Recruitment strategies

[ChiefTiburon]

Anyone know any effective recruitment strategies?
I myself recruit locally, usually from friends of members. Another tactic is to host a block party or sonething like that and recruit from people that attend, but both those methods are pretty much only viable within your immediate neighborhood and city area.

[Brutus]

Set up an Internet site?

[Red Banana]

Knowing what resources you have at your disposal could help us answer your question.

[ChiefTiburon]

My main resource is myself and ten other members. Most of the ppl in my area don't have internet as a resource. Having meetings in public places isn't really much of an option either due to police harassment . Basically limited resources.

[Art Vandelay]

Police harassment in the U.S. for holding a discussion? Seems like a violation of your 'rights.'

[Ele'ill]

recruitment for what

[Prometeo liberado]

I was never a member but Im dropping out. Seems to unorganized for my tastes. You offer free coffee?
Maybe I spoke to soon.

[ChiefTiburon]

@ 9mm Rights are an illusion in parts of the deep south. If the police chief isn't your sisters husband or something like that, your rights are questionable. The Klan runs the courts and police in quite a few counties as well, so cops aren't exactly bound by the law down here.
@ Mari3l small organization down here.Community betterment and protecting ourselves are what we're about.

[Art Vandelay]

@ 9mm Rights are an illusion in parts of the deep south. If the police chief isn't your sisters husband or something like that, your rights are questionable. The Klan runs the courts and police in quite a few counties as well, so cops aren't exactly bound by the law down here.
@ Mari3l small organization down here.Community betterment and protecting ourselves are what we're about.

Are you exaggerating at all? If not, I had no idea the klan had that kinda pull.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

Are you exaggerating at all? If not, I had no idea the klan had that kinda pull.
I guess it depends on the area, but the law very much runs on the good-ole-boy system here, at least in the rural to smaller city areas. If your sister's husband is the sheriff you can get away with a lot of shit, and if not, you can really get the shit end of the stick if you do something to draw attention to yourself.


See: Jena Six (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena_Six)

[Red Banana]

Community betterment and protecting ourselves are what we're about.

Try taking an issue that is relevant to your community, for example if a lot of people are getting evicted from their houses then focus on that. Contact local churches, unions, etc. saying " is going to have a demonstration on [insert date here] to make housing a right (or whatever your demands are) and we'd like you to tell your members about it and come and participate". Put a whole bunch of posters/fliers around town (if you can) informing people of the event, don't be afraid to knock on a few doors if you have to.

If you're able to get a few to bite then when they come you can participate together in the demonstration and expose them to your group, what you're all about etc. The key is to not just make it a one time thing but to keep this up and to emphasize that it is [I]your group that is staging the event, though anyone and everyone is allowed and encouraged to come and participate.

Draw the people in first with what matters to them, get them active, then expose them to your organization.

[ellipsis]

Do a public action that is impressive and makes you look like badasses.

[ellipsis]

Also graffiti.

[Pawn Power]

Listen.

[ChiefTiburon]

Are you exaggerating at all? If not, I had no idea the klan had that kinda pull.

No exageration. Pike, Amite, and Copiah counties are in the klans pocket with regards to law enforcement...

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

I've heard stories / seen instances of "direct action case work" models being pretty effective for community organizing. While obviously you're not living in Seattle, there are maybe elements of the SeaSol (http://seasol.net/) strategy that might serve you well.

[ellipsis]

Be careful with seasol type actions, they might have uninteded consequences.

[blake 3:17]

I've heard stories / seen instances of "direct action case work" models being pretty effective for community organizing. While obviously you're not living in Seattle, there are maybe elements of the SeaSol (http://seasol.net/) strategy that might serve you well.

This is a tactic/strategy that the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty used for a long time. It's one they've wanted to keep going (the actions were brilliant and effective) but the welfare and immigration bureaucrats usually cave on the first phone call.

We'd crash a welfare office demanding someone get their benefits restored, they'd claim we were delaying other peoples claims, we'd say no just deal with this one ASAP, they'd call the police, police would come, nothing illegal going on, and all the while we're handing out leaflets to the people in the line offering support if they were being messed with.

The strategy was best articulated in Cloward and Piven's Poor People's Movements which is a very very important strategic document for radicals and revolutionaries.

[ellipsis]

Do a public action that is impressive and makes you look like badasses.

But seriously, when I worked with homes not jails, after we would do a large demo/building occupation, our meeting would get a large influx of people. I had people tell me, "that showed me that you guys were willing to act, and not just sit around and talk endlessly"

[Luís Henrique]

No exageration. Pike, Amite, and Copiah counties are in the klans pocket with regards to law enforcement...

If the Klan is that powerful in your area, might I guess racial issues are important there?

Is your small group composed of both Blacks and Whites?

Luís Henrique

[cyu]

Read studies on psychology and social psychology in your spare time. Share anything interesting with everyone you know.

There are two types of "revolutionaries" - the type that truly want to liberate people arm others with as big of an arsenal as possible - the type that only wants to rule over others jealously guard their arsenal so they can remain more powerful than others.

The weakness in the second type is that their own personality / strategy prevents their allies and supporters from getting stronger.

[cyu]

http://newsocialist.org/index.php/678-campus-fightbacks-in-the-age-of-austerity-learning-from-quebec-students

Democracy of this sort is linked to militancy in that the goal of protest is not to appeal to the conscience of those in power, but to build a counter-power in the streets, schools and workplaces that can push back.

The power of student strikes comes from the disruption of an education system that the government as well as campus administrations have a responsibility to administer. For example, university students will have to graduate in order to make room for incoming high school students. Semesters simply cannot be cancelled on a large scale without creating an enormous administrative mess that would also have significant economic consequences. Though governments and administrators will use this cancellation as a threat in effort to force striking students back into class, they are in fact worried by this prospect.

The general assemblies that are so crucial to the success of the Quebec student movement are grounded in, and indeed cannot function properly outside of, this democratic and activist student unionist perspective. This requires constant mobilizing activities, such as printing flyers, publishing newspapers, going from class to class to present updates on campaigns and important issues, and engaging with students in cafeterias and in public spaces.

Trying to adopt the assembly model without this commitment to democratic, militant unionism can lead to the separation of the core activists from most other students. A self-proclaimed assembly of radicals can give themselves a mandate to act in the name of the student body but without the genuine participation of larger layers of students they will remain isolated and they will not be able build the power necessary to support this mandate. Indeed, one of the problems that lead to the downfall of the earliest Quebec-wide student union (UGEC) was the commitment of radicals to going it alone, without the patience and strategic orientation to win larger mandates.

Militant students must engage with those who disagree with them in such assemblies, trying to persuade fellow students that action is possible and necessary. These assemblies can be tense, and the outcome is very hard to predict as people respond to the flow of debate and the exchange of ideas. This puts a real premium on serious preparation to consider in advance the likely flow of debates, the main arguments of critics, and the motions that are likely to be able to sway sufficient support.

These assemblies only happen after a great deal of work to mobilize the student body. To build these democratic structures, and to maintain them over time, requires constant mobilizing efforts. it is crucial to organize them on a regular basis, as it democratizes and enlarges decision processes beyond executive committees and reminds the broader student population of the existence of the assemblies and their potential collective power. These meetings can become really important formative spaces where new activists have the chance to familiarize themselves with formal assembly rules and with the practice of direct democracy. General assemblies derive from mobilizing practices, but they are also crucial spaces to develop a network of activists that will engage into these practices.

The Ontario student movement, for example, has an important and valuable progressive record in many places. Yet it has not been organized on the basis of student unionism that aims to use the strike or occupation as a crucial tool for building student power on campus.

We argue that activists seriously oriented to winning democratic mandates from student bodies must seriously engage with existing forms of organization, attempting to transform them into democratic, mobilizing unions if possible.

[TheRedAnarchist23]

To my knowledge it takes a kind of person to be interested in revolutionary politics. You have got to know how to spot potential. Those people who know there is something wrong with this system, but don't know what to do. Those people have potential.
Only certain people with potential will be able to become anarchists. Someone's journey to becoming an anarchist is not easy, and you might give up before the end.
Teaching anarchism is something very personal, the other person must trust you first. If when you teach anarchism to a person and it looks like you have peaked their interest, that person will become an anarchist. If the person only asks a couple of questions about it, it means the person sympethises with anarchism, and this will prevent the person from joining right-wing politics because they have learned anarchism.

[BIXX]

To my knowledge it takes a kind of person to be interested in revolutionary politics. You have got to know how to spot potential. Those people who know there is something wrong with this system, but don't know what to do. Those people have potential.
Only certain people with potential will be able to become anarchists. Someone's journey to becoming an anarchist is not easy, and you might give up before the end.
Teaching anarchism is something very personal, the other person must trust you first. If when you teach anarchism to a person and it looks like you have peaked their interest, that person will become an anarchist. If the person only asks a couple of questions about it, it means the person sympethises with anarchism, and this will prevent the person from joining right-wing politics because they have learned anarchism.

While I agree that educating people about anarchism is important, I disagree that it requires trust, I have educated people about anarchism and none of them have any reason to trust me, and yet they are now anarchists. I also disagree that them simply asking questions guarantees that they'll be an anarchist, but it definitely makes it easier to convince them anarchism is correct. Also, I disagree that they need some special potential to become an anarchist. Just because I had no special quality or potential, doesn't mean I can't be an anarchist, because I am.

Edited to add: knowing anarchism also does not prevent conversion to the right wing politics we all hate so much.

[ChiefTiburon]

Its a mix of black and white.Y

[#FF0000]

Listen.

This is hella important. I know a person who is a fantastic, energetic, and competent organizer, but they are so bad at recruiting and engaging new people because they seem so insincere, and listening is a big part of that problem.

[ChiefTiburon]

(This is hella important. I know a person who is a fantastic, energetic, and competent organizer, but they are so bad at recruiting and engaging new people because they seem so insincere, and listening is a big part of that problem.)

I agree. I'd like to think I'm a somewhat competent speaker. Its just that i cone off as sounding pessimistic when i talk about the problems we face. That seems to be sort of a turn off for a lot of potential recruits.

[cyu]

For those that you believe should already be on your side, it's usually just a matter of overcoming and helping to protect them from what they fear.

For those that you believe are already sympathizers, it's usually just a matter of providing the information that capitalist-controlled media refuses to provide.

The following I would reserve for the openly hostile - certainly more moral than shooting them ;)

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0060554

When the participants have completed the questionnaire, they hand it back to the experimenter. Next, the participants are confronted with the reversed answers, and are asked to justify the manipulated opinions. each manipulation was made with the intent of creating an overall believable pattern of responses on the profile

10% of the participants in the manipulated condition moved across the full ideological span, and switched their voting intention from firmly right wing to firmly left wing, or in the opposite direction

A further 19% went from expressing certain coalition support (left or right), to becoming entirely undecided, and 6% went from being undecided to having a clear voting intention.

a further 10% of the participants recorded substantial movement in the manipulated direction

around 50% of the participants who were not influenced by the manipulation referred to their ideological identity or prior voting behavior as a reason for ignoring the incongruent compass score.

As argued by Haidt, political affiliation can be seen as primarily being about emotional attachment, an almost tribal sense of belonging at the ideological level. Sometimes these participants even expressed a form of ideological relief at the debriefing stage (“pheeew… I’m not a social democrat after all!”).

[pastradamus]

I find the best tactic to help out a new organisation is to hold public meetings addressing public concerns, idea's which you believe you share with others. That should usually raise a profile of any new org.

[comrade_al]

Any suggestions for starting an on-campus communist group in your area? And I am not looking for dabblers here. I have already gone out flyering but it's not enough.

[MarxSchmarx]

Any suggestions for starting an on-campus communist group in your area? And I am not looking for dabblers here. I have already gone out flyering but it's not enough.

If you are serious about starting a group that will survive your graduation, link up with an existing org and form a local branch. Odds are they have cadre who know how to spin the ropes and get you off the ground particularly in a campus setting where a lot of organizing happens.

For many pragmatic reasons, "going it alone" is a terrible idea. It will drain you and burn you out faster than working with an established group, even if they aren't in your same municipality.

[DROSL]

You must bring pride in people, show them the evil of capitalism. Ask them few questions like: Do you feel multinationals should pay more taxes. You should also do like the imperialists,make propaganda movies.

I highly recommend using internet, + this website is pretty good. You could also you Twitter, but make sure you don't catch any pigs on duty.

[Skyhilist]

Make a video game called Marx's Army™

qLHFN6ynLgg

[cyu]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Faction ?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2d/Red_Faction.jpg/250px-Red_Faction.jpg

[MacchineBox]

Any suggestions for starting an on-campus communist group in your area? And I am not looking for dabblers here. I have already gone out flyering but it's not enough.

I am attempting something like this at my college. I am making a school sanctioned club that discusses leftist ideas and how it compares to the current system. We will also discuss ideas on how to change hearts and minds of our fellow students. Due to the political backlash that could arise from forming a "communist club" we (my staff advisor & I) decided to tone it back and call it something like "alternate political ideologies". But understand I support communism and will lead the discussions primarily in that direction.

Judging by post, you are looking for already established leftists that are ready to get up and go. Depending were you are, this isn't so easy. I am taking a step back and reaching out to students that are on the fence or simply ignorant on their political options. Many young people (& older) are upset with the current state of politics and are open to new ideas. A simple discusion with a friend of a friend or someone new can easily be turned into a discussion of politics and society. I have found that interesting historical facts really do a good job at grabbing attention.

Flyer are nice, but word of mouth is the best way to go. Have your friends bring it up with their friends. Get in touch with professors of sociology, psychology, philosophy, and possibly some of the poli-sci professors. Even if they don't agree with your political views, I have found many are willing to entertain the idea just to see what happens.

[Yet_Another_Boring_Marxist]

To link oneself with the masses, one must act in accordance with the needs and wishes of the masses. All work done for the masses must start from their needs and not from the desire of any individual, however well-intentioned. It often happens that objectively the masses need a certain change, but subjectively they are not yet conscious of the need, not yet willing or determined to make the change. In such cases, we should wait patiently. We should not make the change until, through our work, most of the masses have become conscious of the need and are willing and determined to carry it out. Otherwise we shall isolate ourselves from the masses. Unless they are conscious and willing, any kind of work that requires their participation will turn out to be a mere formality and will fail.... There are two principles here: one is the actual needs of the masses rather than what we fancy they need, and the other is the wishes of the masses, who must make up their own minds instead of our making up their minds for them.



~Mao Zedong

[cyu]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22957099

it took just one or two people to put their hands together for a ripple of applause to spread through the crowd.

These claps sparked a chain reaction, where, spurred on by the noise, other audience members joined in.

The pressure comes from the volume of clapping in the room rather than what your neighbour sitting next to you is doing

once you've started there's an equally strong social pressure not to stop, until someone initiates that stopping

clapping is a form of "social contagion", which reveals how how ideas and actions gain and lose momentum.

Studying this could shed light on other areas, such as how trends come in and go out of fashion or how ideas spread on the internet

the equivalent on Facebook or Twitter would be whether you are more likely to join in a trend if you see lots of people in the wider world mentioning it or if just your closer friends mention it.

[AnSyn Blackflag]

My main resource is myself and ten other members. Most of the ppl in my area don't have internet as a resource. Having meetings in public places isn't really much of an option either due to police harassment . Basically limited resources.

In this case I would find meetings in public places your best asset.

Some camera men + unjust harassment = perfect platform for recruitment campaign

If you put together some information pamphlets and booths with a solid demonstration than you can give the locals every outlet they need to see what you are all about. Exposing the harrasment of the police will be your supporting argument.

[GBOG]

The best recruitment strategy out there is doing something that 1) aims at improving everyday life and 2) actually gives result.

Have fun.

[AnSyn Blackflag]

The best recruitment strategy out there is doing something that 1) aims at improving everyday life and 2) actually gives result.

Have fun.

That would not be the recruitment strategy. That would be the mission that you are trying to recruit aid to accomplish.

[GBOG]

That would not be the recruitment strategy. That would be the mission that you are trying to recruit aid to accomplish.

No, if you want people to join your organisation/campaign/whatever you'll have to show them why. Who do you want to recruit? Probably working class people. And where do you find working class people? At work or your own neighbourhood should be a good start. Then you find out what you and the people around you would benefit from and start to work towards it. Make sure to have one big, achievable goal and a couple of smaller ones. By accomplishing the smaller goals you show the others your methods work and now they have an actual reason to join your thing.

Never expect someone to join something because of "good theories" or a fancy pr-campaign.

[MarxArchist]

recruitment for what
Fight Club. It's hard to recruit when we can't talk about it.

[MarxArchist]

Be careful with seasol type actions, they might have uninteded consequences.

Like having places close down and everyone lose their jobs?

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

Like having places close down and everyone lose their jobs?

Mind you, I've never actually heard of that happening.
I think that falls in the category of threats like, "We'll expel every student who walks out!" and "We'll press charges if you don't leave [this public sidewalk where you're handing out fliers] right now!"

[Ceallach_the_Witch]

I usually keep a few old SPGB booklets and a little primer on marxism around the house and a few in the pockets in my jacket so if I get started somewhere I can provide a bit more than word of mouth. Talking to people at university or to friends/aquaintances at the pub I can usually right a few wrong perceptions at least and I've got a few people interested enough to research stuff themselves. I'm not specifically recruiting for a party, I'm really more concerned with just answering peoples' questions and asking a few of my own. If I cure a few people of the idea that communism = brutal dictatorship then at least I've made a bit of a difference

[L1NKS]

Recruiting those who matter

Go to where society casts the unworthy. Welfare office, the slums, the ghettos, significant places. I often observe parties or organisations having their info-booth in center of town, or next to some fancy shopping mall-monstrosity where these people hardly ever show up.

Tell them that they are being fucked over, and why. You might already know all that, but maybe they do not. Oppression is not widely understood.

Do not use technical terms that only a few people can understand. Do not start explaining historical materialism, since no one will give a damn, and rightly so. I have been approached by some Marxist-Leninist people on several occasions myself, and they all intended to give me a lecture. Too few people understand the following: Theory is irrelevant, when it comes to recruiting, to political activism. So keep your academic nonsense, where it belongs - the seminar.

Remember: you are neither a messiah nor do you know the truth, you just have a proper understanding of what is severly wrong with society, and so do they. Appeal to that.

Encourage them. Tell them that, if they like, they can contribute to building a social movement that aims at improving their very living and working conditions. Tell them, that they are the majority, and if they work together they can start capitalizing on that. Tell them, it does not have to be like this forever, tell them, it is time to return the favor.

Know your audience.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

Recruiting those who matter

Go to where society casts the unworthy. Welfare office, the slums, the ghettos, significant places. I often observe parties or organisations having their info-booth in center of town, or next to some fancy shopping mall-monstrosity where these people hardly ever show up.

Tell them that they are being fucked over, and why. You might already know all that, but maybe they do not. Oppression is not widely understood.

Do not use technical terms that only a few people can understand. Do not start explaining historical materialism, since no one will give a damn, and rightly so. I have been approached by some Marxist-Leninist people on several occasions myself, and they all intended to give me a lecture. Too few people understand the following: Theory is irrelevant, when it comes to recruiting, to political activism. So keep your academic nonsense, where it belongs - the seminar.

Remember: you are neither a messiah nor do you know the truth, you just have a proper understanding of what is severly wrong with society, and so do they. Appeal to that.

Encourage them. Tell them that, if they like, they can contribute to building a social movement that aims at improving their very living and working conditions. Tell them, that they are the majority, and if they work together they can start capitalizing on that. Tell them, it does not have to be like this forever, tell them, it is time to return the favor.

Know your audience.

I'm pretty sure that, unless one is already at the welfare office, the food bank, or in the slums, you don't have a proper understanding because your understanding is from books, and not from real practice. Or, rather, one may have a proper understanding, but it is specific to where one is at.
That said, there is something to be said for going to the "most downtrodden" but it's not to tell the anything: it's too listen. It's by listening, and sharing real experience with people that you can develop theory that really suits the conditions.
Theory is a necessity, it's not just for the seminar, and that attitude is condescending. Theory produced in seminars, on the other hand, is largely irrelevant outside of seminars, and that's where the problem lies. Working people are absolutely capable of theory, but it has to arise, in their own language, from their own experiences of struggle, and can't be handed down from above: in fact, while much useful theory has been synthesized, written down, and propagated by "intellectuals", it is useful because it has emerged from conditions and experiences that are far broader.
So, you know, don't show up at the welfare office to propagandize: show up at the welfare office to learn. If you're going to propagandize, you need to learn to do it in such a way that you're telling people what they already know in their own words. Otherwise, you might as well show up in full cos-play outfit and speak Klingon.

[cyu]

show up at the welfare office to learn


Reminds me of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy_of_the_Oppressed

Pedagogy of the Oppressed is a revolutionary text, and people in totalitarian states risk punishment reading it.

During the South African anti-apartheid struggle, ad-hoc copies of Pedagogy of the Oppressed were distributed underground as part of the "ideological weaponry" of various revolutionary groups like the Black Consciousness Movement. In the 1970s and 1980s the book was banned and kept clandestine.

[blake 3:17]

So, you know, don't show up at the welfare office to propagandize: show up at the welfare office to learn. If you're going to propagandize, you need to learn to do it in such a way that you're telling people what they already know in their own words. Otherwise, you might as well show up in full cos-play outfit and speak Klingon.

Best actions in my life were crashing welfare offices in the late 90s -- folks'd go to advocate for someone denied benefits and were getting screwed around -- and we'd leaflet other folks there not on abstract issues but on how we or others could help them deal with the bureaucrats.

The office would usually call the cops, cops'd arrive, and nothing illegal was happening.

[tachosomoza]

Don't jump in with huge words and theory, it's a turnoff. Listen, observe, and tailor your message to your audience.

[Kingfish]

Well I cant provide you with much pointers but I can tell you some of the things which have made political recruiters off putting (some of which have already been brought up:

1.Having terrible breath/poor hygiene - guy had some alright ideas but I couldn't stand being near him for more than a few minutes
2. Being too aggressive about donations/sales
3. Not listening / just giving out one on one 'lectures'
4. Being theory heavy
5. No local focus or conversely no larger focus
6. Relying too much on buzzwords
7. Not being able to answer basic questions about your group (one group would only give me their party outline if a payed for a $7 booklet).

[Angry Young Man]

Pick up a copy of the Transitional Programme, read it, adapt your recrtuitment strategy to it.

[cyu]

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2014/12/12/how-networks-are-revolutionizing-scientific-and-maybe-human-thought/

individual weight gain in a social network of over 12,000 people was associated with weight gain in their spouses, friends, siblings and neighbors even beyond the level of direct social contact—people you have never met face to face may influence how well you keep to a desired weight.

Common sense tells us that people with the strongest ties with others ought to be the most influential people to have around when, say, you are launching a new product or trying to convince others to accept a new idea. Network research, however, has shown that it is those who have weaker ties with others outside their immediate social circle who are actually in the best position to get the word out.


http://acawiki.org/The_strength_of_weak_ties

if someone is strong tied to someone else, those around their tie will also be tied to them and ties will be redundant. for diffusion across a network, the weak ties are most valuable.

Weak ties are more likely to link different groups together and so can provide a way of connecting the literatures on small groups or families with more macro discussions of social structure.

[cyu]

I just started paying my bills by also writing "Workplace Democracy: Anarcho-Syndicalism" on all the checks and bill stubs. Not expecting much out of it, but better than *not* writing it I assume. My bank also saves an image of all the checks, so it's going to be in the records for bank employees to look at too :grin:

[BIXX]

Iiiitttsss aaallliiiiivvvveee