[lbo-talk] progress

Chuck chuck at mutualaid.org
Mon Mar 5 18:30:52 PST 2007


Doug Henwood wrote:
> On Mar 5, 2007, at 7:58 PM, Carrol Cox wrote:
>
>
>>The way to radicalize small-town whites would be to organize around
>>military bases or in the large cities where military pass through, not
>>in the small towns they come from.
>
> Yeah, is anyone doing that now?

That's a good question. I think that several of you are assuming that there is no left in small town America. I think this is a mistaken assumption and reflects the greater failure of the American left to touch base with small town and rural radicals.

I agree with Carrol that it doesn't make sense to pour organizers into small towns in the same way the SWP did to factories. Something more small scale could be effective, like a dozen roving organizers.

There are radical leftists in small towns. I'm sure that if you looked at any mailing list for a lefty publication, you'd see lots of subscribers who live in small towns and rural areas. There are rural radicals out there. I do recall going to an anarchist conference in Vermillion, South Dakota two years ago. ;-)

It is unnecessary to send outside organizers into small towns, if there are already leftists in those towns. You can reach them and new people through the Internet, as well as through periodicals.

There is a dearth of good counter-recruitment materials that could be downloaded by these small town activists. AFSC has some materials, but there is a need for more counter-recruitment agitprop. I get asked about these materials all the time.

Chuck



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