From: "LouPaulsen" <LouPaulsen at attbi.com> Subject: WWP's *Deep Pockets* [!!snort!!] Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 12:12:56 -0600
Although I have had no luck resubscribing to Henwood's list since my e-mail address changed, I still occasionally try to follow what is going on there. A couple days ago Yoshie raised the question of how it was that ANSWER has been so comparatively successful in organizing. A couple of answers were floated. Liza Featherstone opined (among more reasonable things) that
> 2)Most peace groups are very disorganized, partly because they involve
> people who are also dealing with jobs, school, children, grandchildren,
> friends and lives. Luckily, party-building groups don't have that problem!
Brian Sheppard agreed that this was true of WWP, based on god knows what. I suppose these people think that we party-building types are all living in barracks and have turned our children over to the state or have had our tubes severed or tied!! Jesus Christ!!! I would like to show Liza my dining room table full of bills and papers and junk if she thinks I don't have the disorganizing problems of jobs, schools, children, lives and so on. Don't try to play liar's poker with me, Liza and Brian, when it comes to life problems, I warn you.
Michael Pugliese then plunges equally far into the realm of fantasy with this contribution:
"Confirmed with two Trot friends from differing tendencies within the Trotskyist managerie. Of the 300 or so formal members of WWP, 100 are paid organizers/cadre supported by a mandatory tithe of 20 % from the other 200."
In other words, the reason ANSWER is successful is that it has been able to OUTSPEND and OUTSTAFF the other combined progressive NGOs in the US on the basis of the sacrifices of 200 WWP members!!! The list then went on into a discussion of the economics of this. Chuck Munson concluded that this was improbable (a stopped calendar is right once a year) and then opined that this was a story that WWP had spread around in order to enhance our mystique!! (but ONLY once).
This is just insanity. There is no mandatory double-tithe of 20%. There are no 100 paid organizers. If we had 100 paid organizers I would demand that at least one of them get sent to Chicago. As it is we have to muddle along with our jobs and our lives and our children, and organize our buses by skimping on sleep.
There is profound anti-war sentiment in this country, and the secret of organizing large demonstrations in this particular period is that there no secret, you just damned well go and organize them.
Lou Paulsen Chicago