I never figured this out. You would think that groups who are discriminated against or socially ostracized wouldn't need much more than a little consciousness raising. But my experience over a long time seems to show neither was sufficient or necessary. So being subjected to injustice doesn't do what it is supposed to.
Evidently exposure to facts doesn't do much either. Likewise for a long series of events.
First of all, I think of the process of moving left in general opinion, and then in thought patterns, analysis and actions all reciprocate with each other, and so far it has been a life long process.
I went back to my childhood and adolescence and tried to locate something in those years. One definitely important experience was living in Mexico, trying to learn another language and seeing real poverty for the first time (9-10yrs).
One of the other things I remember which doesn't seem like a political experience at first glance was my rejection of what boys were supposed to do and not do (about age 10-12yr). So there started a psychological rejection of socially acceptable roles. We call these gender roles now, but back then I just thought of them `what boys are supposed to do..' This was also connected to Mexico, since there was a strong social pressure to conform to various masculine stereotypes.
I also didn't like the roles that my parents thought I was supposed to fill, like working for an `allowance'. What a crock. It was too much work for not enough money. Later, I thought, wow, capitalist exploitation's finest hours, pushing your kid around. I was also forced to go to church. I was supposed to pretend I believed in God. I didn't like either one.
But the much more articulated version of this process started when I was about 16 and became friends with BC. His family were commies through and through. When I was over for dinner they talked politics and current events, and they liked to talk. I think in retrospect this was a particularly important time, 1958-63. There were the civil rights movements, Malcom X, and the first student demonstrations against segregation, against HUAC hearings, nuclear weapons, then the first anti-war marches.
In my senior year I had civics teacher who showed the Birch Society film on the SF HUAC demonstrations. I might have believed this was a documentary, if I hadn't already heard the stories about these demonstrations from BC's older brother who was there.
The Cuban Revolution was just over and I was routing for Fidel. He seem like a Robin Hood character.
Another important addition was working part time jobs from about 15yrs on during weekends and summers. The camp counselor job was fun, herding little kids around. This was a commie run day camp for summer. But the bus boy jobs were terrible. The only restaurant job I had that I liked was making pizza in a small family take out place when I was 16. The old man was a good guy, he was teaching me a trade, and paid over minimum wages. I tried to keep this job during school, but it got so I had no free time at all. I think back now and would say my boss, an Italian American immigrant, had a good work ethic. He was a little on the strict side, but was a good guy.
The draft. On the more positive side, the arts. Also working in the disability rights movements and orgs. Then after awhile just living and working and raising a family. I just came across more and more I wanted to do different. Being a husband. Being a father, and trying to be a good one, correcting mistakes my parents made.
I am going to add some sports, cycling, climbing, fishing, especially ocean fishing. I haven't quite figured these out yet either. But there is something about the ethic of these sports that has a kind of radicalizing potential. Part of that is a certain respect for the land, the ocean, the ecology, then human endurance, the discipline in training, and the great joys you get out of them.
I can't sum this up. It seems to make sense only in retrospect.