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Fart of Darkness posted:That reminds me of those libertarians trying to take over New Hampshire. Wouldn't a strategy of moving to wherever like minded people are just insulate and polarize people more? You mean people moving to cities?
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Dec 2, 2016 19:32
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Tonight my wife and I are hosting about 30 people in Minneapolis (mostly academics) to discuss channels for political action. It's going to be an open discussion focused on concrete options rather than re-litigating the election or empty discussions of Bernie v Hillary or what have you. If anyone has some ideas toward what might be good topics to discuss I'll check the thread periodically. If this is generative I'll share some of the results tomorrow.
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Dec 3, 2016 03:53
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It looks like I missed the deadline, but I really do think focusing on turning municipalities more left will be strengthening our base and maybe winning back some lost ground when people see some real and positive actions and results from Progressive initiatives.
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Dec 3, 2016 19:08
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I want to complement Oracle's post on how to get into local office with one thing. Join Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, Elks, Shriners, Freemasons, Order of the Eastern Star, P.E.O., or any kind of service organization of the sort. Whether your community is a small town, a suburb, or the beating heart of a major metropolitan area, many members of those organizations are also involved in government. They're a good ppace to meet people and doing service can also help you meet people from other organizations that know others.
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Dec 5, 2016 02:25
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Star Man posted:Join Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, Elks, Shriners, Freemasons, Order of the Eastern Star, P.E.O., or any kind of service organization of the sort. Which of those are most welcoming to marginalized/minority peeps? or my not-so veiled question - can a queer gal drive a little shriner car in the parade too?
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Dec 5, 2016 03:56
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Most of those organizations don't officially allow female members, but it can vary greatly by area. The shiners near me are basically a group of rich old white guys and their wives, with the wives doing the vast majority of the actual boots-on-the-ground work. Near as I can tell it's almost a female organization with pretensions of being a fraternity. That being said, a lot of them are also conservative, in the "I wish I could turn minorities into cis white people" way. Edit: Well apparently I'm full of poo poo. Go for it and see what happens. Veyrall fucked around with this message at 04:28 on Dec 5, 2016 |
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Dec 5, 2016 04:24
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:Which of those are most welcoming to marginalized/minority peeps? It heavily depends on the local group. Even a single obstinate racist rear end in a top hat can gently caress things up even if literally every other member is on board and thinks he's a piece of poo poo.
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Dec 5, 2016 04:37
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:Which of those are most welcoming to marginalized/minority peeps? The Freemasons and Shriners are pretty much male-only. The Order of the Eastern Star is affiliated with the Freemasons and was founded to include women in some way with the service done by the Freemasons. Its first chapter, [url=Queen Esther Chapter No. 1[/url], was founded with the sponsorship of the [url=]Prince Hall Affiliate[/url], the first Freemasons lodge made up of African-American members. Membership in OES hinges on having a marital or blood relation to a Master Mason or having been a member of Job's Daughters or Rainbow Girls. Of the groups I named, P.E.O. is a women's organization that provides aid and education opportunities for women. They have chapters all over the US and Canada and are based in Des Moines. P.E.O. also owns and operates Cottey College, a women's liberal arts college in Missouri. Their website says that they do not discriminate based on age, ethnicity, education, or religion. There is no mention on their website about gender identity or sexual identity discrimination. If you look into P.E.O., be aware of that. Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, and the Elks allow members of both sexes. They don't have the same kind of history or traditions as the Freemasons and their sister organizations do, but there is a lot of overlap. The only one I can speak of with any experience is Kiwanis International. Their related organizations include Key Club International (high school) and Circle K International (college) and Aktion Club (an organization for people with disabilities). I was in Key Club for most of high school, had a brief stint as a Kiwanian in 2006, and was a member of Circle K for three years. Kiwanis, its sponsored organizations, and the others I mentioned focus on community service. Each chapter works on its local projects and also makes financial or service contributions to the larger organization. The thing about these groups is that their membership is overwhelmingly old, white, and conservative. I have had relatives involved in the Freemasons, Shriners, and Order of the Eastern Star. If I wanted to get involved any of them, I'd be able to pretty easily. But, I refuse to join them because I don't like the idea of male-only organizations. The Kiwanis family used to be men-only, but allowed women as members in CKI in 1973, KCI in 1978, and finally in Kiwanis in 1987. I only joined Key Club in high school because my father was in it when he was in high school and I only started going to get him to shut up about me not being in any clubs in high school. I liked being involved in it and was in it until I finished high school. When I was in Circle K, I did serve as a lieutenant governor of my district and it gave me a very tiny piece of experience in running a bigger organization. I am so glad that I got to be a part of something like that. The biggest thing I learned while being on the district board was how to network with people. My mother is a member of her local P.E.O. chapter even though she has barely any post-secondary education. I always encourage women I meet that are struggling with funding for school to get in touch with P.E.O. and apply for any aid that they can with them. I received a scholarship one semester from the Shriner's Club that a lot of my relatives on my mother's side were members of. But, when you're on the younger side of things and you join a group that is full of old white people, it feels like you're stepping into a time warp in the fifties. I encourage anyone that joins these organizations to remain as long as possible, especially if you're a minority. Sometimes the mere presence and regular association of different groups of people can be enough to win over an old white racist. The more minority members of these organizations, the more it can help turn over these bigots. It's hard, but it's not impossible. The other benefit of being in these organizations is that they are opportunities to network. Almost every politician that I have ever met were invited guests of my Kiwanis club. And there's a ton of overlap with these kinds of groups and politicians. Eisenhower and Kennedy were Elks Club members. Nixan and Truman were Kiwanians. And there's a million other organizations out there that I didn't mention. I only brought up those service groups because I have either been a part of them or have family that are. Get involved.
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Dec 5, 2016 05:43
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100 days out from the election, Dutch labour party has announced that they're not purging any of the leadership that sold the entire party out to the neoliberals and are trying their hardest to worm their way out of having to say "we won't sell out the entire party to the neoliberals again". So my options on the left currently are: Socialist Party(anti science, pacifist(and thus pro russia by extension)) GreenLeft(one issue party based on being anti science) Animal Party(anti science, anti europe, pacifist) DENK(still wants to invade Myanmar, no position on anything else) 50PLUS(socialist when it comes to the elderly only, favours austerity otherwise) Pirate Party(their presence would be funny if the situation wasn't so dire) Christian union(slightly socialist leaning theocrats and also anti science) Center parties there are: Christian Democrats(might as well vote blank, these guys will coalition with literally anybody if that gets them a spot) Reformed Political Party(hardcore theocrats that haven't yet noticed the 30 years war has ended) Democrats 66(a lot of(generally sensible) opinions but no plans to do more than use them to lord their intelligence over the rest of the government and poo poo talk whoever is in charge) The right: People's Party For Freedom and Democracy(neoliberals, creeping further right trying to steal votes from conservatives, also has some serious DPRK naming going on) Labour Party(left leaning election program but actually a vehicle for election fraud for the above) For the Netherlands(non-populist far right wingnuts, almost quaint nowadays) Party for Freedom(Wilders, who is also turning more neoliberal to steal their votes, now hates "leftist hobbies" like doing something about climate change) Are there any guides on what to do in a situation like this(aside from petitioning Volkert van der Graaf to pick up his weapon once more)? Do I try to cure one of the left parties(if so, which?) of their idiocy about all other topics or go with the Statler & Waldorf party(D66) and try to get them off their rear end and doing something?
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Dec 5, 2016 15:18
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Asehujiko posted:100 days out from the election, Dutch labour party has announced that they're not purging any of the leadership that sold the entire party out to the neoliberals and are trying their hardest to worm their way out of having to say "we won't sell out the entire party to the neoliberals again". I said this before after looking into the Dutch political situation but it really does seem like the left wing party you should be trying to pull further left is Labour. At least that's my reading of things.
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Dec 5, 2016 20:00
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Asehujiko posted:100 days out from the election, Dutch labour party has announced that they're not purging any of the leadership that sold the entire party out to the neoliberals and are trying their hardest to worm their way out of having to say "we won't sell out the entire party to the neoliberals again". What are the Dutch Socialist Party's anti-science stances? I can't find their platform online
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Dec 5, 2016 21:24
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If you have a problem with environmentalism (from the list of parties you called anti-science I assume that's what you mean) you won't find a leftist party of your liking in Europe.
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Dec 5, 2016 22:45
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cebrail posted:If you have a problem with environmentalism (from the list of parties you called anti-science I assume that's what you mean) you won't find a leftist party of your liking in Europe. Generally what it means is rabidly anti-nuclear power, pro-homeopathy and other such quackery, "But what if vaccines really do cause austim they're full of chemicals" etc etc. It's a major problem with just about every Green Party worldwide.
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Dec 5, 2016 23:37
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I'd love to see a list of party platforms that include support for homeopathy. Remember that this is not the same as "holistic" medicine (I'd call homeopathy "nihilistic" medicine because there's nothing in it). I certainly wouldn't reject a single payer healthcare bill just because it included a few methods that I don't think are sufficiently validated. Quite frankly, balanced against other issues, nuclear power isn't a huge deal-breaker for me either.
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Dec 6, 2016 00:28
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I mean, if you care about cleaner energy and you want to stop climate change before it becomes a global doomsday event, but nuclear power is completely off the table, then you're either uninformed or you're not intellectually serious. But you kind of have to meet people where they are. Nuclear power is an emotional issue for many on the Left and there's a lot of misinformation floating around. I wouldn't dismiss someone as "anti-science" just because they're taking a (likely not thoroughly interrogated) stance of "nuclear bad." The bigger question you should ask yourself is "how effective is this party in mobilizing political power to support its agenda?" It's better to drag a party with actual influence left than to form a circle jerk with a small group of ideologically pure friends while the world burns around you.
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Dec 6, 2016 00:48
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They do the whole full set of BIG PHARMA/atoms are bad/monsatan gmo grain thing. For GreenLeft, these three are their core issues and if their behaviour being in the opposition anything to go by, they will exclusively focus on this while doing nothing to roll back the fascism. Socialists also bring in the whole "let's disband the army and sit on our asses while Putin creeps closer" thing and the Animal Party is anti-EU on top of that.Stinky_Pete posted:I certainly wouldn't reject a single payer healthcare bill just because it included a few methods that I don't think are sufficiently validated. Edit: Baby Babbeh posted:The bigger question you should ask yourself is "how effective is this party in mobilizing political power to support its agenda?"  .Only Labour and Democrats 66 have been in the ruling coalition a non-zero amount of times and labour is currently not in charge of it's own actions. Asehujiko fucked around with this message at 01:25 on Dec 6, 2016 |
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Dec 6, 2016 01:05
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So Denmark just doesn't have a left-wing party that supports a universal health service?
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Dec 6, 2016 01:18
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Stinky_Pete posted:So Denmark just doesn't have a left-wing party that supports a universal health service? We currently have it but the only parties that care about it are: -the neoliberals, who want to get rid of it because that's what they do -Wilders, who wants to get rid of it because it's a "leftist hobby" -the animal party, who want to extend it to cover wildlife. They're pretty unconcerned about the above two.
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Dec 6, 2016 01:35
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Baby Babbeh posted:It's better to drag a party with actual influence left than to form a circle jerk with a small group of ideologically pure friends while the world burns around you. In the US, at what point will it make sense to just switch over to the Republican party and start trying to bring them left? I feel like my local and the national Democratic party are on the mark socially but not economically (I don't feel like being pro-NAFTA and saying you're for Joe Manufacturer is really viable, this isn't a "whats the matter with Kansas" situation where the messaging just needs improvement), and they're so far from doing anything effectual that I really am starting to feel like I'm spinning my wheels devoting hours to them. I don't even care about national policy reform, just doing something actually useful for the community that we could point to would be great, but instead of Food Drives etc we'll just set up a booth at the Fuckem-Dixem Corporate Gala.
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Dec 6, 2016 13:26
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Kekekela posted:In the US, at what point will it make sense to just switch over to the Republican party and start trying to bring them left? I feel like my local and the national Democratic party are on the mark socially but not economically (I don't feel like being pro-NAFTA and saying you're for Joe Manufacturer is really viable, this isn't a "whats the matter with Kansas" situation where the messaging just needs improvement), and they're so far from doing anything effectual that I really am starting to feel like I'm spinning my wheels devoting hours to them. I don't even care about national policy reform, just doing something actually useful for the community that we could point to would be great, but instead of Food Drives etc we'll just set up a booth at the Fuckem-Dixem Corporate Gala. Brand New Congress is trying to do exactly this in incumbent red districts, as a counter to gerrymandering and identity voting.
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Dec 6, 2016 15:22
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Kekekela posted:In the US, at what point will it make sense to just switch over to the Republican party and start trying to bring them left? I feel like my local and the national Democratic party are on the mark socially but not economically (I don't feel like being pro-NAFTA and saying you're for Joe Manufacturer is really viable, this isn't a "whats the matter with Kansas" situation where the messaging just needs improvement), and they're so far from doing anything effectual that I really am starting to feel like I'm spinning my wheels devoting hours to them. I don't even care about national policy reform, just doing something actually useful for the community that we could point to would be great, but instead of Food Drives etc we'll just set up a booth at the Fuckem-Dixem Corporate Gala.
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Dec 6, 2016 18:41
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Asehujiko posted:100 days out from the election, Dutch labour party has announced that they're not purging any of the leadership that sold the entire party out to the neoliberals and are trying their hardest to worm their way out of having to say "we won't sell out the entire party to the neoliberals again". Your characterisations of these parties are really strange, and it looks for you anti-science means "Isn't actively promoting nuclear energy", or something? I agree though that we have no real leftist parties to vote for here. I'm a member of the socialist party only because theyre the farthest left party we have at the moment, and the real problem we have is a non-socialist leadership that's trying to court xenophobes. edit: Stinky_Pete posted:So Yeah, the SP actually does and has a widely publicised and pretty successful drive to renationalise healthcare in the Netherlands, which makes me think Asehujiko needs to read party programs instead of going by his gutfeeling of what the Dutch parties want. ekuNNN fucked around with this message at 20:54 on Dec 6, 2016 |
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Dec 6, 2016 20:46
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Well, I might become the precinct chair here for the Democrats. I usually joke about people getting into stuff that "it'll keep them off the streets," but I think it's not going to work out that way this time!
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Dec 9, 2016 08:56
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Huzzah! Steps in the right direction! No irony or sarcasm, that's legitimately good to hear.
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Dec 9, 2016 09:05
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CSPAM goons are also getting aboard the "steps in right direction train" and doing party takeovers. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3800657
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Dec 9, 2016 15:46
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It looks like the Women's March in DC is up in the air as far as where the rally and march can take place, according to Time Magazine. The organizers had sought permits for the mall area back in November, and they have never called it a protest but a peacefully rally and then a march. Already over 100,000 have said that they are going and have made flight plans and hotel reservations, me included. I have a feeling many more not active on Facebook will go as well. Has any president ever not allowed peaceful rallies in DC? It just seems so preposterous and actually challenges us more to go.
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Dec 9, 2016 16:31
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Yeah, I don't see why anyone should stop going if it's not allowed. Asking for permission for a match / rally / protest is more of a "Hey, just a heads up, we are doing this and want it to be peaceful and remain a safe" thing.
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Dec 9, 2016 16:41
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Seems relevant - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/08/womens-march-on-washington-lincoln-memorial
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Dec 9, 2016 17:23
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The organizers seem sure that they will get a permit, just not at the original place intended. They are not saying where just yet. But the people going are not sitting down and saying "well I can't go now," just the opposite. I'm part of a couple groups on FB (they have state groups and a Canada group), and there's nonstop solidarity statements today, so those who had planned to go are still going. I mean, we already have flight and hotel reservations. And, like The Guardian article said, the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund is seeing what it can do.
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Dec 9, 2016 18:05
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Oh, sorry - I hope you did not take that as being accusatory. Like "rah people should do it anyways!" I mean more along the lines of, morally speaking, asking for a permit to protest is a nice thing to do. The government really shouldn't deny it and if so, the people shouldn't respect that. It's really awesome that you are going.
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Dec 9, 2016 18:13
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Internet Explorer posted:Oh, sorry - I hope you did not take that as being accusatory. Like "rah people should do it anyways!" I mean more along the lines of, morally speaking, asking for a permit to protest is a nice thing to do. The government really shouldn't deny it and if so, the people shouldn't respect that. Heh no, I didn't think anything remotely along those lines. I was impressed that the organizers of this march and rally were so organized from the beginning and are working on permits. I have no idea how these things work. I figured sometimes rallies just spontaneously happen, permit or not. But these organizers have covered all bases from the get-go, which is comforting.
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Dec 9, 2016 18:19
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Star Man posted:I want to complement Oracle's post on how to get into local office with one thing. He just turned 70. There are a lot of old people who belong to these orders and they are somewhat to very involved in their communities. Lots of politicians as well (keeping in mind the average age of politicians in D.C. is something like 70). You will have to learn their rules, regulations and secret handshakes and poo poo so if that kind of thing strikes you as open to ridicule well, find another org cuz they take all that poo poo seriously and you WILL be tested on it in order to move up in the ranks. On the plus side they own a lot of property in some very expensive areas of major cities and have a lot of income from dues and the like to put towards your favorite charitable cause, and do a lot of volunteer work that you may be able to steer in a desirable direction. Mostly the benefits are networking, however. Nota bene: if you are not planning on staying in the same area for awhile (like ten years+) you should probably skip Masons as membership doesn't transfer and your 'mother lodge' is where you belong forever and its considered highly suspect to go switching lodges. Just one of those things that's 'just not done.' You can visit other lodges all you like, however. If you're non-straight and non-white and wanting to feel welcome, Kiwanis, Optimists Clubs, Toastmasters, etc will feel a lot more welcoming to you. They are also always hard up for members and almost pathetically excited to see new helpful faces as a general rule (this may apply less in the richer suburbs where you'll notice certain people have a stranglehold on your local society). Either way be prepared to grin and bear a lot of ignorance-based racism/sexism/bigotry. These are by and large old people who don't interact with 'others' too drat often and it will show in casual remarks they won't think twice about but which would cause fainting spells at your local college for their insensitivity. Once you've established yourself you can start trying to make a dent in this but honestly, its probably not going to do poo poo and you're just gonna have to wait for them to die off. Bigotry is tied to emotion and its often one of the last things to go in the senile, which is why they no longer ask who's president as a way to see if said person is oriented because they can be incontinent and forgetful of their children's and spouse's names but give you a spirited earful on 'that X in the White House.' I will also throw in a plug for your local PTA. They by and large welcome any and everyone, dues are cheap (and go entirely to the org to do things for kids after state and national dues are paid for) and lots of people you want to know have kids. You yourself do NOT have to have children or be a teacher to join the PTA, in fact some PTAs will have 'membership drives' for grandparents, aunts uncles etc to join that are basically thinly-veiled fundraisers. In return you get to vote on things the PTA is considering and get a newsletter on what's going on in the local school (assuming they're that organized). Some PTAs have a shitton of money (seriously, in the Chicago suburbs their budget is in the millions of dollars and they've bought like swimming pools for the local public school) and poor or inner-city ones will have maybe four members and a thousand bucks in the bank if they're lucky. Again, if you are male expect some guarded responses as everyone suspects you're a child molester because why else would some young single non-teacher track guy want to get involved with the PTA. If you can volunteer through your college (assuming you're a student) or some other organization (model rocketry club, Masons, whatever) you'll be able to sort of 'borrow' their legitimacy and be less likely to raise alarm. As a volunteer in the school system you'll still be subject to a background check, however, which may include fingerprinting, so if you have a criminal record, try elsewhere. People are VERY protective of their kids. Big Brothers/Big Sisters is also a great organization. Not necessarily a good way to network but it gives you volunteer cred, if you want to move up into the board levels of such things you can again meet people who it may be good to know, but this is more 'this is a genuinely good thing to do as a human being on planet earth.' Good for those who want to do something but are scared of politics and maybe want to get their feet wet with something first. Star Man posted:But, when you're on the younger side of things and you join a group that is full of old white people, it feels like you're stepping into a time warp in the fifties. I encourage anyone that joins these organizations to remain as long as possible, especially if you're a minority. Sometimes the mere presence and regular association of different groups of people can be enough to win over an old white racist. The more minority members of these organizations, the more it can help turn over these bigots. It's hard, but it's not impossible. The other benefit of being in these organizations is that they are opportunities to network. Almost every politician that I have ever met were invited guests of my Kiwanis club. And there's a ton of overlap with these kinds of groups and politicians. Eisenhower and Kennedy were Elks Club members. Nixan and Truman were Kiwanians. And there's a million other organizations out there that I didn't mention. I only brought up those service groups because I have either been a part of them or have family that are. Get involved. I will do another big ol' post about churches and organized religion at some point.
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Dec 9, 2016 19:18
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I want to plug Toastmasters again. It's not free, but I think most places love guests. I'm working with Democrats in my area to set up a club, I want to get up and coming politicians into the club to get practice speaking, and I think it'd be a good community thing.
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Dec 9, 2016 22:19
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:I want to plug Toastmasters again. It's not free, but I think most places love guests. Also a lot of people will freeze up when a tv camera is pointed at them and that light shines in their eyes and they're asked for their opinion and look like complete idiots. Things to practice that are good for not just politicians but protestors as well (helpful hint: take the goddamn fake vampire teeth out of your mouth when being interviewed on tv or else you'll sound like a Simpsons caricature of a headgear-wearing nerd and your message will be totally lost in the ensuing mockery. Jesus Christ, I cringed when I saw that).
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Dec 9, 2016 22:41
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That's good, I'd have to find someone who knows more about it. One of the candidates in my area somehow got listed as attending an election event hosted by a strip club. I guess she said she had no problem coming to the club and meeting the employees to hear what their concerns were, and the club just put her down in the press release as a participant. The media does not give a poo poo about accuracy and won't bother to contact candidates to confirm if stuff is true.
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Dec 9, 2016 22:54
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:That's good, I'd have to find someone who knows more about it. Find someone who does PR for a company. Chances are they are a former journalist/reporter. They will tell you exactly what you need to know, which is basically: spoonfeed them. Learn how to write in inverted pyramid style. Make your press release look as much like a newspaper article as you can in style, length and tone. Bulletpoint your facts so they are easy to see and read. Use electronic copies in commonly-used formats whenever possible so its easy to just cut and paste (yes newspapers will loving do this I am not kidding). Provide quotes on questions you want asked from your org/candidate. Predicting what questions they're going to ask gets pretty easy (does it answer who/what/where/when/why/how?) Try not to speak/write above an 8th grade reading level. Make sure to point out how it benefits the people you are trying to reach. If asked a question you don't want to answer, turn it around into a question you do want to answer and answer that one. ("how much money did X pay you for your house before you gave him that cushy position?" "Are you asking me how the real estate market is doing in my area? Well, Candy, it turns out its great right now. Our area is a very desirable place to live thanks to the robust industry, wonderful people and welcoming climate.")
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Dec 9, 2016 23:07
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Regarding the above post I made, the Washington Post is reporting good news: quote:Organizers of the most high-profile demonstration planned around the inauguration of President-elect Donald J. Trump say they have determined a meeting place to begin a march that is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of participants.
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Dec 9, 2016 23:12
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OK, been trying to crack the DPF nut for a bit and hitting walls. (that's Democratic Party of Florida, not Doomed Party of Failure; you'd be forgiven for the mixup though). Florida is gerrymandered to hell and back, even after an amendment passing saying not to do it (though its admittedly a bit better). DPF, at least in south florida, seems to be happy enough to caretake its safe districts and not much else. We re-elected DWS, for god's sake. It's a curious concentrated mix of super-wealthy establishment and the working poor looking to not be poo poo on all the time. I get that change comes from the bottom, but I'm having trouble finding an accessible ground floor access point. Maybe it's just the holidays tossing a spanner into the works. Still have a few leads to chase down from their terrible websites, but any FL goons have ideas/input where I can start? In Palm Beach if that helps.
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Dec 10, 2016 01:03
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Another angle most people can use to help learn the political landscape in their community is to go look up the campaign expenditures, not donations. You can look up and see everyone paid by local congresscritters and usually statehouse races too. While the big dollar consultants are good to write down (you'll start to see patterns where some groups are very insular in staffing) you want to look for the people getting $500 for staffing an office or a few grand for consulting services. These are your meat and potatoes political operative that do a lot of the footwork for campaigns. So you can look up your local statehouse race and see all the midlevel people who worked for the Democrat. Then you look up a few primary races where you like a candidate and see who got paid for primary work. Now you know some operatives who have similar ideas to you. If there are people on both lists, now you've found the operatives who are both have some power and think similar to you. Then you just have to meet them! For example, you could find the local digital service consultants who support primary candidates you like and tell them that when they have a campaign need a volunteer web monkey to give you a call.
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Dec 10, 2016 01:17
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| # ? Jun 1, 2024 01:59 |
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Are the Democratic Socialists worth Getting involved with? I took a glance at their website, and they seem reasonable. However I remember hanging out with Green Party people before and they were more concerned with "Ideological Purity" than actually getting anything done, so I'm always wary. I'm in Maryland, I've donated, emailed, called, my local Democratic Party but have only gotten "thank yous" in return. They seem like a shell that only opens up during election seasons. I consider my self a "practical socialist" IE I eventually want a full socialist (not communist) state but believe working incrementally with lots of other, varied groups over time to achieve that goal. I guess my biggest concern, or the one that keeps me up at night the most, is Climate Change. I've volunteered for The Nature Conservancy in my area, which does projects like Bay Clean up, et al. However I'm more interested in organizations that want to push environmental policy and will fight back against Trump at a political/legal level. Any suggestions? And sorry if my post is rambling, I feel like a liberal lost in the woods since the election and reading this thread has really helped. All the other D&D threads (and talking to my friends) is nothing more than doom & gloom. 
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Dec 10, 2016 15:51
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