Ideas for High School Political Club

[enigma2517]

I have some ideas in mind, but are there any suggestions on forming a political club in high school.

I filled out all the paper work and started "Alternative Politics"

Don't worry its exclusively red/black :)

Traditionally clubs have officers that are elected and preside throughout the whole year.

I was thinking of organizing on more libertarian principles, like recall/mandate, etc.

Right now its just a discussion group but we could take it further, once these kids actually know why they're doing what they are. Perhaps some counter recruitment? Any other kind of demonstrations that won't get me expelled?

Lastly, any suggestions for advertising? My problem is this, too many kids are apolitical because hey "I'm not 18 yet I can't vote". Before proclaiming the necessary fall of capitalism and the state, maybe i should send out a general message of empowerment, saying that this is YOUR community and you have the power to change it.

Any other comments would be welcome too, thanks.

[Leif]

Just meet at a certain place every week, month, or day, and plan on what the students can do to make change. If possible, do it directly after talking about it.

We can make change.

[danny android]

try to bring in speakers and what not from your community to talk about certain issues such as homelessness and feeding the poor.

[bed_of_nails]

Dont necessarily have debates with people, but find a knowledgable and open-minded Economics teacher and bring them in for a discussion.

They guy I quoted in my signature is great. We spend part of the class discussing Communism and comparing the real deal to crap like the Soviet Union.

[enigma2517]

Good suggestions thanks.

I wrote a pamphlet that I tried to hand out but its so long nobody took interest. My friend pointed out that it was a little bit "heavy" for high school students.

Whats a good way to appeal to young people without stupidifying the message? I need to promote my club through flyers and what not and I was just wondering how I could do it so it would catch a person's eye but at the same time explain what I need it to.

Perhaps I don't need to explain all that theory. Maybe I can just give them a little bit and have them become intriuged and then I'll bait and switch with my class analysis and historical materialism :)

[RebeldePorLaPAZ]

One of the most effective things to do, and trust me it works is setting up counter recruitment tables next to military recruiters.

First get permission to do it the same day they visit your school.

Second prepare your material so its catchy and effective.

It's also important to shove more than just matirial why not to join the military but also matirial on how to get involved in the community, alternatives to capitalism, contacts to local groups.

This all works well in more urban areas and those with minorities in them. It doesnt flow so well in a suburban upperclass neighborhood. It could depending where you live.

Also if you have a laptop it would be a good idea to stream videos from www.GNN.tv. They have good anti-war videos and that would deff catch peoples attention.

[HoorayForTheRedBlackandGreen]

The vast majority of high-schoolers are idiots. The ones who care about the world are half-republican. You have a very small fraction of the student body to work with.

[danny android]

ok mister negative

[Ownthink]

Originally posted by danny [email protected] 6 2005, 07:15 PM
ok mister negative
Actually, he's right. I've found that same exact thing. Most kids don't give a shit about anything other than their TV dinners and cell phones. And the ones who do seem to be interested in Politics are all Republicans and idiots.

Sad, but true.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Originally posted by [email protected] 5 2005, 08:13 PM
Good suggestions thanks.

I wrote a pamphlet that I tried to hand out but its so long nobody took interest. My friend pointed out that it was a little bit "heavy" for high school students.

Whats a good way to appeal to young people without stupidifying the message? I need to promote my club through flyers and what not and I was just wondering how I could do it so it would catch a person's eye but at the same time explain what I need it to.

Perhaps I don't need to explain all that theory. Maybe I can just give them a little bit and have them become intriuged and then I'll bait and switch with my class analysis and historical materialism :)
RebeldePorLaPaz had alot of good advice..

also.. you should check papers like The Rebel Yell! (http://www.freepeoplesmovement.org/ry/rebelyell.html) for ideas of what type of material can be aimed at youth and how it should be written..

I think the FAQ (http://www.freepeoplesmovement.org/ry/faq.html) is great to reprint and hand out..

[vladimirm]

Our job is to make peopel understand communism. if we cant explain it to them in a way they can understand and appreciate then we will never get anywhere

[DisIllusion]

Originally posted by Ownthink+Oct 6 2005, 03:40 PM--> (Ownthink @ Oct 6 2005, 03:40 PM)
danny [email protected] 6 2005, 07:15 PM
ok mister negative
Actually, he's right. I've found that same exact thing. Most kids don't give a shit about anything other than their TV dinners and cell phones. And the ones who do seem to be interested in Politics are all Republicans and idiots.

Sad, but true. [/b]
Same situation where I live, but the kids here are more "left-wing" where they'l just take anybody who's not Bush. They are also afraid of Communism, since the first thing they think of when they hear Communism is Stalin, so i've been trying to change that mindset.


This all works well in more urban areas and those with minorities in them. It doesnt flow so well in a suburban upperclass neighborhood. It could depending where you live.

I live in an area where the minorities, (Asian, Indians) are the majority. But we are still pretty middle class suburbia folks. Do you think that Marxism would appeal to them?


And if I was to start a Socialist Commune, when should I do it? When i'm older like a junior or maybe even in sophomore year?

[HoorayForTheRedBlackandGreen]

The trick with convincing people that socialism might not be so bad is making jokes about capitalism. Also say I don't like Stalin/Mao/Lenin constantly. Never be very serious. When you try to be serious, your audience will say things like "You're an asshole." (Not that I'm denying that).

So this is the best way to convince people socialism isn't bad (that I know of) in the order I've done it.

1. Make capitalism jokes
2. Make socialism jokes
3. Let them approach you. Have serious conversation for no longer than 30 seconds, or they'll lose interest and remember Stalin.
4. Give them resources (revleft, a book)

[I'm the red under your bed]

personally,i think that making students politically aware.It also scares the shit out of teachers.For example i go to a catholic school and they staged a mock election and they couldnt stop me entering as the communist party(came third,grrrr).But yea great idea!get people interested but dont do things that some people will find boring...i dont know what that is but i sure you willl find out.

[danny android]

lol that's funny I ran for president of my class last year and I made poster that said "vote for me... A comunist" they were great and got a lot of attention. I lost the election though. The election was rigged I accidently said "ASB is a joke" to the people in charge and basically told them that I wasn't going to do anything if I was elected president. I think this year I'm going to run on an anti-military platform and promise to kick out recruiters and see how that goes.

[which doctor]

Originally posted by [email protected] 5 2005, 11:04 PM
And if I was to start a Socialist Commune, when should I do it? When i'm older like a junior or maybe even in sophomore year?
What do you mean by a socialist commune?

Do you mean like the ones that the hippes ran away and joined? If that's what you're talking about then you should probaly wait until your a bit older. Or even better instead of escaping capitalism, find ways to fight it.

Please elaborate on commune.

[STI]

Whats a good way to appeal to young people without stupidifying the message? I need to promote my club through flyers and what not and I was just wondering how I could do it so it would catch a person's eye but at the same time explain what I need it to.

I'd like to read the pamphlet, just to know exactly what I'm giving advice about, but if I had do guess what I'd say, it'd be something like this:

You don't really need to "stupify" anything, people aren't really that stupid when you give them a chance. If I had to guess (based entirely on my own experience with trying to talk about revolutionary leftism with people in my own highschool), I'd say that maybe the problems are with tone and jargon.

When I was first getting into politics, I loved jargon. It was great. "Proletarian" just sounds so cool and unique. Problem is that most people don't respond to jargon because they're not familiar with it. The word "Proletariat" can pretty easily be replaced by "Working class" and "bourgeoisie" with "ruling class". Stuff like that.

And with tone, it's really important to remember who you are and who the people reading your pamphlet are. Chances are, you've got a lot of the same experiences, and you're getting screwed by the same things they're getting screwed by. Try approaching your next pamphlet as somebody who's pissed off (but not fanatical) about whatever your pamphlet is about (it helps if it's a matter of collective self-interest rather than a moral objection to one thing or another), and as someone who is trying to get them just as pissed off, because then the whole lot of you can fight to make things better.

Remember, as a leftist, you are, among other things, a "rabble rouser" and a "shit disturber". It's fine to use casual language (I'd even suggest swearing once in a while, but you'd probably get in some unnecessary trouble for that at school), in fact, it's probably better.

You're united with the other students along class lines. You have that in common, and you can tap into that.

[bezdomni]

Make communism apply to them. Give it all an impact...why the hell does it matter?

Make sure they know that they matter, that their opinions matter and that the future lies with the working class.

Also, I've found that direct confrontation and paraphrasing of Marx does not work when trying to "convert" someone to communism. Going on slow is a lot easier. Start with asking some questions, then bring up your opinions (and explain them) and then introduce communist ideas.

I've also found describing communism without calling it communism will get a lot of people to agree with you. For example, if you tell a bunch of students that the students should be able to run the school as opposed to the people who are appointed by the state and paid-off by rich parents, they will militantly agree with you. If you tell co-workers that you should be able to run your company entirely through your union, as opposed to the jerkass, unelected managers...then you will get people agreeing with you.

You can say that the idea is communism later. If you say "hey, we should all be communists", people might think you're joking, as many in the west have a negative concept of communism.

Make sure everyone understands that it's not just a "nice idea on paper". Make it practical, because it is.

[enigma2517]

Well said. I could not agree more.

I've been studying the Paris May 1968 events and I realized what made the Situationists so influential.

Mind you, I despise lifestylism. Class struggle is the only vehicle of change, in my opinion.

However, people like Guy DeBord wrote about the revolution of everyday life! Yes, it'd be nice if people understood how basic economics work and how the social relations of capital blah blah blah but whats really important, especially when it comes to drawing them in for the first time, is relating their own experiences back to capitalism.

Depending on where you live, this may be hard. In America, most people are still pretty upbeat. After a few unsucessful imperialist wars and several economic depressions, people would definetely be more receptive to ideas. Thats not to say you can't say something now, its just that it will probably fall on a lot more deaf ears. Consumerism has a tight grasp on the first world, but as the 21st century looms ahead I'm not sure that it will always be that way.

[Janus]

As others have mentioned, making communism apply to a high school students life would be extremely practical. Address everyday issues and show them how communism would be applied. Also, simplifying the vocabulary would be very helpful to the average student who doesn't understand Marxist terms. If you're starting a high school political club, you would first have to find a teacher to sponsor it and the problem is that there are few communist teachers out there.