> Munson writes:
>
>
>>Using the word "scene" is just another way of saying
>>"activist community."
>
>
> My point exactly. "Activist community" is, if anything, an even more telling choice of words than "scene." When people talk this way it is a sign that their idea of "activism" is reshuffling the organized rather than organizing the unorganized. A group of friends doing the thing they're "into," in rather the same way that some people are into raves or Civil War re-enactments. That's very different from people who make it their goal to actively organize ordinary people into sustainable organizations with a view to actually shifting power in this country and the world.
Lacny, do you do any real organizing, or do you just pull this stuff out of some hat?
It's "revealing" how you disparage my efforts to explain real phenomena such as "activist community." Organizing doesn't just happen randomly. Activists in most communities work together on many different levels. They collaborate on projects. They form organizations. They organize cultural events. The activist community is an important mutual aid network which helps empower activists "to actively organize ordinary people." The strength of local activists depends on the healthiness of this local activist community.
Chuck0