17.5.16

Participate, Not Just Spectate

Organize. It is a word that can scare people and cause some paralyzing self criticism. It is a word that, when turned into action, creates great strides and builds much strength. Without organizing an individual eventually finds theirself without direction, inundated with complications and eventually abandoning their cause in despair. I am not saying one person isn't able to to have an impact.

An individual can actually come into a situation and alter it completely, we see this with comedians and snipers. What I am saying is that both comedians and snipers have an entire network of people they rely on and organize with to accomplish one single impacting task, the big laugh or the long shot. I use these two examples because they are represented as solo operators. Richard Pryor had help from Paul Mooney for writing jokes. Richard Pryor, like other comedians also had people he went to for developing material and finding gigs. Pryor was organized and had a network even if he was in competition with other comedians. A sniper may  go out to the field alone on a mission but they train to work with a partner. Even on their own a sniper still has an entire network of intelligence and support they are connected to in order for them to complete a mission. Without a support network and piers to work with one is limited in what they can achieve.

An individual in a  group can strengthen the group but not nearly as much as a group can expand the capacity of an individual. Huey Newton,Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, Marilyn Buck, all are people that have accomplished things because they were organized and they organized with others. That sounds like a tall order and you may think you could not be like any of those folks. Consider the following. The KKK, Neo Nazis, Nazi Classic, ISIS, North West Front, Hammerskins, are all organizations, and they are very organized indeed. How else could they be so big ,scary , and powerful?

It is popular practice to show up to actions and protest and call it being organized. This is far from the truth. Actions alone tend to have no real follow up or debrief. The participants talk about how they were there as if it was a concert. There is no study, or follow up action, no political education or community development, only disruption. Disruption is an effective and valuable tool but it is a tactic not a strategy. If individuals join organizations or start new ones they have the capacity to plan and build up strength to carry out more complex strategies. I can promise you that when the police, white supremacist groups, ISIS, Criminals In Action and GOP make a disruption it comes from weeks if not months of organizing and coordinating. No one just shows up for a church burning or lynching. Our enemies are well read and they put in the work. We must surpass them in every way. Unfortunately, individuals organizing is just one part of the work to be done.

There is a form of organizing with other groups with common goals that is the equivalent to forming a Megazoid. That is coalition building. Coalition building does to an organization what an organization does for the individual. Each organization with intersecting ideology and goals can bring specialized task and skills that make a coalition as powerful as a small corporation or government. Ideally, a coalition is more democratic and with the members holding the power. Kwame Nkrumah even points out the importance of coalition building. In Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare, they mentioned how organizations throughout Afrika would eventually join together and form one party. Coalition building is the next step to take after organizing to avoid falling into tribalism. You want to be a revolutionary organization, not a country club.

This piece is only really possible because of help from the organizations I have been part of. It has been inspired by the coalition's I see my comrades forming. Being in an organization has emboldened me and given me a chance to develop skills and talents I did not even know I had. My strength comes from the power my comrades lend me. It has not been easy.  As I take on more task and responsibilities it gets more demanding. I am able to take on these challenges because i i have the support and mentorship of my colleges. Organizing is currently providing me with an education in political ideology and theory, writing , leadership, team building, project management, fundraising, public speaking, first aid, networking,security, history and public relations. It has also left me hungry to learn more.

There are many people that share in the struggle against imperialism and capitalism. Many of these folks are organizing in conditions that are more challenging than what one finds in Portland, Oregon. People in the Philippines are shot rather than given rice they need in a time of famine because they live on rich mineral deposits. Women in Kurdistan defend direct democracy for Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians and other people from ISIS and the Turkish military. Cuba has been able to develop its medical system in spite of the US embargo. Afrikans throughout the continent and abroad struggle to unite the people and resist neocolonial powers that use drones, mercenaries and money to maintain their dominance. Indigenous people around the world are being persecuted yet they still stand together forming coalitions and resisting. There exist international solidarity between Afrikans, Irish, Indigenous, Asian and South Pacific people. Thanks to organizing I have the ability and confidence to study and work with these mighty people and strengthen a gestating global coalition. I am grateful for this moment and will help carry it into the future.

If you want to get involved please click on this link and share it or contribute. Every bit helps and if every one we knew just gave one dollar we would be able to acquire knowledge to share with the world about organizing, resistance and global events while building an international coalition. Also, get involved in an organization if you are not in one or start one around an issue you care about. Capitalism will not accommodate you for organizing so you may have to use some of your free time. The investment of time and work is very rewarding and empowering.

Palante, Siempre Palante!

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