing is to grow personally, to maintain relationships and
hobbies. The revolution doesn't need zombies or robots. It
needs people.
XII. Stop the sectarianism!
Of course, this is like asking for tropical weather in
Binghamton, but hey, might as well. From petty internecine
squabbles at the local Food Coop to writers of "The Nation"
insisting there are two (or more) "Left's", the movement has
fractured and fragmented into so many little cliques and
ideologies that you wonder what we have in common anymore
other than our dislike for each other. While some of the
bitterness is left over from past counterinsurgency
operations, such as the FBI's Cointelpro and the CIA's MH
Chaos, a good deal of it is just because of activists who have
split due to personal disagreements and arguments over
ideology and strategy. Wherever I have been, it always seems
like this one doesn't like that one, that group betrayed the
cause, this one is a sellout, that one is too extreme, etc.
As dismaying as this is, there are still so many people
working for change that I must ask: can't we agree on certain
vital things? Do we have at least a common enemy? Can we
forget our differences and actually work towards some sort of
consensus so that we stop shooting ourselves in the feet? If
you are new to activism, stay above the pettiness and
concentrate on the issues at hand. If you are from the old
school, then us young folks need your experience, not your
gripes and grudges.
XIII. Redefine activism.
Activism is an accepted cultural niche in our society. C'mon,
we all know the stereotypes: bad dresser, self-righteous about
this or that issue, screaming and chanting, holding up signs,
getting dragged away by cops, etc. But by becoming part of
this "activist" culture we alienate many whose side we are
supposedly on. How many people can relate when they see
media-bites of these "wackos?" How often do we feed these
stereotypes?
But look what is happening. More and more people fighting for
social change are just "regular" people: a one-day general
strike by NYC cabbies in May virtually shut down the city;
thousands gathered to demonstrate against anti-gay violence
in NY this October; recent general strikes in Puerto Rico and
Colombia had hundreds of thousands of participants; 40,000
construction workers in NYC protesting non-union contracts,
etc. And then there are the selfless acts we will never hear
about: people forming support groups and discussion groups;
people identifying who they are and where they fit into this
society; people choosing to boycott some product or lifestyle,
when and if they can. These are just people responding to the
basic stimulus that their lives are being fucked with and they
are not going to sit back and take it. These are activists
as well. This is how revolutions come about. People who
consider themselves "activists" have to break out the
preconceived molds and listen to what people are really
talking about. Anarchism, multiculturalism, feminism,
communism, veganism are all just words until our actions give
them real meaning and we define for ourselves what our
activism really is. Until then, activism is going to be this
small, accepted, ineffectual cultural niche that alienates the
people who it is supposed to be reaching out to.
Peace and Unity,
Leif Brecke
"Through unity, solidarity, and love, we will heal the wounds of
our Mother (earth) and each other."- Julia 'Butterfly' Hill (Who
has been sitting in Luna, an ancient redwood tree since Dec. 1997)
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2) Pure Democracy, Direct Democracy, and my Ten Levels of Government
Greetings,
Current representative government is not accountable.
A Direct Democracy government is accountable to the people.
Pure Democracy and Representative Direct Democracy are both Direct
Democracy governments.
Pure Democracy is accountable because the people will be voting on
everything, and this means `Everything', and on every level of government.
This can be a problem in the larger more active levels of government.
A Direct Democracy government in which the people have decided to have
a representative body is a government in which the people have direct
control over their representative body. The people have the means to
correct their representatives by changing anything they may have done.
Under these conditions, most people would vote to have a
representative body included in their larger levels of Direct Democracy
governments.
Pure Democracy can work for small levels of government, but Direct
Democracy with representation is best for most levels of government.
I raise this point because there are a few who advocate Pure Democracy
for all levels of government.
The policy of citizens voting on every political decision, of every
level of government is not tenable.
I do not know how many levels of government exist in your corner of
the world, but off-hand I can think of ten levels existing where I live -
there may be more.
I do not want to be engaged in the task of making all the decisions
for all the levels of government that exist in my corner of the world.
Allow me to list these levels of government.
1. First I have a city government.
2. Next, I have a school district, which covers parts of two cities.
3. Several of our local cities support a Community College.
4. I have a county government.
5. I am in a four county Metro Park Authority.
6. We have a Metro Drain Commission.
7. I have a state government.
8 & 9. Two state supported Universities have State Boards of Regents,
which are currently elected by the citizens of my state.
10. And last, but not least, I have a Federal Government.
It would be silly for me to pretend to be engaged in every decision of
these ten levels of government. Most citizens will also regard too much
Pure Democracy as being silly.
So maybe, just maybe, the Pure Democracy Few will realize, that they
are the ones that are holding the incorrect position for demanding that
every level of government be Pure Democracy.
The All Pure Democracy Few are in a Catch 22 position. If they work to
help people get Pure Democracy governments, then most of the people will
vote to have representatives in most levels of their governments.
Therefore, this current dispute is nothing we should worry about nor
do anything about, the people will decide the dispute.
Regards
Donald,
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3) Humor: Technology for Country Folk
1. LOG ON: Makin a wood stove hotter.
2. LOG OFF: Don't add no more wood.
3. MONITOR: Keepin an eye on the wood stove.
4. DOWNLOAD: Gettin the farwood off the truk.
5. MEGA HERTZ: When yer not kerful gettin the farwood.
6. FLOPPY DISC: Whatcha git from tryin to carry too much farwood.
7. RAM: That thar thing whut splits the farwood.
8. HARD DRIVE: Gettin home in the winter time.
9. PROMPT: What the mail ain"t in the winter time.
10. WINDOWS: Whut to shut wen it"s cold outside.
11. Screen: Whut to shut wen it"s blak fly season.
12. BYTE: Whut them dang flys do.
13. CHIP: Munchies fer the TV.
14. MICRO CHIP: Whut's in the bottom of the munchie bag.
15. MODEM: Whut'cha did to the hay fields.
16. DOT MATRIX: Old Dan Matrix's wife.
17. LAP TOP: Whar the kitty sleeps.
18. KEYBOARD: Whar ya hang the dang keys.
19. SOFTWARE: Them dang plastic forks and knifs.
20. MOUSE: Whut eats the grain in the barn.
21. MAINFRAME: Holds up the barn roof.
22. PORT: Fancy Flatlander wine.
23. ENTER: Northerner talk fer "C'mon in Y'all"
24. MOUSE PAD: That hippie talk fer the rat hole
25. RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY:
Wen ya cain't 'member whut y paid fer the rifle
wen yore wife asks.
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| Q U O T A T I O N |
| "Democracy is a beautiful thing, |
| except that part about letting just any old yokel vote." |
| - Age 10 |
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