[lbo-talk] Signing online petitions....

[Marv Gandall]

You could say the same about demonstrations. It depends on the numbers. A million signatures on a petititon and hundreds of thousands of demonstrators do make an impression - on both sides. Five thousand signatures and a few hundred desultory protesters make an impression of a quite different sort - of weakness. Demonstrations, which require greater commitment and give participants a greater sense of their collective power, are of course a higher form of political action than petitions but the latter also have their place as an organizing tool, particularly when political consciousness is only dawning. I don't see these two expressions of popular discontent as contradictory. 

The decisive factor, IMO, is the level of organization of the masses. The historic collapse of a once militant international socialist movement based on rapidly expanding industrial unions effectively means that outbursts of popular anger now dissipate and are more easily contained rather than contributing to the further political self-organization of the masses. I expect this will still hold true in the aftermath of the mass mobilizations in Wisconsin and the Middle East, although some individuals will be politically transformed and inspired by their experiences.

On 2011-02-24, at 2:17 PM, Bryan Atinsky wrote:


> I signed several hard copy petitions at the Capitol in Madison over the last few days, and as with 99%, i don't think the targets of them give them much credence. I would surmise the same for online petitions. 
> 
> The only petition these type of people pay attention to are when it can have a direct impact on them, like getting signatures for a recall.
> 
> Bryan
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
> On Feb 24, 2011, at 13:07, 123hop at comcast.net wrote:
> 
>> 
>> Just wondering, do we know whether we accomplish anything by doing this?
>> 
>> Joanna
>> ___________________________________
>> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>> 
>> M give them much cred
>> Click here to report this message as SPAM: http://vsp.ateranetworks.com/ReportSpam.php?sid=5694b0c2ba9744b2dcdbbd01ef0b8450_24f39f9410d3e0a87f79ec4da2dde406
>> -- Powered by ATERA Networks --
>> 
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk