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one of my good friends had called to discuss this same topic this evening. She had been working with a group in the Binghamton, NY area, taking up petitions on impeachment. She voiced a few concerns, such as too few people being asked to do too much of the work; the degree of unfocused anger found among the general public; and the number of people in low-income neighborhoods who say, "I agree with what you are saying, but this is not a safe time to speak out in America."
I know that you and other DUers know these are the common concerns in grass roots work. Even that sense of it not being safe to speak up is similar to what organizers encountered in the early days of the civil rights movement, and in the labor movement before that.
In my experience, it was helpful to be able to coordinate with the progressive student groups at the area colleges and universities. They often can provide the progressive coalitions with a lot of energy and will invest lots of hours of hard work. And as an old man, I'm always encouraged at the younger generation's ability to see things in new and different ways. However, students often return home for the summer, and are also in school for a few years, then are gone. We do not have the employment options in rural uptate NY to keep our educated young people in the numbers we need.
Just as on the national level, we often experience that people will do more, give more, and be willing to help more when there is some crisis. When my nephew was attacked by a racist hate gang, we had people from Albany to Ithaca involved in demanding justice. At first, local people were curious about what it meant. Getting more than 100 black and brown folks together in a small town can make some town-folk anxious. But when that 100+ people behave in a dignified, organized manner, and when they know the law, pretty soon regional politicians want to chat. So we have to be able to make use of the tensions that get people's attention, that can be used to organize those who do not always appear at public events, and translate that into keeping the lines of communication with regional politicians open.
If 100 potential votes gets a politician's attention, than 200 gets more. However, in progressive grass roots coalition work, it is not possible for me to think everyone will be as loyal a democrat as I am. Out of that 100 progressives, there are going to be a lot of loyal greens, and a lot of loyal democratic-socialists, and a lot of people who have made an intelligent decision to not be part of any political party. If I want them to respect me, I have to have equal respect for them. If I want their help and support on my projects, then I must be willing to help and support them on their's.
I do not mean to ramble .... Two more quick things. First, people need to have an understanding of how their local media works. That includes newspapers, tv, and radio. We need to know what reporters look for, and what editors and station managers want. As odd as it may sound, I studied how Pat Buchanan used and manipulated the media in the Nixon era. LTTE campaigns, etc. Also, learning how to speak to a tv reporter, and how to communicate your message is very important.
Finally, web sites and blogs are great, but it is good to still have "indie" newspapers and newsletters that can be handed out.
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