joepinetree posted:

DSA is a perfectly tuned machine aimed at taking any energy for change and channeling into irrelevant procedural nonsense.

My last meeting with DSA there was a stupid slapfight for like 30 minutes over whether a particular motion could come up for a vote, and there was a whole thing about roberts rules of order and amending the agenda (note, the debate wasn't about the motion itself, but whether someone could make a motion to amend the agenda to add the motion for debate and a vote). The guy wanting to put the motion to a vote got loud at one point. So this lady interrupted him and said that as a victim of sexual assault he was triggering her by speaking loudly. He then said that as a victim of sexual assault himself he found it extremely concerning that she would casually use sexual assault that way. Which then led to mutual threats of filing grievances, a discussion of how no one internal should be able to handle it, and a promise by the chair of seeking help from national. Best part was that the motion itself was some vague pablum about engaging in electoralism even after Bernie's defeat.

After the meeting was over, I cancelled my membership, and asked to be removed from the rolls (despite being allowed to continue on as a member for a while if I wanted).

joepinetree posted:

I've been part of organizing faculty, students and staff under the same union. About 1/3 of my department joined because of me.

In fact, doing that was the beginning of the end for me. Because doing this union felt easy, people were earnest and collaborative, and it wasn't an endless energy suck.

Especially because at the same time this was getting off the ground, my disillusion was starting to grow with DSA. I think I even posted about it here. Some clown who only ever attended meetings remotely and never actually participated in anything spent literally half a meeting arguing that everything that DSA did should have an ASL interpreter and child care available. Now, the sticking point wasn't that the rest didn't want an ASL interpreter. The sticking point is that she thought those things should be provided even if no one requested it, because even making it available upon request is ableist. Thinking about it now and its stuff like this that probably ballooned the dsa budget, because she was adamant that there had to be an ASL interpreter at every event even if no one requested and we knew of no one who needed it.

lumpentroll posted:

joepinetree posted:

At its pre-pandemic peak there was certainly a major contingent of creepy guys who legitimately thought "it's ok, im just being sex positive" was a good excuse for hitting on every woman in the org.

One of the people I'd hang out with at DSA events was this woman who worked as a stripper. The only reason I learned she was a stripper was because I was having a conversation with her and some other guy recognized her, proceeded to identify the club she worked at, and started to ask questions about her schedule to go there and see her.

isn't that what swp stands for?

Weka posted:

I am basically a Maoist third worldist

PostNouveau posted:

See this is why I don't read books

People tell me "Oh you should read theory" and it's like, why so I can know what an ortho-Trot is? What if I read it wrong and become an ortho-Trot?

Ferrinus posted:

friends of mine were on the delegation and they basically described it to me as life-changing. like yeah the blockade means a lot of missing amenities but (to paraphrase them) it felt like being in a real society for the first time ever. among other things, my friend reports that he saw more cops in the two or three hours he was at newark's airport than he did the entire time he was in cuba

Ferrinus posted:

no, i really am relating my friend's words, i didn't have the time to go. i might try when these become a regular occurrence but i can think of a lot of comrades who should get a seat before i do

Mukulu posted:

So I'm not a smart man. Can one of you nice people break down why you all don't like Trotsky(ists)?

Cassian of Imola posted:

hey quick question op what was the USSR's policy on the Nazis before deciding that defeating them was the best strategy, and what made them change their minds

follow up: is it your contention here that the USSR under Stalin generally supported the CCP over the KMT and is responsible for its success