Project Takeoff!

[Robespierre Richard]

Project Takeoff!
This is not a manifesto

The idea of Project Takeoff! is to provide an easy method of access to pro-Socialist activism outside of the current paradigms of political parties. Itself, the project is an organization of individuals that wish to further the cause of Socialism in its Marxist definition to all layers of society through all available mediums.
The structure of Project Takeoff! itself is modeled after Project Chanology which is at the time of this writing a non-violent group seeking to "dismantle the Church of Scientology in its present form."

Why Takeoff?

With the rise of the Internet and other mediums of communication, communists have had minimal impact on it, and are on it, just like in the outside world, a fragmented force.

The internet itself is a very useful tool for organization of such a force as communists, as the technology allows cheap transfer of information in real time, by anyone.

The formation of a 'leaderless' group as the technology to allow that is present and can be utilized in the group's interests, and become more efficient than a vertical structure.

The inclusion of anyone who wishes to help in a simple manner as little explanation of certain ideas is required because the group is a political party.

How do I join Project Takeoff?

Nothing is required to join Project Takeoff as formally there is no registration procedure. However you may wish to join or found a local chapter and its actions within the framework of Project Takeoff. On the internet you cay join or found a group for the discussion of Project Takeoff's direct actions and strategy, as well as what can be done on the Internet.

Of course right now it may seem confusing what 'join or found' means, but in the framework of a leaderless, ahierarchial group, you - the individual - are both leader and follower, and are not limited by any force within the group, and are in fact encouraged to do partake actions that will benefit the cause.
Of course if there is an action that the group's majority is against and damages the group, the person/people that partook it stand alone in the collective's eyes.

If you are currently a member of a political party, you may wish to join, whether as representing that party or not, and tell other party members about it as Takeoff is an unaffiliated group that is by its structure willing and able to cooperate with the current movements, but neither as a congress nor as a subsidiary of them, as it functions by a different paradigm.

Conclusion

This being said, the purpose of Takeoff is purely action, which can be organized via the Internet and around the world to further the cause of Socialism. Its own ideology is by definition Marxist but not of specific interpretation leaving it to when it is necessary.

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I've been active in Project Chanology four months now here in Washington, DC. Had this idea a little over a month ago, finally decided to write it up tonight. We can discuss/plan it here if you're interested.

[Robespierre Richard]

I guess I should explain what procedure can be for this as it's still pretty vague.

Internet operations: Recruiting, popularizing the main base of operations, planning real life actions, etc.

Flashmob operations: Create/find non-confrontational fliers that explain what socialism is and what it wants to accomplish and go around your city in a group distributing them. Research of what each demographic(class, social position, etc) would want from our fliers should be done beforehand.
Similarly the delivery is researched as well. For example the wealthier 'middle class' may be approached with a humorous and original delivery(a principle we in chanology call lulz) to sway them away from the present realities, while those of a less wealthy background often do not find things as funny and may be more likely to agree with the overall message from the start. Recruitment in real life is important too as to outreach to people who do not have the time for and access to the internet.

"Raids" - As there is already a certain amount of actions made by the communist organizations that be, the purpose of this is to raise the status of the group participating in the project. It's more of a party than a rally. Possibilities for what could be done at them are music, guest speakers, outreach to the community, etc. A very valuable tool for raising awareness of the cause in one specific area. Not a substitute for flashmobs.

These things while are leaderless require organizers, etc. So if you wish to continue discussion of this(as I did not get very enthusiastic or any replies). I realize that this sounds very unconventional to just start something here but when I thought about it, I realized that it would be a sin not to. So I will continue looking for support until it is found. Thank you for your attention.

[hekmatista]

There may be some value in this experiment.

[cenv]

So basically, it would be a propaganda group without all the baggage of a political party? This sounds like a neat idea! Maybe you should create some sort of forum for more central discussion of this instead of scattering it around a bunch of different communist forums.

[Robespierre Richard]

So basically, it would be a propaganda group without all the baggage of a political party? This sounds like a neat idea! Maybe you should create some sort of forum for more central discussion of this instead of scattering it around a bunch of different communist forums.

Well, right now I am just gathering feedback about the specifics. I do however think of setting up a free forums thing so that we can find out exactly what we can do until more is required. It's just that it's only in the stage of conception right now, hehe.

[Robespierre Richard]

Today I set up a little board as suggested to have all discussion of the project in one place. Guest posting IS permitted.

However I can't post links until I get 25 posts :blushing: :blushing: so please copy-paste this into your address bar. vvv

takeoff.ipbfree.com

[RaiseYourVoice]

For those who are to lazy
http://takeoff.ipbfree.com/

For this thread, do you do this alone or with someone?
The problems I see:

- Its pretty vague, just randomly throwing flyers might get some attention, but certainly can't be the only action
- Organising on the internet has some problems, one being if you are alone in london, someone else is alone in NYC, nothing much will be gained. And of course its very hard to keep up work with people you don't really know. It would probably good if you had some people you trust and think you can work with to get something like this started.
- I would narrow down the topics for actions. Socialism itself is a pretty broad topic and won't really reach non-political people that easily. I would focus actions on individual topics (especially if you dont have many people to work on the topics) like anti-militarism, anti-fascism, union work...whatever seems to work best for yourself and your area.

That being said i kinda forgot to ask, what is this going to be? An own organisation in competition to other ones?

Also what kind of experience do you have with organising protests or with theory?

[Robespierre Richard]

For those who are to lazy

For this thread, do you do this alone or with someone?
The problems I see:

- Its pretty vague, just randomly throwing flyers might get some attention, but certainly can't be the only action
- Organising on the internet has some problems, one being if you are alone in london, someone else is alone in NYC, nothing much will be gained. And of course its very hard to keep up work with people you don't really know. It would probably good if you had some people you trust and think you can work with to get something like this started.
- I would narrow down the topics for actions. Socialism itself is a pretty broad topic and won't really reach non-political people that easily. I would focus actions on individual topics (especially if you dont have many people to work on the topics) like anti-militarism, anti-fascism, union work...whatever seems to work best for yourself and your area.

That being said i kinda forgot to ask, what is this going to be? An own organisation in competition to other ones?

Also what kind of experience do you have with organising protests or with theory?

Thank you, this is more specific discussion.

Of course it is important to put research into developing fliers, but the more important thing in my opinion is their purpose. Currently the bigger purpose would be changing public opinion and recruitment. In my personal experience, getting people to become socialists was most effective by explaining to them what it is. So I explained labor theory, historical, and dialectical materialism.
Of course that is a large load so fliers can be done in series, etc for those curious in the ideas but with little time. Another thing, as I've mentioned is demographic research. We would need to have the support of all layers of society so the flyers need to approach each group.
Of course this would have to be done alongside real world actions as trial and error is the best test for any design.

Organization would of course be separate for every city/region. People in London, NYC, and other cities would organize separately and act together so to say. This framework is very decentralized so every city organizes by itself but everyone has access to a common stream of information/discussion.

The specifics, as said in the first point would need to be worked out by trial and error. There of course can be themed events to raise awareness of the cause, but overall the purpose of the project is to show what socialism is.

As I said, I don't see why it needs to compete. The purposes of this project do not intersect with the interests of other groups. In fact, it would, or I would like if it, cooperated with other groups for this goal, as it is essentially purely activism.

Myself, I have been on board Project Chanology, "organized" a couple of things(flierings which there was no real need for organization of as we had the protocol worked out and field trips, though most of our actions have been pretty spontaneous) as well as the March 15th protest in Moscow, Russia while being here in DC(:laugh:) though only 12 people came as they were refused a permit(Moscow :rolleyes:). I would have done more if I cared more for the cause of stopping Scientology, as I do for socialism...

As for theory, I've read Marx, Lenin, some Trotsky and Stalin, random Marxists of all kinds, etc.

[cenv]

Nice. I posted some thoughts on the forum you created.