Activists, Intellectuals, & Organizers

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Even today, we have no shortage of intellectuals (be they scholars, 
journalists, or whatever) on the left.  We have a sizable mass of 
activists, who are willing to attend demos, rallies, cultural events, 
etc. on the left.  It seems to me, though, that we have a severe 
shortage of capable and committed organizers (those who create, 
maintain, & expand an infrastructure of socio-political networks, 
linking existing institutions, tapping into new constituencies, 
making efficient use of available resources, discovering as yet 
unused resources, etc.) on the left.  Organizers with requisite 
character traits: efficient & energetic, capable of learning from 
mistakes without moping over them, unassuming and yet confident, with 
no grudge, no axe to grind, no chip in the shoulder, outgoing, 
blessed with social skills (but not flighty!), well disciplined & 
organized (able to keep track of things & people -- at least, don't 
lose important info!), and so on.  Organizers who can get things 
done, and, more importantly, who know others who can get things done 
and who can motivate them to get things done.

A while ago, I read a profile of Eve Ensler (a playwright, _The 
Vagina Monologues_) in the New York Times, and among other things, it 
says:

*****   [Ensler] has a true knack for encouraging these stars to feel 
ownership in the project, deflecting credit for her own ideas, 
amplifying theirs in flattering ways.  The technique is not lost on 
[Rosie] Perez, who describes one brainstorming session like this: 
"Here comes the Eve Ensler idea -- it's on the tracks: And then we'll 
do this, and this, and then, and then, O.K.?  O.K.?  Like that?  Like 
that?  And then she's like, 'Rosie came up with a great idea!'"

(Susan Dominus, "Eve Ensler Wants to Save the World," NYT 10 February 
2002, Late Edition, Section 6: Page 30)   *****

And I thought to myself, wow, if only leftists could do _that_, if 
only I could do _that_ (_that_ being encouraging people [not "stars"] 
to "feel ownership in the project, deflecting credit for one's own 
ideas, amplifying theirs in flattering ways")!

Ever since I came to Columbus, I've come to assume more and more 
duties that should belong to organizers -- since 9/11, much more so 
than before that day, as I saw many others dropping the political 
ball, figuratively speaking.  This I find rather trying, as I don't 
have the right personality for organizing (I chalk up my recent 
kidney stone woes to stress).  My idea of fun is to sit in a cafe and 
read all day, go watch a good movie with a few good friends, go 
window-shopping with a girlfriend, eat well and sleep better -- and, 
oh, argue about stuff on a left-wing mailing list; it decidedly does 
_not_ include fielding endless phone calls (which you have to do when 
you, for instance, organize a bus to a national march), going to many 
social & political functions (not so much to do anything in 
particular as to get face time with as many organizers & activists as 
possible), keeping track of people's faces, names, numbers, 
e-addresses, cajoling things out of people who have them (money, 
equipment, etc.), and so forth.  I go against the grain of my natural 
dispositions and try to be the person I need to be, but that's hard. 
I wish there were many people here who could do what must be done 
better than I could.

Here's my advertisement:

Wanted: left-wing organizers (for qualifications, see above).
-- 
Yoshie

* Calendar of Events in Columbus: 
<http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html>
* Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html>
* Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/>
* Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>