<<<Rather than reply below I will post my opinions up top to save folks on the troublesome scrolling.
> Consensus and twinkling and other trappings of white youth activist culture while they may not have initially emerged from that subculture. However they are now de facto essential to it almost exclusively.
Well, our local Anti-Capitalist Convergence includes many young people and we don't do twinkling. I do it occasionally, but I picked up that bad habit from the Mobilization.>>>
Well my criticism isn’t of one person and is not based upon reading the Post over someone’s shoulder on the subway. I have attended hundreds perhaps over a thousand hours of meetings run in this way. All majority white meetings incidentally. White youth from Austin are more comfortable in the consensus meeting in Boston than are the people of color activists let alone non-or as yet non activists of color from Boston. You talk about non-anarchist activists having to engage the “real thing” well I did just that for years, so in the end what do you do? Flame me (which I will get to below). Clearly the problem is bigger than the process of the meeting. However non-activists non-white and white if they have experience with meetings it is probably 12 step, PTA, church groups, etc. none of which to my knowledge employ this process. Is it more important to look at the way meetings were run over half a century ago across the Atlantic? Is it more important to employ a process that makes these folks feel welcome or is it more important to make the members of the activist subculture from the other side of the continent feel welcome?
<<<Twinkling has nothing to do with gender/racial composition of these groups. From my experience, I have found that criticisms of things like twinkling, when made in conjunction with criticism of the demographics of an anti-capitalist group, are usually made by left vanguardists who seek to eliminate the anarchist influences on group methodology.>>>
OK, this is not a meeting, neither was the context of my previous post, I am not a left vangurardist. So why the evasiveness?
<<<It’s pretty clear what you are talking about. You are trying to dismiss a time-honored way of making decisions by associating it with stereotypes about anti-capitalist activists.
I hear that the New York Post is hiring. You should apply for a job covering protesters.>>>
Again, my criticism of this type of process does not derive from a position paper from some pro-cop think tank. I’ve been to these sorts of meetings for years. Through the lentils, the jokes about lentils, the “Oh my god Chumbawamba is on the radio!” the trip to the Ethiopian restaurant at the end. It hasn’t been demonstrated to me that the use of this sort of process insures a more inclusive or more democratic movement. Can you answer a qualified criticism without flaming someone? Anarchism if it is about anything it is about criticism, it certainly isn’t about program or strategy, so here is a criticism. How will you respond? Also regarding the job at the Post. I am currently under-employed (temping) and surprise, surprise! I hadn’t even considered applying at the post. This being the Left Business Observer listserv, it wouldn’t be moot to point out that there is a very good chance they have instituted a hiring freeze anyhow.
mcapri