----- Original Message ----- From: "Gar Lipow" <the.typo.boy at gmail.com>
> The old Communist Party, before it was destroyed, had some of the
> social networking you are talking about. You had the freakin meetings,
> but you also had dances, social centers, picnics, barbecues. A lot of
> playwrights and musicians got their start with CP help.
In Italy the communist party organises huge outdoor parties where you can test drive the new fiat models made by Italian workers. The parties were open top the whole community. Even if you were not a communist you had to check it out. I was just shoked at the amount of fun and inclusion the left could offer. Although I've never been able to get my dour anglo brothers to embrace one ounce of pleasure at any official meeting.