Intersectional Or It's BS: Rolling Activism/Organizing/Social Movements Thread

helpfully, he explained the medium article at length

lol we already have a chapo thread for this, but they've felt the need to clarify once or twice that listening to a podcast is not Doing Politics and I think/hope most listeners get that

also there are some heartening stories on the chapo subreddit of listeners joining DSA and even starting unions

that's happy news.

Women's March throwing their considerable email list behind CPD & Housing Works's last minute CD push on the tax bill: https://www.facebook.com/events/881082792061621/

multiple tax bill sit ins happening now: https://www.facebook.com/pdavisx/videos/10103570263485157/?notif_id=1513187118860950¬if_t=live_video

We reffed this above, but I just want to include links to our other recent related threads

Is the West Experiencing a Left-Wing Drift? (the international left politics activism, news, and strategy thread)

Social Activism in the Age of Trump: What To Do and What We Are Doing

oh hey nice thanks

No problem. I’ve been on this board long enough to feel compelled to link related threads together for when one of them gets revived 5-8 years down the road.

listening to a podcast is not Doing Politics and I think/hope most listeners get that

― Simon H., Tuesday, 12 December 2017 18:33 (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Sir, they do not.

hahah

wanted to bump this thread so the fantasists can discuss the "mass party" stuff briefly touched on in the Dem thread - I'd also love to hear more about HOOS' bid to join the DSA's Refoundation caucus

Feel like now would be a good time to take a cue from our American friends and I need to channel this all-consuming dread into some sort of action, so UK ILXors, anyone have ideas of where energies could be focused right now? The more local the better...

Donate to Arts Emergency!

Anyone gripped by a sudden, urgent, "what can I do?" - can I tell you about a (free) app called Foodbank? Once downloaded, you can select your local foodbank & see their shopping list (including what's urgently needed & what NOT to buy) regularly updated in real time.

— Uncanny Ally (@UnheimlichManvr) December 13, 2019

that is both very good advice and also endlessly depressing

it's also an app owned by a Tory MP

i just downloaded it and my local foodbank isn't on there, the one it lists as closest to me doesn't have any information, and when you go to the donate tab it leads to a justgiving page for an organisation called either 'the philadelphia network' or 'network church sheffield' with no further info so yeah while the sentiment is otm the specifics seem... sketchy at best

that's a shame, didn't check it out properly sorry

yikes

AND... I've been updated that this app charges foodbanks to register (!) so not every foodbank will be represented! Please do try to find out what your local foodbank needs (website, phone, donation points), give cash, or support in any way you can. Point is: HELP THEM

— Uncanny Ally (@UnheimlichManvr) December 13, 2019

super-yikes, who the fuck would think do do this? oh yeah, tories

really sorry to bring grim news, but some foodbanks probably aren't registered because they have to pay £360 to do so. to a company owned by the newly elected MP for penistone and stocksbridge. pic.twitter.com/50I9SpcAa5

— Natalie Ashton | vote labour 🌹 vote for hope (@Natalan) December 13, 2019

a tory mp making an app to profiteer from foodbanks is 2019 in a nutshell.

was going to make a joke about workhouses and treadmills here, but don't want to put any more ideas out there.

Yeah, I already donate to my local food bank. Was hoping to find something that goes beyond donating, and possibly something that could at least inconvience the fuckers who got in power now, but that's a pipe dream I know.

Arts Emergency is a good shout Suzy, thanks.

People at the labour campaigners group have been passing this document around: http://docs.google.com/document/d/1OpA5yIHch7V7zD2yTNUJdhlWjL5c0ZkgouNuFvbjUIE/edit?fbclid=IwAR1RazvWFV796QPLFXhOD9EHZku3uq7bKdaJjNib78u1RMUuXOYgfLvMzbs

Also answering my own question, SOAS Detainee Support is a group that visits people being held in detention. I highly recommend joining, especially if you have a second language, or donating.

While my household donates about $800/year to our local food bank, I do not in any way consider that to be effective political activism. It's just trying to keep people alive and less hungry. Good in itself, but politically inert. Not what this thread should be about.

But, speaking of food banks, the Trump administration is changing the requirements for food stamps to drop more than half a million people off the rolls in about a month. Food banks will be more pressed than ever to cope with this new problem.

bump

Def see what Aimless is saying. Re: food banks, what if they are collectively organised by Labour/grassroot movements?

A food bank organized and run by a politically-oriented group might have a secondary effect as a point of disseminating information to those with an interest, but imo no matter what organization runs it, the food bank function should be run as apolitically as possible, or else you start to replicate the Salvation Army model of having to sing hymns and listen to sermons in exchange for your bed and meal. People in need should not be asked to accept anything other than assistance in filling that need.

Lol I know it's just an affiliation. This has been bandied about on twitter by a couple of ppl that are more active than me.

https://jacobinmag.com/2019/08/labour-is-changing-the-way-politics-works

This was a good thread:

RT: Feeling miserable? Google your local social centre/dementia cafe/renters union/cop watchers/revolutionary union/whatever else you're interested in and get stuck in. Be prepared for people to be welcoming but reserved; be prepared for it to be hard and boring.

— Femme Fatigue (@CharlotteBHC) December 12, 2019

This looks good sadly I work five days:

if anyone in London is free on fridays and wants to do something which will make a material difference to people who are having to deal with the dwp please come and volunteer for us. This will be needed more than ever now https://t.co/B8eNmhjWes

— Rosa (@marxroadrunner) December 12, 2019

There is no time for hopelessness. Here are some ideas for what we can do – now – to fight back against the attacks we know are coming. https://t.co/Pc6Bg2CfHG

— libcom dot org (@libcomorg) December 13, 2019

Bree Newsome keeps talking about the need for civil society to start considering a mass response to a potential Trump refusal to vacate. I'm as worried about that as I am a capital strike if Bernie takes it or an assassination attempt by the fascists. I think it's right that no matter what happens in November basically any outcome means things get tougher for movements. Gonna be a hell of a year.

Ain’t that the truth