Comments for Organizing Upgrade

Comment on AI-JEN POO: Organizing With Love by Steve Schnapp

Steve Schnapp — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:48:38 +0000

It is exhilarating to read Ai-jen Poo’s interview. The overview she provides of the current opportunities is concise and insightful, the emphasis on organizing the base is very welcome, the description of the Inter-Alliance Dialogue is so hopeful, the list of lessons learned comprehensive. The only thing I would add is that while campaigns can be transformative, in my experience a necessary ingredient is to embed purposeful, democratic, ongoing, learner-based education (often called “popular education”) into the organizing and mobilizing process. The road to liberation is long, and even well-chosen, well-planned campaigns can go awry, and victories snatched back almost overnight or eroded over time. Analyzing the world, one’s place in it, and how to change it takes time and effort. We need to build this in to our practice.

Thank you for providing a lot of great ideas on which to reflect.

Comment on AI-JEN POO: Organizing With Love by Vinny

Vinny — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 08:15:18 +0000

There’s so much to comment on, but one bullet point that stands out to me is the “Create an Inspiring Environment.” That Maya Angelou quote really speaks to me and makes me reflect both on what I give off in and what I receive from my working environment. We can say the right things, but give very different energy. I guess that’s why the other bullet point about “Transformation of Self” is also so important. Being “centered, focused and connected to our sense of purpose” can be a real challenge. Without this, we can feel lost, frustrated, and alone. This, in turn, can affect how we organize/ work and ultimately limits the potential to build a strong core leadership or see how policy wins are connected to a larger goal.

Also, I believe I agree very much with the last bullet point, but I am wondering if you could elaborate more on organizing with and without love.

Comment on HASHIM & TIFFANY: Rooted in Love by Christi Navarro

Christi Navarro — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:58:28 +0000

Tiff & Hashim, thank you for sharing this with me. Its beautiful. I will share to others as well. Keep moving up, keep moving forward. You two are beautiful people, and even more so together.

Comment on HASHIM & TIFFANY: Rooted in Love by Suzanne Onorato

Suzanne Onorato — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:18:35 +0000

I cannot even express how much I needed to hear/read this message right now. The authors’ profound message is so simple, yet complicated, true, yet hard to follow. Thank you for challenging me to step up to the plate and re examine what is truly important and meaningful to us as we become intimately liberated and move the cause forward.

Suzanne

Comment on HASHIM & TIFFANY: Rooted in Love by michael yeomans

michael yeomans — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:00:53 +0000

If every person in this world was able to read this and understand it even partly they would look at the world differently and see that we really are not really different as people and we can love without restraint or fear because that truly releases one’s inner feelings that he is truly free LOL Michael

Comment on MICHELLE MASCARENHAS-SWAN: A Window to a New World by claire tran

claire tran — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:40:29 +0000

i need a “love it!” button to click for this.

Comment on MICHELLE MASCARENHAS-SWAN: A Window to a New World by laborgirl

laborgirl — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 04:28:18 +0000

Thanks for the article.

Your article is nice and thanks for your work promoting an alternative world that could be..

But the fact that you went through the entire section on strategy or perhaps the entire article without any mention of organized labor and its role…..is quite worrying.

Rebalancing the power between workers and corporations, labor and capital is the most important solution to the current crisis. Until working people in America are empowered and educated to influence political decision-makings, our gov’t will continue to succumb to corporate interests.

Want to change the world? Be a union organizer!

Comment on MICHELLE MASCARENHAS-SWAN: A Window to a New World by Dave Room

Dave Room — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:55:30 +0000

Thanks for your work Michelle (and Movement Generation). You do an amazing job of framing where we are and how to move towards a new world that works for everyone. Is this the new story?

Comment on MICHELLE MASCARENHAS-SWAN: A Window to a New World by Shawn

Shawn — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:44:17 +0000

Right on Michelle!

A key component of localization with justice will be to avoid simplistic “autarky”–isolated communities that still compete over scarce resources (e.g. those who happen to live near the river becoming “owners” of the river) and ignore externalities (e.g. those who live in an inland valley being subjected to the air pollution generated by those who live on the coast).

Thus, a localization that is federated and equitable, that recognizes multilayered interdependencies, is key.

Comment on MICHELLE MASCARENHAS-SWAN: A Window to a New World by Joshua Kahn Russell

Joshua Kahn Russell — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:38:07 +0000

thank you for this Michelle. this is excellent.