> Now, I would very much like to believe that the form of activism which
> I "enjoy" participating in is the most effective form of activism in
> which I engage. Unfortunately, it is not true. The fact is activism
> expressed through my music is probably completely useless from an
> organizing standpoint, maybe even negatively effective. I have
> entertained delusions along these lines in the past, unfortunately,
> but I'm over them now.
I didn't say, and I don't believe, that what a person enjoys most is the most important form of activism in which that person could engage.
What I meant to say (and did not fully spell out, I agree) was that there are many kinds of activities which can improve society (using very broad language), and I believe that everyone can best contribute to this goal by using their particular abilities and talents (which differ from person to person -- I hope you agree with that) to the best possible effect.
If you are good at organizing political parties and running for office, great. Go for it! I'm not, and I'm glad there are others such as you who are. That's all l meant to say. I probably mislead you by using the word "enjoy," which I hereby retract.
> This, I think, gets to the nub of our disagreement. In my opinion,
> its really important that we have a serious discussion as to the
> effectiveness of different types of organizing and strategies. I
> simply don't agree with you (or Dellinger) that all are equally
> effective.
Where did you get the generalization that "all types of organizing and strategies are equally effective"? I never said such a thing.
Dellinger's point, and mine, is that, while the movement as a whole has limited resources and therefore must make choices, those choices can't be narrowed down to one. For example, in the anti-Vietnam-war movement, local organizing and organizing for national protests had to go on at the same time -- it didn't make sense to say only one or the other had to be done. My point about organizing third parties is that this is important, but it is not the only thing that needs to be done, and not the only thing that everyone should be doing.
If you want to assert that, then we do indeed have a disagreement, but I don't think you do.
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org __________________________________ Belinda: Ay, but you know we must return good for evil. Lady Brute: That may be a mistake in the translation.
-- Sir John Vanbrugh: The Provok’d Wife (1697), I.i.