On Jul 25, 2009, at 12:38 PM, Carrol Cox wrote:
> If I or one of the
> other half dozen now doing the thinking figure that out and it
> works, I
> will post on it.
I think that the 'it' you are referencing in the quoted sentence bears on increasing the size of your discussion constituency.
If that's correct, may I ask if you've considered, or are currently involved in the activity of, your area's senior center. It's a favorite target of political groups with an agenda, and they arrive to petition a compliant group of seniors who are on site for an inexpensive meal and some socializing.
In the senior center that I attend, the audience have no opportunity for their own discussion of the social services with which they are dissatisfied. That's the group that I'd like to organize - and I'll be working on it. But it's a long slow process getting people interested. The objective requires letting people know enough about you to be interested in learning what you think, and perhaps then, sharing their own thoughts. But it should be worth pursuing. They represent the senior members of family groups that can be very large - and if they are well regarded within their families then their opinions can spread widely and have a multiplier effect.
I'm still working on becoming a 'member' of the community, and I can already see that the 'manager' of the center is going to be an obstacle to letting someone open the group to discussion outside of her control. So it will have to be a grass roots endeavor. I rather doubt that there are very many members of LBO discussion group who might fit within the senior groups, but you seem to have the right qualification - age.
There's a bit of comfort too, in being in a group containing so many old women who you don't have to share a blanket with. Who cares if they get pissed.
xx, martin