Is leafleting any use?

[Minotaur]

Is local leafleting on left issues any use in experience in expanding local class consciousness?

[Soldier of life]

Absolutely.

[Communist]

It truly is. Leafleting is one of our best and oldest (http://www.articlesbase.com/direct-mail-articles/the-history-of-leaflet-distribution-477265.html) means (http://supreme.justia.com/constitution/amendment-01/57-leafleting-handbilling.html) of getting our word out. The interaction is extremely fulfilling. You'll be surprised how many people have socialist views without even realizing it. :)

[Robocommie]

Do you run the risk of getting your ass beat by conservatives?

[Communist]

Do you run the risk of getting your ass beat by conservatives?

No...not at all, not in my experience.
It really comes down to how one approaches people. If you're friendly, polite, smile, what the heck will upset someone so much as to provoke a fight? Those not interested just nod no, or say nothing at all and keep walking. The only problems I've encountered (if they can be called that) have been from younger people who think it's cool to be disagreeable, and the worst they've done is knock the leaflets/paper out of my hand. I just laugh and they then usually laugh too, surprised at my reaction I guess. No big deal.
And many conservatives are nice, well-meaning types who just happen to be completely wrong about nearly everything. :lol:
This thread isn't really political, will probably be moved to Practice and Propaganda...

[The Ungovernable Farce]

Yeah, most people won't suddenly start a fight with a complete stranger in the street over a leaflet. They might tell you to piss off, but you're very unlikely to get hit. Even on the (very rare) occasions that I can remember encountering actual fascists while leafleting, they don't get that aggressive towards people who're clearly in a group.

[Sasha]

This thread isn't really political, will probably be moved to Practice and Propaganda...

indeed, moved...

[Yehuda Stern]

Re leafleting: yeah, it's a great way of communicating with a big crowd. If people find a unique message they can identify with and have a way of contacting you, you can gain contacts from unexpected places.

About running the risk of getting beaten by conservatives: you do. Beat back.

[CELMX]

a question i have stemming from that is...

is it any use leafletting just about leftist ideas in general, and not giving info on upcoming events? There isn't any shit happening in the bleak eastern washington, so there aren't any events to put on leaflets...and i am much too shy to start any.

And, schools? Leafletting at schools as well as outside yay or nay?

["Red Scum"]

And, schools? Leafletting at schools as well as outside yay or nay?

Depending on the school, you might get raped by the school administration.

[CELMX]

Depending on the school, you might get raped by the school administration.
:lol:

i live in the u.s.
i'm not sure what policies they have...

[Minotaur]

even so is it best to act on what you believe for if you don't act on what you believe do you really believe in it? if i was you CELMX i would not do it outside your school though you don't want to go looking for trouble but maybe in your town center or something like that or door to door leafleting
Also thank you everyone for the replies :D they are very useful

["Red Scum"]

:lol:

i live in the u.s.
i'm not sure what policies they have...

Its the US I was concerned about, in the UK its not a problem.

[Communist]

I've encountered many skinheads that by all appearances were fascists (swastikas, etc.) and so I just kept walking. I don't exchange perturbed glances, I don't act all tough and righteous nor intimidated, I just go about my business and leave them to theirs. There's never been a problem and most of the time I'm out by myself. Cops sometimes hassle me, that's about it...
Maybe I've just been very lucky.

[The Ungovernable Farce]

a question i have stemming from that is...

is it any use leafletting just about leftist ideas in general, and not giving info on upcoming events? There isn't any shit happening in the bleak eastern washington, so there aren't any events to put on leaflets...and i am much too shy to start any.
I think it's better to leaflet about local issues (even if it's just something like bus fares going up) rather than just revolution or class struggle in the abstract. It's worth having leaflets (or, better, pamphlets) to give to people who're already interested, but just giving them out to the general public probably wouldn't get that much interest.

[Robocommie]

I think it's better to leaflet about local issues (even if it's just something like bus fares going up) rather than just revolution or class struggle in the abstract. It's worth having leaflets (or, better, pamphlets) to give to people who're already interested, but just giving them out to the general public probably wouldn't get that much interest.

Wouldn't it also be worthwhile to distribute pamphlets explaining, for example, how the bailouts are NOT socialist, explaining how socialists want to empower the working class?

[mikelepore]

Consider the way the SLP leaflets take the form of essays that explain the basic socialist ideas, rather than promoting activities or short-term objectives:

http://www.slp.org/slp_states.htm

... and my collection of their older leaflets going back to the 1950s:

http://deleonism.org/leaflets.htm

[Martin Blank]

There are three general types of leaflets/fliers that you use for different situations:

1. The theoretical essay-leaflet, like Mike mentioned, is good as a grab-n-go for literature tables at events. They can be a quick and accessible means for new people to get a feel for the overall politics, methodology and "culture" of your organization. They are often more "user friendly" than a full pamphlet/book and can be reproduced in the hundreds or thousands, as needed.

2. The political statement leaflet (or "propaganda leaflet") is a common leaflet. This is usually a thought-out statement from an organization on a single subject meant to not only educate, but also attract the reader to an organization and its point of view. These can often be useful as a means to bring new people into contact with an organization for the first time, or to give members of an organization a single focal point in multiple events on the same issue.

3. The agitational-organizing leaflet is usually a locally- or immediately-focused leaflet on a single issue, designed to get people out to an event. It is usually short on text and long on eye-appeal (or, at least, it should be). This leaflet is not so much about an organization but an action it is sponsoring/endorsing/participating in/putting together -- a protest rally or march, a meeting or teach-in, etc. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the audience for this kind of leaflet is someone who has never been involved with anything (or, at least, never your organization or its activity).

One of the biggest mistakes that organizations make is using the wrong type of leaflet/flyer in a certain setting (e.g., a "propaganda leaflet" to organize an event). But if you use the right leaflet type in the right circumstance, they can be very effective.

[The Idler]

Don't you have to put your address on election leaflets in the UK?

[Robocommie]

Hah, I had a vision of renting a little Cessna or something and just dumping hundreds or thousands of flyers out the window over a populated area.

[mikelepore]

Tack leaflets onto cork bulletin boards.

Invent sneaky new ways to distribute leaflets.

If you work in an office building where people have desks in cubicles or unlocked offices, stay a few minutes later after work and put leaflets on everyone's desk, or slide leaflets under their desk blotters where they poke out from underneath a small amount and get their attention.

Bring leaflets to the store and insert them into newspapers and magazines. There's a law against stealing things but not against leaving things.

Go to the library and insert your leaflets into books that are on the shelfs. The next time a library patron uses each book, the leaflet will fall into their hands.

[Martin Blank]

Tack leaflets onto cork bulletin boards.

Invent sneaky new ways to distribute leaflets.

If you work in an office building where people have desks in cubicles or unlocked offices, stay a few minutes later after work and put leaflets on everyone's desk, or slide leaflets under their desk blotters where they poke out from underneath a small amount and get their attention.

Bring leaflets to the store and insert them into newspapers and magazines. There's a law against stealing things but not against leaving things.

Go to the library and insert your leaflets into books that are on the shelfs. The next time a library patron uses each book, the leaflet will fall into their hands.

We use the cork board distribution all the time. We also tape them to light poles, the insides of bus stop shelters and on boarded-up abandoned storefronts. We've also walked neighborhoods, rolling them up like newspapers and putting them on people's porches or in mailboxes.

The most creative one I saw was someone using one of those t-shirt launchers to shoot out flyers in a crowd. You have to be careful of the angle, though, or else you can take out a window ... or a person.

Wheatpasting is always a possibility. But you have to do it right. If you wheatpaste, mix finely-broken glass into it (not quite powder, but more than just small shards). That way, if you do it right and can seal down all the edges, it's next to impossible for them to be torn off without the anti-democratic dirtbag cutting up their hands. Coarse white sand can work in a pinch, but it's not quite as effective as a deterrent, and can mildly obscure small text.

I used to put a stack of leaflets in the refrigerator my co-workers put their lunches in.

And there's always putting them under windshield wipers on parked cars.

[The Ungovernable Farce]

Also, you could try just actually asking people if they want to take a leaflet?

[Patchd]

Leafleting is one of the most passive, yet one of the most useful ways of getting our message across to people, it's especially good as we actually interact with them publicly, and numerous times have I been leafleting and someone come back to me and commented on their support for the ideology, or issue. I've never had trouble leafleting, in Britain in most places it is legal to leaflet political flyers for free (commercial ones you have to pay for) although you can get moved off private property.

Violence wise, nothing at all, but it is still a good idea to do it as a group, or in a pair. Even leafleting through doors can be great, people might actually read it if it's not a shitty self-glorifying newspaper like the Lib Dems and Labour do round here.

[RED DAVE]

Consider the way the SLP leaflets take the form of essays that explain the basic socialist ideas, rather than promoting activities or short-term objectives:

http://www.slp.org/slp_states.htm

... and my collection of their older leaflets going back to the 1950s:

http://deleonism.org/leaflets.htmSnapshot from history.

I remember a little old guy who used to distribute SLP material in Greenwich Village in the early 60s. A comrade of mine engaged him in a discussion about DeLeon's "Flashlights of the Amsterdam Congress (http://www.marxists.org/archive/deleon/pdf/1904/nov13b_1904.pdf)." Turned out he had actually been DeLeon's secretary. Do you know who he could have been?

RED DAVE