Michael Perelman wife> found NAM pretty lame...
Los Angeles NAM and Santa Cruz NAM, of which I was a member from '79 till the merger with DSOC to create DSA, were both large chapters. LA would fill fill the basement of the First Unitarian with about 100 members, led usually by the wonderful Dorothy Healey. NAM did alot of community organizing, anti-imperialist solidarity work, was serious about socialist- feminism (major force in R2N2, a reproductive rights coalition), in Santa Cruz elected members to the City Council, supported independent progressives and left Democrats, knew their Gramsci.In years since, I've thought that the better aspects of NAM theory and practice, got shorter shrift in the merged organization than was good but, the realist in me says that folks like Jim Shoch who was a NAMmie that was a West Coast staffer for a while for DSa after the merger, as they get into their 30's and 40's, and have families to support and career tracks to go down, are less available to be left cadre. Every town and city should have a leftist child-care collective to hand the kids off to so the parents can go to the zillionth meeting. Or there s/b teleconferencing via web-cam?
-- Michael Pugliese
"Without knowing that we knew nothing, we went on talking without listening to
each other. Sometimes we flattered and praised each other, understanding that
we would be flattered and praised in return. Other times we abused and shouted
at each other, as if we were in a madhouse." -Tolstoy