> The ISO has hidden motives and often cynical tactics that makes others
> distrust them. A lot of them are good activists and are working for good
> social change, but the overall organization is incredibly cynical in these
> ways and leaves lot of disillusioned ex-members in its wake. When I was
> active in the CoC, we used to joke that the best recruitment position is the
> back door of the ISO to receive all the rapid turnover of ex-members.
I will admit also that there are many good activists in the ISO, including some of the ones in the leadership. Nathan touches on the main problem with the ISO and that is its disruptive activities in coalitions. Perhaps the ISO leadership really believes that they are doing the right thing to build "deomcratic centralism," but their constant need to recruit new members into their organization clouds their involvement with other activists.
My other longtime worry about the ISO is the effect their organization has on new activists whose first exposure to organized activism is the ISO. I worry that their "revolving door" membership turns eager new activists into bitter ex-activists.
BTW, I got a big chuckle out of that post that Joe forwarded. Having recently turned 37, I'm flattered that the ISO is spreading the rumor that my website "is just set up by some kid that isnt smart and just puts shit up to be cool."
One of the leading cadres of the local ISO once dissed me as "Chuck0 the big Internet activist," as if engaging in website design and Internet activism wasn't a legitimate form of struggle. Kind of like saying: "Oh that Doug Henwood. He just pounds computer keys."
<< Chuck0 >>
Personal homepage -> http://flag.blackened.net/chuck0/home/index.html Infoshop.org -> http://www.infoshop.org/ Alternative Press Review -> http://www.altpr.org/ Practical Anarchy Online -> http://www.practicalanarchy.org/ Anarchy: AJODA -> http://www.anarchymag.org/ MutualAid.org -> http://www.mutualaid.org/ Factsheet 5 -> http://www.factsheet5.org/ AIM: AgentHelloKitty
Web publishing and services for your nonprofit: Bread and Roses Web Publishing http://www.breadandrosesweb.org/
"...ironically, perhaps, the best organised dissenters in the world today are anarchists, who are busily undermining capitalism while the rest of the left is still trying to form committees."
-- Jeremy Hardy, The Guardian (UK)