Yoshie writes:
> Also, having opportunities to report back on what you have done,
hear what others have done, and figuring out next steps together
would be nice, too.
That is invaluable. But as you note . . .
> . . . I suppose the Social Forum movement may have been originally
meant for that, but by now it may have become more of a festival of
left celebrities and tourists than anything else (mind you, having such a
festival is not bad).
Since the condition of working under capitalism is so bad, the concept that activism is fun and not just work is promoted. I remember one prominent member of ACT UP declaring on an almost weekly basis that once her activism was no longer fun, she didn't want to do it.
> You need strong discipline to live with an idea that "everything I
work on may not come to fruition until long after my oblivion" and
keep on working. People who come from faith traditions are better at
it than those who come from secular left traditions.
And this lack of discipline is a major problem for the left.
> But most people don't have and can't be expected to have that
discipline.
Why? It does not seem to me to be an unreasonable expectation at all.
> It's natural for people to get encouraged by victories and discouraged
by defeats.
It is only natural for people inculcated in the capitalist-desire matrix. If a person practices and adopts the discipline of equanimity, then to respond in such a way is not "natural," but "unnatural."
> Admittedly, the history of the socialist and non-socialist Left has been
replete with misuses of power, so it's understandable that allergy to taking
power/control has gotten developed among leftists, especially among
young leftists.
Also, because so much leftist rhetoric centers on desire fulfillment, leftists become afraid and then self-censor themselves since they never want to appear as trying to dampen any individual's of group's desire(s).
Brian Dauth Queer Buddhist Resister