Forward Union
21st January 2007, 11:30
Beginners guide to Getting Active
*unfinished*
It's an overused phrase, but one that holds true to this day; "actions speak louder than words" especially when those words are typed to the closed community of Revleft. If you have made it to the revleft practice section, and shown an interest in this thread, then you are definitely the sort of person we need. There are a lot of members here who are clued up in their theory and history, but are perhaps, unsure, or scared of getting active. There are no excuses for inactivity, the working class needs to link up, and organise more than ever before. For those of you looking to get active, this is intended to help you!
---------
Contents
---------
1. Hooking up with already existent organisations
-Local/national organisations
-Entryism/Infiltraition
2. Establishing your own organisation
3. Different potential activities.
4. Network building
---------
Hooking up with already existent organisations
The chances are, if you live in a town or city, there will be an active organisation of some description functioning locally. It saves time, effort, money and resources joining an already existent organisation. So it goes without saying that this option is almost always preferable.
Local/national organisations
There are several ways of getting in touch with an active local organisations in your area. In some places, however, it's easier than others.
Firstly, there are a few places you can go and check/enquire right now on the internet. The Political Contacts thread (http://www.revolutionaryleft.com/index.php?showtopic=31615), The Anarchist Yellow Pages (http://ayp.subvert.info/) or Libcom.org (http://libcom.org/forums). If none of these searches turn up anything, you can contact me personally (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?act=Msg&CODE=4&MID=7270) or make a thread in the practice section of this forum, and I'll do my best to find out if there's anyone active near you within a couple of weeks.
Offline, it's also quite possible that there is an active Social centre near you. Check this list http://www.londonarc.org/social_centre_network.html or contact the Social Centres Network yourself.
It's important to remember that social centres are not the only hubs for activists, fairtrade/charity shops also function as meeting houses for liberal/peace activists, who will likely have come in contact with more radical individuals/groups at various actions in the past. They're annoying, but in this instance, they can help you out. Next time you're free, pop in and have a chat.
Beyond the obvious forms of organisation, there are other ways into the movement.
If you're not looking out for them you might miss them, but groups often flypost and sticker communities in the hope that people who agree with the messages will get in touch and join. So if there are any class-strugle stickers around, pull one off and keep the contact details.
In Europe, the Football culture is often riddled with working class politics. In certain parts of the country small football clubs speak out against capitalism, and have large anti-capitalist anti-racist support bases. Even major teams like Celtic. If you are a football fan, consider finding out if there are any anti-capitalist antifascist fan clubs tied into your team, and see if you can get involved. A lot of this activism is directed toward limiting nazi groups like C18s ability to try and organise in the football scene. This will probably work better for European members of this forum, but unfortunately not for others.
Music is also often politically charged. Although it' politics are often weak at best, many activists attend punk/rock gigs or even Hiphop. Normally there will be a stand or stands set up inside the venue to distribute Political material. If you can make it to a political gig, do, and try and find out if there are any local groups attending.
National Organisations
They're easy enough to get in touch with, but may not have a branch near you. If they do not, consider the practical benefits and drawbacks of being involved with the national organisation. In isolation, card-carrying doesn't make you any more revolutionary, and will likely set you back financially.
That said, they will often assist in forming a branch if there isn't one, or at least make it easier for you to get to national events by organising transport/food/a place to stay and giving you plenty of notice. For a substantial list of political organisations around the world, check out the Political Contacts thread. Once in touch, ask if there is an active branch near you, if they know of any activists worth getting in contact with in your area.
Again, a large list of these groups is available on this forum. Go to the political organisations or political campaigns threads pinned in the practice section of the forum, e-mail the one that appeals to you the most, and you could be politically active within a day!.
Entryism
Entryism is a political tactic, which encourages individuals or groups of individuals to enter an existing organisation, and take it over, twist it's policies, recruit members from it or change it in some way. It's often considered to be a dirty tactic, but liberals do it to revolutionary organisations (often unintentionally) on more occasions than is worth mentioning.
The reason I bring it up, is that as an individual (or a group of friends) you may wish to join a local organisation that is not exceptionally revolutionary (but should be) and radicalise it in some way. This could include student-based peace groups, human rights groups or more traditional, trade unions. That often lack the initiative to take part in class struggle/direct action.
If you fail to change the direction of the group, or see it as a somewhat impossible task, at the very least, build friendships with the sympathetic members, and invite them to form another group that runs parallel with the liberal one. Of course you do not want to create an atmosphere of hostility between any grassroots organisations, as solidarity is important, continue some sort of support for the original organisation and it's practices, the members etc. Simply function separately, on your own terms.
Establishing your own organisation.
Although it takes a bit of time, effort and money, it's shockingly easy, and a very empowering experience.
To form a community group. First you obviously have to ask yourself the basics. Are you going to be an Anarchist group, a communist one, or just a group that works democratically for working class interests etc?. You also need to consider whether or not you will sign up to a national organisation or even an international body. In which case they will advise you on what to produce and of course influence how you organise. What follows is a rough, non-politically aligned guide. But whatever ideological route you want your organisation to follow (if any) remember that if you put an Anarchy A or hammer and sickle on your leaflets and publications, you will attract a very specific group of people. But that's sometimes a good idea, they'll be a good core of people to kick-start something more popular.
Basically you need to sort out what your group is, and the best way of doing that is by establishing some Aims and principals. They should be simple, not too wordy, and vague enough to let most working people in. But not those who utterly disagree, like fascists or liberals. Many groups adopt the PGA hallmarks, if you decide to do so, do not call them 'the PGA hallmarks' for a very technical reason. If you wanted to change/revise them at a later date you would have to take it the International forum of the PGA and propose the changes, whereas if you rename them, but maintain the content, they are yours to manipulate.
The most important thing to do is to get a few hundred leaflets done, advertising a time and a place for an open meeting. Before you do that however, try and find out about something happening locally, an attack on your community, like a factory closure or something bigger like the health service or the war in iraq, or perhaps even privatisation of industry for your initial meeting to focus on. Read through your local paper, and I guarantee you will find at least one article that translates as an attack on the working class, perhaps in the form of a development etc.
Organise a venue. Proportionate to how many leaflets/posters you distribute. Choose a fairly quiet place. It's often useful to situate your meeting somewhere that serves alcoholic drinks, so if you can book a room above a bar or club of some sort, I would strongly recommend it. When people arrive explain how the meeting will function, presumably you will facilitate, and that you work on concensus/or majority voting or whatever. If you don't feel capable of running a meeting (though these meetings normally run themselves) then ask a friend, or even a national organisation to facilitate the opening meeting.
After the initial meeting, get as many people's contacts down, donations to pay for the room, and book a place and time for the next meeting. Keeping the momentum going is important.
One thing that seems important to mention, is the idea of a sustainable organisation. Many groups today are built up of students, immigrants, and young people. Which is not a bad thing in itself, but leads to groups being short lived and innefective. Students are often only in a certain area for a few years, and leave the region regularly during holidays. This normally takes enough members out of the group to parylise it. It also causes a 'temporary mentality', in which people are more concerned with fullfilling stunts to tell their friends, than building a movement in the given region. But students are working class people that need to organise never-the-less.
So I would advise any existing groups, or groups to-be, to try and recuit working class residents and workers, as a stable, long term base. And also, when thinking of potential action, consider the long-term worth of such an action.
----
If you need any help producing poster designs, please feel free to make a thread either in Events and Propaganda or Graphics.
If you need to discuss the specifics of setting up a group or joining one, again, feel free to start a thread in the practice forum, or contact me personally (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?act=Msg&CODE=4&MID=7270)
Know your rights!
Activist rights manual for Australia (http://www.activistrightsmanual.com/)
*unfinished*
It's an overused phrase, but one that holds true to this day; "actions speak louder than words" especially when those words are typed to the closed community of Revleft. If you have made it to the revleft practice section, and shown an interest in this thread, then you are definitely the sort of person we need. There are a lot of members here who are clued up in their theory and history, but are perhaps, unsure, or scared of getting active. There are no excuses for inactivity, the working class needs to link up, and organise more than ever before. For those of you looking to get active, this is intended to help you!
---------
Contents
---------
1. Hooking up with already existent organisations
-Local/national organisations
-Entryism/Infiltraition
2. Establishing your own organisation
3. Different potential activities.
4. Network building
---------
Hooking up with already existent organisations
The chances are, if you live in a town or city, there will be an active organisation of some description functioning locally. It saves time, effort, money and resources joining an already existent organisation. So it goes without saying that this option is almost always preferable.
Local/national organisations
There are several ways of getting in touch with an active local organisations in your area. In some places, however, it's easier than others.
Firstly, there are a few places you can go and check/enquire right now on the internet. The Political Contacts thread (http://www.revolutionaryleft.com/index.php?showtopic=31615), The Anarchist Yellow Pages (http://ayp.subvert.info/) or Libcom.org (http://libcom.org/forums). If none of these searches turn up anything, you can contact me personally (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?act=Msg&CODE=4&MID=7270) or make a thread in the practice section of this forum, and I'll do my best to find out if there's anyone active near you within a couple of weeks.
Offline, it's also quite possible that there is an active Social centre near you. Check this list http://www.londonarc.org/social_centre_network.html or contact the Social Centres Network yourself.
It's important to remember that social centres are not the only hubs for activists, fairtrade/charity shops also function as meeting houses for liberal/peace activists, who will likely have come in contact with more radical individuals/groups at various actions in the past. They're annoying, but in this instance, they can help you out. Next time you're free, pop in and have a chat.
Beyond the obvious forms of organisation, there are other ways into the movement.
If you're not looking out for them you might miss them, but groups often flypost and sticker communities in the hope that people who agree with the messages will get in touch and join. So if there are any class-strugle stickers around, pull one off and keep the contact details.
In Europe, the Football culture is often riddled with working class politics. In certain parts of the country small football clubs speak out against capitalism, and have large anti-capitalist anti-racist support bases. Even major teams like Celtic. If you are a football fan, consider finding out if there are any anti-capitalist antifascist fan clubs tied into your team, and see if you can get involved. A lot of this activism is directed toward limiting nazi groups like C18s ability to try and organise in the football scene. This will probably work better for European members of this forum, but unfortunately not for others.
Music is also often politically charged. Although it' politics are often weak at best, many activists attend punk/rock gigs or even Hiphop. Normally there will be a stand or stands set up inside the venue to distribute Political material. If you can make it to a political gig, do, and try and find out if there are any local groups attending.
National Organisations
They're easy enough to get in touch with, but may not have a branch near you. If they do not, consider the practical benefits and drawbacks of being involved with the national organisation. In isolation, card-carrying doesn't make you any more revolutionary, and will likely set you back financially.
That said, they will often assist in forming a branch if there isn't one, or at least make it easier for you to get to national events by organising transport/food/a place to stay and giving you plenty of notice. For a substantial list of political organisations around the world, check out the Political Contacts thread. Once in touch, ask if there is an active branch near you, if they know of any activists worth getting in contact with in your area.
Again, a large list of these groups is available on this forum. Go to the political organisations or political campaigns threads pinned in the practice section of the forum, e-mail the one that appeals to you the most, and you could be politically active within a day!.
Entryism
Entryism is a political tactic, which encourages individuals or groups of individuals to enter an existing organisation, and take it over, twist it's policies, recruit members from it or change it in some way. It's often considered to be a dirty tactic, but liberals do it to revolutionary organisations (often unintentionally) on more occasions than is worth mentioning.
The reason I bring it up, is that as an individual (or a group of friends) you may wish to join a local organisation that is not exceptionally revolutionary (but should be) and radicalise it in some way. This could include student-based peace groups, human rights groups or more traditional, trade unions. That often lack the initiative to take part in class struggle/direct action.
If you fail to change the direction of the group, or see it as a somewhat impossible task, at the very least, build friendships with the sympathetic members, and invite them to form another group that runs parallel with the liberal one. Of course you do not want to create an atmosphere of hostility between any grassroots organisations, as solidarity is important, continue some sort of support for the original organisation and it's practices, the members etc. Simply function separately, on your own terms.
Establishing your own organisation.
Although it takes a bit of time, effort and money, it's shockingly easy, and a very empowering experience.
To form a community group. First you obviously have to ask yourself the basics. Are you going to be an Anarchist group, a communist one, or just a group that works democratically for working class interests etc?. You also need to consider whether or not you will sign up to a national organisation or even an international body. In which case they will advise you on what to produce and of course influence how you organise. What follows is a rough, non-politically aligned guide. But whatever ideological route you want your organisation to follow (if any) remember that if you put an Anarchy A or hammer and sickle on your leaflets and publications, you will attract a very specific group of people. But that's sometimes a good idea, they'll be a good core of people to kick-start something more popular.
Basically you need to sort out what your group is, and the best way of doing that is by establishing some Aims and principals. They should be simple, not too wordy, and vague enough to let most working people in. But not those who utterly disagree, like fascists or liberals. Many groups adopt the PGA hallmarks, if you decide to do so, do not call them 'the PGA hallmarks' for a very technical reason. If you wanted to change/revise them at a later date you would have to take it the International forum of the PGA and propose the changes, whereas if you rename them, but maintain the content, they are yours to manipulate.
The most important thing to do is to get a few hundred leaflets done, advertising a time and a place for an open meeting. Before you do that however, try and find out about something happening locally, an attack on your community, like a factory closure or something bigger like the health service or the war in iraq, or perhaps even privatisation of industry for your initial meeting to focus on. Read through your local paper, and I guarantee you will find at least one article that translates as an attack on the working class, perhaps in the form of a development etc.
Organise a venue. Proportionate to how many leaflets/posters you distribute. Choose a fairly quiet place. It's often useful to situate your meeting somewhere that serves alcoholic drinks, so if you can book a room above a bar or club of some sort, I would strongly recommend it. When people arrive explain how the meeting will function, presumably you will facilitate, and that you work on concensus/or majority voting or whatever. If you don't feel capable of running a meeting (though these meetings normally run themselves) then ask a friend, or even a national organisation to facilitate the opening meeting.
After the initial meeting, get as many people's contacts down, donations to pay for the room, and book a place and time for the next meeting. Keeping the momentum going is important.
One thing that seems important to mention, is the idea of a sustainable organisation. Many groups today are built up of students, immigrants, and young people. Which is not a bad thing in itself, but leads to groups being short lived and innefective. Students are often only in a certain area for a few years, and leave the region regularly during holidays. This normally takes enough members out of the group to parylise it. It also causes a 'temporary mentality', in which people are more concerned with fullfilling stunts to tell their friends, than building a movement in the given region. But students are working class people that need to organise never-the-less.
So I would advise any existing groups, or groups to-be, to try and recuit working class residents and workers, as a stable, long term base. And also, when thinking of potential action, consider the long-term worth of such an action.
----
If you need any help producing poster designs, please feel free to make a thread either in Events and Propaganda or Graphics.
If you need to discuss the specifics of setting up a group or joining one, again, feel free to start a thread in the practice forum, or contact me personally (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?act=Msg&CODE=4&MID=7270)
Know your rights!
Activist rights manual for Australia (http://www.activistrightsmanual.com/)