anarchist_nomad (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
anarchist_nomad) wrote2010-04-05 08:43 pm
anarchist_nomad) wrote2010-04-05 08:43 pm
Entry tags:
Recent Recurring Thought
I miss being an activist...
At least you are not that which you were active against.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
*hugs*
I'd love to see you get back to this someday (soon)Sweetie, I know how it makes you feel to not be xxx
I'd love to see you get back to this someday (soon)Sweetie, I know how it makes you feel to not be xxx
After talking with you about this last week, I know how much it means to you. I hope it's something you get chance to go back to soon.
*hugs tightly*
Love you
xxx
*hugs tightly*
Love you
xxx
Didn't you just help organise an event, though? Sounds pretty activist to me.
Depends on the type of event, doesn't it? Organising Oxford BiFest doesn't earn me activist stripes...
*small smile* Well said, kind sir.
Indeed, I have not. I still believe in all the same things that I did then. It's just a question of what I am doing about it.
Indeed, I have not. I still believe in all the same things that I did then. It's just a question of what I am doing about it.
yeah, we didn't exactly have to face down cops in riot gear for the right to chat, knit and have a disco.
*soft smile* Thank you, Beloved!
I do feel somewhat... less than whole... for being away from this for too long. That feeling is a good thing, though! It means that my soul is still intact because it can feel the hole. Also, that feeling of loss will eventually steer me back to that sort of work. If I didn't miss it, that would actually be the scarier prospect.
I do feel somewhat... less than whole... for being away from this for too long. That feeling is a good thing, though! It means that my soul is still intact because it can feel the hole. Also, that feeling of loss will eventually steer me back to that sort of work. If I didn't miss it, that would actually be the scarier prospect.
Yes, as we said at the weekend, the combination of your upset at not being active _and_ your continued ability to be moved by the issues means your soul is still intact.
(am still reading my way through FAQ you linked me to BTW)
(am still reading my way through FAQ you linked me to BTW)
Thank you, Sweetheart! Tis indeed very much a part of me! Heck, it is even in my [LJ] name! *grin* *wink*
*hugs you back closely*
Love you, too... lots!
xxx
*hugs you back closely*
Love you, too... lots!
xxx
Depends who's handing them out.
That's hardly the only kind of activism, though, or even necessarily the most effective (it's situational). There are lots of ways to facilitate the change you want to see, I don't think there's anything requiring all activism to be life-or-death stuff.
So basically, I wouldn't feel bad about it.
So basically, I wouldn't feel bad about it.
Yes, as we said at the weekend, the combination of your upset at not being active _and_ your continued ability to be moved by the issues means your soul is still intact.
Exactly!
To be honest, I've spent more time being what some term a "lifestylist" than I have spent as an activist. I was only really active from 2001 through 2006... but I've been an Anarchist since roughly 1993.
I will get back to it. I know that. I am very much still an Anarchist; as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
blaisepascal observes, I have not turned into my own antithesis. And the fact that I miss the work makes it ever more likely...
(am still reading my way through FAQ you linked me to BTW)
Oh, you started in on the Anarchist FAQ (http://www.infoshop.org/page/AnAnarchistFAQ)? Excellent! Please let me know what you think as you read various parts!
Also, am not at all surprised that you are still working on it. Actually, I would be quite surprise if you had finished! There is a lot of text there!
Although the different sections stand alone and there is no need to read it linearly from "cover to cover", Resourceress and I started at the beginning in early 2001. We made our way through the introduction and Section A before our steam petered out partway through Section B. If you find a part that particularly grabs you, though, do let me know! I could read it, too, and we can discuss!
Love you lots!!
Exactly!
To be honest, I've spent more time being what some term a "lifestylist" than I have spent as an activist. I was only really active from 2001 through 2006... but I've been an Anarchist since roughly 1993.
I will get back to it. I know that. I am very much still an Anarchist; as
blaisepascal observes, I have not turned into my own antithesis. And the fact that I miss the work makes it ever more likely...(am still reading my way through FAQ you linked me to BTW)
Oh, you started in on the Anarchist FAQ (http://www.infoshop.org/page/AnAnarchistFAQ)? Excellent! Please let me know what you think as you read various parts!
Also, am not at all surprised that you are still working on it. Actually, I would be quite surprise if you had finished! There is a lot of text there!
Although the different sections stand alone and there is no need to read it linearly from "cover to cover", Resourceress and I started at the beginning in early 2001. We made our way through the introduction and Section A before our steam petered out partway through Section B. If you find a part that particularly grabs you, though, do let me know! I could read it, too, and we can discuss!
Love you lots!!
There are definitely many types of activism! I totally agree! Besides mass demonstrations, other types of work that I have done include:
There is more, but I think that this gives some idea. I'm absolutely on the same page as you that street marches are not the only form of activism. However, I still think that chatting with friends, running a "fun & games" workshop, and dancing at the disco doesn't count as any of them...
- CopWatch -- going on patrol to monitor the police, as a means of preventing brutality
- Food & clothing redistributions
- Political prisoner support
- Books-to-prisons programs
- Running an infoshop and a free store
- Strikes and picket lines
- Organising boycotts
There is more, but I think that this gives some idea. I'm absolutely on the same page as you that street marches are not the only form of activism. However, I still think that chatting with friends, running a "fun & games" workshop, and dancing at the disco doesn't count as any of them...
Sure, and I agree with you that only doing 'easy' activism can be an out.
But could you get involved in doing similar things again? There are avenues here to get involved with supporting political prisoners, there are infostores, free stores, squatters' networks, etc.
How about starting with something small? Join Liberty, say, and get involved with some of their awareness campaigns? Even if you don't have a lot of time, slacktivism can be useful :-)
But could you get involved in doing similar things again? There are avenues here to get involved with supporting political prisoners, there are infostores, free stores, squatters' networks, etc.
How about starting with something small? Join Liberty, say, and get involved with some of their awareness campaigns? Even if you don't have a lot of time, slacktivism can be useful :-)
Well fair enough... but I don't think I'd actually accept activist stripes for putting on a social event. Tis true that I conceived of and helped run Oxford BiFest. It was great fun and a big success... but, at the end of the day, it was a social event.
In October, I am also running a BiCon-sized Pagan festival in New York. Does that suddenly make me a Pagan activist? I don't think so. It just means that I am organising another social event.
In October, I am also running a BiCon-sized Pagan festival in New York. Does that suddenly make me a Pagan activist? I don't think so. It just means that I am organising another social event.
I'd say it makes you a little bit of a Pagan activist, yes. Maybe not a full-time one, but since activism is about actions, you're being a bit of an activist when you do it.
Not all social events are activism, I don't think, but if they have as one of their aims raising political & social awareness, particularly of discrimination, then I think they can be.
Not all social events are activism, I don't think, but if they have as one of their aims raising political & social awareness, particularly of discrimination, then I think they can be.
There are definitely different options available that I need to consider. Many are similar to groups that I belonged to or worked with when I was Stateside: Indymedia (http://www.indymedia.org.uk/) or the Industrial Workers of the World (http://www.iww.org/), for instance. There is an Oxford IMC and a West Midlands IWW branch, both of which are quite accessible to me.
There are also local options that I have worked with since moving to Oxford, like the SPEAK (http://www.speakcampaigns.org/) demonstrations that I joined in shortly after arriving here. (http://anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com/75583.html)[*] There is also an Oxford group working in solidarity with the Palestinians -- another worthy cause. Again, getting involved would not be too difficult.
I take commitments quite seriously and would not just jump in feet first. So I need a bit of time to figure out the best ways to contribute and how much time I can spare. Then I start looking for the best options for involvement.
What is your own activism like these days? What are you working on?
[*] Those were fun, not least because of the court injunction preventing SPEAK people from talking to Oxford University employees. By law, then, I was unable to converse with myself...
There are also local options that I have worked with since moving to Oxford, like the SPEAK (http://www.speakcampaigns.org/) demonstrations that I joined in shortly after arriving here. (http://anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com/75583.html)[*] There is also an Oxford group working in solidarity with the Palestinians -- another worthy cause. Again, getting involved would not be too difficult.
I take commitments quite seriously and would not just jump in feet first. So I need a bit of time to figure out the best ways to contribute and how much time I can spare. Then I start looking for the best options for involvement.
What is your own activism like these days? What are you working on?
[*] Those were fun, not least because of the court injunction preventing SPEAK people from talking to Oxford University employees. By law, then, I was unable to converse with myself...
I'd say it makes you a little bit of a Pagan activist, yes. Maybe not a full-time one, but since activism is about actions, you're being a bit of an activist when you do it.
Here I have to disagree with you, as it sounds like you're just saying that anything you are actively doing makes you an "activist" for that thing. Which devalues the word to meaningless.
Should I also count myself as a "physics activist", given all the time I spend on research and on speaking? How about a "bell ringing activist"? After all, I spend a lot of my time on that and there are many people who now know about change ringing who would never have been the wiser without me. Heck, depending on how I look at it, I might also qualify as a "swimming activist", a "board gaming activist", a "comic book activist", a "figure skating activist" (currently lapsed), a "skydiving activist", a "fire walking activist", a "SCUBA diving activist", a "bowling activist", a "hiking activist", a "theatre activist", a "history activist", and more... :-D
Here I have to disagree with you, as it sounds like you're just saying that anything you are actively doing makes you an "activist" for that thing. Which devalues the word to meaningless.
Should I also count myself as a "physics activist", given all the time I spend on research and on speaking? How about a "bell ringing activist"? After all, I spend a lot of my time on that and there are many people who now know about change ringing who would never have been the wiser without me. Heck, depending on how I look at it, I might also qualify as a "swimming activist", a "board gaming activist", a "comic book activist", a "figure skating activist" (currently lapsed), a "skydiving activist", a "fire walking activist", a "SCUBA diving activist", a "bowling activist", a "hiking activist", a "theatre activist", a "history activist", and more... :-D
Pretty fucking non-existent, really. Which I, like you, feel a bit frustrated about, but with full-time job, masters degree, mental & physical health crap and dealing with family stuff, I just have to roll my eyes and say it'll happen later. I used to do a lot with one of my friends who I haven't seen for a while, he was a great dude and very involved, spent a lot of time camping with Brian Haw in Parliament Square. I miss the lunchtime demonstrations, they were great for a tiny bit of activism to break up the day! ;-) I'll probably try to get involved with other legal and environmental projects when I have time, as those are both big areas of interest for me. I'm hoping the degree will give me more concrete stuff to work on which will help with the activism too, so even if I don't enjoy it, it'll be helpful in the long run.
I was doing quite a bit of union stuff until the end of last year, including LGBT events (which I do count as activism in some regards), but have had to scale back a bit and will probably have to step down from my remaining role for a while. *sigh*
I was doing quite a bit of union stuff until the end of last year, including LGBT events (which I do count as activism in some regards), but have had to scale back a bit and will probably have to step down from my remaining role for a while. *sigh*
it sounds like you're just saying that anything you are actively doing makes you an "activist" for that thing
No, I'm not, and I don't get on with that attitude.
If your speaking on physics involved a significant element of, say, outreach to non-scientists, attempts to counter public misconceptions about science, trying to involve more eg women, people from poorer backgrounds, etc etc to get involved with science careers...then I'd say it was OK to call yourself a 'physics activist'. Or maybe a 'teaching activist', whatever suited best.
To be more specific, I'd say if you spend time doing something in which you are, on some level, advocating legal, political or social *change*, then it could be activism.
No, I'm not, and I don't get on with that attitude.
If your speaking on physics involved a significant element of, say, outreach to non-scientists, attempts to counter public misconceptions about science, trying to involve more eg women, people from poorer backgrounds, etc etc to get involved with science careers...then I'd say it was OK to call yourself a 'physics activist'. Or maybe a 'teaching activist', whatever suited best.
To be more specific, I'd say if you spend time doing something in which you are, on some level, advocating legal, political or social *change*, then it could be activism.
I was doing quite a bit of union stuff until the end of last year...
Union stuff is very good! I like union stuff! :-D I'm curious: What is this "remaining role" that you speak of?
Also, environmental stuff is something I can really get behind! Although I was never a member of Earth First! (http://www.earthfirst.org/), I did work on environmentally-themed campaigns with some of their people back when I lived in Arizona! Good stuff!
Union stuff is very good! I like union stuff! :-D I'm curious: What is this "remaining role" that you speak of?
Also, environmental stuff is something I can really get behind! Although I was never a member of Earth First! (http://www.earthfirst.org/), I did work on environmentally-themed campaigns with some of their people back when I lived in Arizona! Good stuff!
Hmmmm... I'm looking at your list here. I do indeed do a significant amount of outreach to lay people[*] and also a fair bit of correcting public misconceptions about science.[**] Still, I don't think of myself as a "physics activist" or a "teaching activist". To me, these activities are simply part of being a physicist.
Similarly, I don't see organising Oxford BiFest as being activism. I wanted to give back to the UK Bisexual community in some way, which I feel that I did. And I wanted to create a social event that would bring in new people in addition to the usual crowd. Again, I feel that I succeeded in this. But was it activism? Not in my book...
P.S. Replying to something you wrote in an earlier comment: Although mass demonstrations are certainly not the only form of activism out there, I would not discount them or the people who choose to engage in them. They do have a place and can accomplish a lot! Plus, I have much respect for people who are brave enough to stand -- unarmed -- face to face with the riot police. I've been there and done that, myself. It is scary and I don't particularly like the threat of their bullets, chemical weapons, et cetera... but it would be wrong of me to let others accept those risks whilst I sat safely out of harm's way.
[*] Just last week I presented a masterclass lecture to a group of high school kids on one day, then spoke to an amateur astronomy organisation on Wednesday.
[**] Large Hadron Collider, anyone?
Similarly, I don't see organising Oxford BiFest as being activism. I wanted to give back to the UK Bisexual community in some way, which I feel that I did. And I wanted to create a social event that would bring in new people in addition to the usual crowd. Again, I feel that I succeeded in this. But was it activism? Not in my book...
P.S. Replying to something you wrote in an earlier comment: Although mass demonstrations are certainly not the only form of activism out there, I would not discount them or the people who choose to engage in them. They do have a place and can accomplish a lot! Plus, I have much respect for people who are brave enough to stand -- unarmed -- face to face with the riot police. I've been there and done that, myself. It is scary and I don't particularly like the threat of their bullets, chemical weapons, et cetera... but it would be wrong of me to let others accept those risks whilst I sat safely out of harm's way.
[*] Just last week I presented a masterclass lecture to a group of high school kids on one day, then spoke to an amateur astronomy organisation on Wednesday.
[**] Large Hadron Collider, anyone?
this.
i think BiFests etc do count as more than "just" a social event (not that i'm dissing the existence of social events - they may not be activism but making them happen is still work and worthwhile) because creating bi space in a still largely biphobic world is important. People come out for the first time at bifests (i know at least one person did at Oxford) and that's really precious.
Providing safer sex information and supplies is activism.
Encouraging people to question mainstream relationship/lifestyle options and finding what works best for them is activism.
And besides in my more cynical moment i wouldn't put so much work into just social events - i'm not that social!
i think BiFests etc do count as more than "just" a social event (not that i'm dissing the existence of social events - they may not be activism but making them happen is still work and worthwhile) because creating bi space in a still largely biphobic world is important. People come out for the first time at bifests (i know at least one person did at Oxford) and that's really precious.
Providing safer sex information and supplies is activism.
Encouraging people to question mainstream relationship/lifestyle options and finding what works best for them is activism.
And besides in my more cynical moment i wouldn't put so much work into just social events - i'm not that social!
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