CounterHegemony 5 - Activist Methods I

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In this podcast I caution the world to use this information only for good. Then I get on with it and describe a few types of organizations I've worked with - the scope of issues, the scale of the goal, the interests of the audience(s), and the available / necessary resources. (I don't mention it in the podcast, but the phrase "human resources" does bug a labor guy like me. But I use it anyway.) I think those 4 issues are worth considering as you build organizations and / or move a socially progressive agenda.

Since recording, I've decided to call what follows the first three entries for a running list of "Fundamental Principles." As I hear from listeners and talk with friends and think of others, the list shall expand. The first principles that came to mind for me sound like something out of a self-help handbook or something. Eh! But they're true!

[The running list of] "Fundamental Principles" [for social justice activists]

- Be Credible.
I'd feel like a jerk telling the LaRushe table woman that I'm not reading their stuff because I'm "not going to bother trying" that ultra long winded literature. So I take it, and I don't. Lesson? Building credibility means having realistic asks for your audience attention and time. If you have 5 minutes to make your (case, report, mind), don't waste people's time and energy with too little or too much information for their purposes. Credibility also involves fact checking. And a second (or more) set of eyes to proofread before anything is sent to the printer for distribution. This blog is not edited in any way. The podcast is, but only by me.

- Be Accountable.
It starts with returning phone calls. It ends with follow up. Yeah, yeah, yeah every organization wants to be more democratic, and it should. There must be systems structured into the lifestyle / organization that promote accountability. If I volunteer to make 10 phone calls, I need to make a best effort to talk with those 10 people because the accountable organization I work with is going to ask me about those 10 phone calls. No punishment if I don't do it, but I gotta own it.

- Be Serious.
As much as I love the "Drop Acid Not Bombs" placard at a rally, I'm glad that’s not the next white paper the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is cookin' up. Know your issues, know your audience. Ask questions, don't blankly stare at someone as they ramble about something you didn't get after the first sentence. (They can still see you.)

And then I turn the music volume up for about 30 seconds.

Music:
U2 - Desire [HollyWood Remix], U2
Thokozile, Malathini & The Mahotella Queens
Getcho Soul Togetha (Part Two), Breakstra
Dash The Curry Skit, M.I.A.