After a couple of years of online interaction with follow Kossack AoT we finally met last night at Powderface Cafe near the Fruitvalte (Oakland) BART station. What a pleasure that was! It's amazing at how quickly we digested the mental stimuli or process people go through when they meet in person, in relation to gender, age, physical appearance, race, etc. I estimate it took about 30 seconds, and we then comfortably transitioned to a very interesting conversation, for which I'm grateful to AoT.
I'm also grateful for him alerting me about the great work the Network for Bay Area Workers Cooperatives is doing, since I have a great interest in helping spread the concept of employee-owned businesses as a counterbalance to the relentless attack on workers (unionization, etc.) by the establishment.
If I had been impressed with AoT's intellect before (from my interactions with him here at Daily Kos), our face-to-face meeting left me even more impressed. And it's not only his intellect I was impressed with, but with his bravery, when I learned he was right there in New York City when the Occupy Movement started, from day one.
Anybody that has read my diaries before could quickly notice that aside from some of the different topics I sometimes address, my number one obsession is with trying to figure out the reason for what I perceive to be an aversion by Liberal and Progressive activists to become highly organized and strategic in the face of the organized and strategic take-down of our democratic government by an alliance between corporatist cartels and their lackeys (puppets, corrupt-to-the-core politicians of both parties) in government.
I used to get incensed, frustrated, and amazed at this phenomena (which I admit, it's my perception and may not be totally accurate). But I have to admit that my interactions with many people here, whom I've come to respect a great deal, has tempered my frustration, and instead has motivated me to be more understanding about why activist-minded people choose to do what they do, and in the manner they do it.
My conversation with AoT only served to broaden that understanding even further, and again, for that, I'm very grateful. It was a great way to spend some early evening time in the cool, beautiful Oakland Springtime.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still very much interested in connecting with hard-core (live and breath this stuff 24/7) activists that see value in forming a highly-cohesive and strategic sub-movement within the Social Justice Movement sphere, but I understand I have to be patient about it. We will find each other and connect, eventually--and we will act in unison, coordinating strategies and tactics nationwide.
Before I move on, and just to make sure the above statement is understood in the right context (this is something AoT and I discussed), my models for what I think needs to happen are the approaches taken by people like Martin Luther King, Jr., and Gandhi, and countless other activists in history who mastered the art and science of peaceful resistance by always thinking ahead, planning, anticipating, inspiring and influencing others, and acting strategically.
Either way, AoT suggested that perhaps we can start a "Social Group" or "Meetup" of San Francisco Bay Area activists and hold regular meetings at his art studio in Oakland. I think it's a great idea!
The only challenge with me is that I tried to attend many-a "General Assembly"-type meeting during OWS heights, and I'm just not cut out for that--I'm just being honest about it.
The type of "meetings" I can handle have a very precise and focused agenda; there is a concrete reason for having the meeting; there are expectations; there are deliverables; there is continuity; there is progress with each meeting; there is a goal; there is unity of purpose.
But that's my problem... To find others with the same views.
In the meantime I'm going to continue conversations with AoT about holding regular meetings at his art studio. As I continue reaching out to activists around the country, my email list has grown to almost 300 people, and I'm starting to see some clusters in places like here in the SF Bay Area, and in Chicago, and cities in the North East. I'll be contacting people in the list to suggest the formation of Meetup-type groups, but one of my key suggestions is going to be that as these groups form that they then find a way to communicate with each other and share notes, strategies, tactics, etc. (again, all lawful an peaceful, and constitutional).
Perhaps, we can start the groups as a "book club" focused on discussions related to "Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox For Revolution."
For those interested in participating in these groups, make sure to join my email list.
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Ray Pensador |
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