General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWriting on DU is activism, actually
Lots of talk lately about what constitutes activism. And with that, there's the urge to draw the line neatly around one thing, and not "the other."
I've been kicking around activist circles since the 1980s and a LOT has changed since then. Back when I started it was easier to define activism. Things we would have listed as activism included:
-- turning out people to public meetings
-- hosting events for large-scale involvement
-- writing letters to the editor
-- phone-banking
-- door-knocking
-- participating in activist planning/strategy/forums (which, were mostly in-person at the time).
Since the 80s we've seen the rise of this thing called Social Media and most organizations either have a social media job with their communications department, OR they rely on organizers to use social media to take their message out.
Pay attention to that last line..."to take their message out." This is what we used to do primarily with Letters to the Editor. LTEs are still very important, especially when trying to move electeds to a better policy position. It's VERY important b/c electeds use SEO and web searches for their name to report back to the lawmaker on how their messaging is doing out in the world, and...in the best case scenario...to reality check if their constituents are still with them. DU is recognized as having excellent SEO. Often when researching a new issue my searches put DU on the first page, even when I'm using a work computer that isn't full of DU cookies.
This forum can be seen as a daily paper for *engaged Democrats." An engaged Dem is someone who is a likely voter and someone who can be mobilized to participate in other actions such as social media engagement LTEs, phone-banking and doorknocking. We are also likely to turn-out to assemblies, town halls, and protests.
When you're posting your thoughts to DU you're talking directly to Democratic party people with the intent of *moving people* in the direction of your point of view. The audience is different from an LTE; much larger and clearly more Dem.
If there wasn't the potential to move decision-makers with our actions here, there wouldn't be such turf fights over policy issues. It's activism in the clearest sense, using social media to bridge the divide between rank-and-file Dems and their national leadership.
Posting on DU isn't only activism, it's effective activism. But I would agree with others that it's not complete. Also go out and work on the issues that you're passionate about. Election reform, job quality, school reform, environmental and of course, peace and justice organizations all NEED your help.
Use DU to help you think and to better communicate your POV. Save your posts here for LTEs in your local newspapers. If you have a really good one, pitch it as an op-ed, post it on Facebook, or add it to another blog. Use DU's Twitter and Facebook buttons to extend your social reach.
But don't let anyone tell you that what you're doing isn't activism. It is. As a DU poster, you're valuable and needed part of the activist eco-system.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)there is a tussle afoot for the soul of the Party and they want to do anything they can to stop the rising yeast of activism and the leftward motion they dread.
Their concept that persuasion of other Democrats is not a vital aspect of activism is show to be balderdash simply by looking at the recent history of Marriage Equality. Two years ago, 'centrists' and 'conservative Democrats' were all mucked up about equality. ' The real solution' they would say all Third Way Style 'is civil Unions for everyone!' or they would whine that we had to wait and be incremental 'all change is slow, we have to wait until after then next election then after the midterms' or better 'we have to wait until all the old bigots die off, then we can get real equality'.
If no one had engaged with other Democrats, both voters and officials including Obama, we'd still be hearing about how we need to stop the poutrage and pony wanting and be pragmatic.....
Once a DUer posted a screed announcing 'Stonewall does not count, it is not like Selma!!!!' so I sent that thread to the WH and two weeks later Obama was saying 'From Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall' right there on the Big Day.
DU is useful, the centrists and conservative Democrats do not care for that fact nor do they know how to use it.
OneGrassRoot
(22,917 posts)And K&R to the OP.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)folks from DU. The thrust of the OP is about messaging and moving decision makers...but you take it one step further with mobilizing fundraising for needy people. It's direct and beautiful.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)that's my take as well -- and I had totally forgotten about the centrist resistance to equality. where I live, the party is so completely devoted to equality that i take it for granted. it's hard to believe that just a couple of years ago this was "controversial" within Democratic circles.
i get suspicious when folks say to quit doing something b/c it's not "effective." heard it too often from local pols who were about to fall...it's usually the last gasp of freakout before things change.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)now claim they were always on our side and there is no value in advocating positions to other Democrats! They whine at the activists, then the activists win. Then they claim they too were activists.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)undercutting, crazy-making, doormat creating.
this is backwards: come in and phone-bank for us, but all this other stuff like messaging, framing, social media and outreach, leave it to the professionals.
professional organizers know that their power comes from the members; from the rank-and-file. and not the other way around.
KG
(28,749 posts)They know who they are.
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Really?
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)Got anything to offer other than snark and emoticons?
Maedhros
(10,007 posts)Vanje
(9,766 posts)I'm sorry its a fight here on DU, but its a fight the party needs to have.
Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)thought is could purge the moderates from the GOP
purging the moderates for the Democratic Party will end the same!
Vanje
(9,766 posts)apparently ended up here at DU.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)the Tea Party seems to be running the GOP right now. b/c they wield more power actively than their party moderates, they're moving the entire in their direction from state and local on up to Federal work.
no one want to "purge" moderates from the Dem party. The Democratic base of the Democratic party would like to have a word with the moderates for the good of the party, but no one wants to "purge" them.
daleanime
(17,796 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)Thats not what I said What I said was:
Stonewall ...while a turning point in the GLTB, my understanding is it was more of a spontaneous response to police action, rather than a planned action, like the marches and boycott. http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2084828
Secondly, your timing is off. My comment was made on December 28, 2012; President Obamas Seneca Falls to Selma Speech was first referenced in a commencement speech at Barnard College made on May 14, 2012. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/14/obama-s-barnard-college-commencement-speech-win.html
If youre going to tell a story, it would be helpful if your story dealt in truth.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Great post!
aolwien
(71 posts)revolve around football and "what celebrity did what, wore what, did who, at X awards show" then yeah I'd say anybody actually engaged and knowledgeable about the political process is an activist.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)people in policy/politics in a similar compulsive/geeky vein as sports fans engage.
well, i see that here everyday. the only downside is that we also tend to behave as if we're promoting our sports team...but hey, it's a start!
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)This is a tough room and an intimidating place to post for n00bs, there's a lot of landmines to trip over here that will get you blasted and not have a clue what you did.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)politics is idea-driven. this is an incredibly powerful place to reality-check ideas, see what's trending, and take the temperature of party people throughout the country.
totally agree too that there's a steep learning curve to GD. it's a slugfest for sure.
Lars39
(26,093 posts)Thank you for the OP, nashville_brook!
CrispyQ
(36,231 posts)I come here to learn, to exchange ideas, to get ammunition & sources for when I am out "activating." Without DU, I would not as an effective activist.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)we can look at engagement as a two-way street. we want to engage other people and electeds...but we also have to engage ourselves. DU helps me define my priorities and refine my thinking with a very sharp audience. it's incredibly valuable to me.
CrispyQ
(36,231 posts)Also more liberal.
rrneck
(17,671 posts)Posting here is support for the best activism there is - putting your ass in the street. Ten thousand tweets is nothing compared to a hundred people walking down lower Broadway with signs.
randome
(34,845 posts)...to a mutual masturbation party.
Your mileage may vary.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)which is the usual definition of echo chamber...then I'd have to disagree. there's those who come here to defend and pleasure the party's leadership, but if that were the only discourse available here there'd only be 100 or so posters.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)I think we have a subgroup for that ...
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)Vanje
(9,766 posts)Learn some stuff.
Get comfortable asserting yourself.
Hone your points.
THEN, take it to a larger world
TBF
(31,922 posts)I spread my socialist world view to anyone who will listen.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)'activism.' For example, I don't think the people whose posted here in support of Occupy were activists. I think the people actually on the street were the activists.
But I could be wrong. It might be a generational thing.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)there's a difference btwn engagement and mobilization. activists know that you need both.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)replacement for pavement pounding.
leftstreet
(36,081 posts)The was a time when the commons had little means of communication
Technology has changed that
Look at the recent public outcry over Syria. No massive street protests that I recall
Maedhros
(10,007 posts)The street protests of the 60s and 70s were an attempt to bring the people's message to the media of the time, since the networks were doing what they always do and presenting only establishment voices on issues like civil rights and the Vietnam War. Taking to the streets in large numbers demanded coverage on the news (and we actually had NEWS back then), and the people woke up when they saw the demonstrations on the television.
The PTB learned their lesson well. These days, any coverage of street demonstrations completely ignores the message of the demonstrators and focuses on negative factors such as vandalism and police response. Marches and street protests now serve as motivational events for the participants - which is important - but in terms of changing peoples' minds they do not accomplish much. One typically has one's mind made up about the demonstrators before they hit the street - e.g. liberals will denounce Tea Party rallies, and conservatives will denounce anti-war rallies, without either group paying the least bit of attention to the content of the demonstration.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)Maedhros
(10,007 posts)But I think the message of Occupy was spread more via social media than news coverage. The news was all about the problems in the encampments and police response.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)and i could write a thesis on the constellation of ways that people mobilized from Occupy... and stayed mobilized.
i like what you said about 'ritual' with occupy -- you might not have used that term, but the idea that people needed to go somewhere to nurture engagement. it's so true. we've lost our public spaces and our culture of gathering in non-retail contexts. like, it's okay to talk at a coffee shop...within certain boundaries. but gathering at a park and meeting people of all ages from all walks of life who are motivated by similar interests...that was pretty powerful.
Maedhros
(10,007 posts)and into some other territory. Anomalous and, for all its warts, an incredibly powerful movement that changed how the average citizen thinks - and talks - about class stratification.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)for exactly the reason stated above -- that the media focused on black bloc. I'd also add that the tactic of getting a lot of people out in the street lends itself to being sideswiped by people who don't share your values or worse.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)People who need to go to the polls can't do it via the Internet--they need people in cars. People denied the right to meaningful franchise because of gerrymandering don't need you to post on Facebook about it--they need you to walk the streets, and rally the voters, and be an active constituent.
Technology has changed what, precisely? Sure, you can sip a latte and post all you want thanks to the glory of the Internets, but if you aren't getting voters to the polls, and protecting those voters, and expanding the franchise, you are doing nothing for actual democracy.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)Ask Egypt what technology has changed.
Community, consensus building, think tanking, planning, communication? Your argument is all of that can only be achieved in person?
Nonsense. No one thinks that. Occupy itself arose on the Internet, in chatrooms, Facebook, and Twitter.
Internet communication and social media are universally recognized as important and effective, from local orgs to national political parties. OFA never hesitates to take credit for its high-tech organization, which many think gave a significant advantage in both elections. You don't think the Obama administration is naive or engaging in wishful thinking as to the power of digital communication, do you?
If you need further proof, look no further than the frantically shouting centrist true believers right here on DU, desperately trying to convince everyone that the recent shifts to the left are imaginary, and have nothing to do with online communication and organization.
It's a self-defeating argument. If what they were saying were true, they wouldn't bother saying it.
They are terrified that the public is speaking in new and uncomfortably inconvenient ways.
We just backed off another hot war in the Middle East and rejected a Wall Street elite for Fed Chair. A few years ago marriage equality was not something the Obama administration was willing to discuss. These shifts didn't come about because the usual monied interests changed their minds. Public opinion, most visible now on the Internet, shifted policy.
― Mahatma Gandhi
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)Occupy is our own version of that phenomena.
And with Occupy you had the exact same people who FOUND us thru social media, trying to sabotage our social media efforts b/c of the false notion that if you're not "on the ground" you don't matter.
I'll say the same thing here that I said to the "OTG-centric" Occupiers: this movement is a marathon and to survive you need everybody: working moms, students, seniors and anyone else you can interest, who are willing to work at their own pace doing that which they are capable of.
that definitely includes showing solidarity through social media and getting the message out effectively. it includes making sure that everyone knows about events that are happening. it means circulating sign-on letters and getting that information to our electeds. it's all about communication, basically. without that, you've got nuthin.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)You speak truth.
leftstreet
(36,081 posts)Not sure your example is a good one. Half the eligible voters don't vote, so obviously it's not a huge concern. And given that Congress has a favor ability rating somewhere south of a colonoscopy, we can guess a certain percentage of people don't currently see 'voting' as a right worth protecting
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)b/c you're not going to find them "on the streets." which streets by the way? Main Street? Market Street? 56th Avenue? Are you randomly walking up to people to "rally" them? Do you have your own VAN access and run your own GOTV operation? probably not -- more likely you work with people who do that, and find volunteers...wait for it...thru social media, in addition to other traditional forms of networking.
i've done quite a bit of voter mobilization and poll watching, and I can tell you that hardly anyone accepts rides to the polls anymore. what folks DO need is accurate information on how to early vote...something that social media is VERY good at disseminating.
it's also effective to use social media to join up with mobilization activities in your area -- that's how we get the word out, b/c we can't rely on the media to do 100% of it for us. thru social media you get your door-knockers who will then spend every saturday knocking on doors and asking that people USE SOCIAL MEDIA to continue to get the word out.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)Not outdated in terms of gaining attention for specific causes, of course.
But clearly the vast majority of reaching and educating people re:issues now happens online.
Thank you for making this important point.
Response to woo me with science (Reply #52)
woo me with science This message was self-deleted by its author.
Vanje
(9,766 posts)I could occupy Owyhee County Idaho, but I'd be the only one.
Also My state is redder than red, died in the wool Republican.
Its pretty limited what one can do here. There is some work here, for a few local races and issues, but for national offices, I work to get out the vote in my nearby home state of Oregon.
Re: Rural Idaho; There are a LOT of Latinos. (40% of the populace in my small town).There is some Dem effort to reach out , but not much. Not nearly enough
Rural people have different activism options than city folks.
Vanje
(9,766 posts)because literally, there is no pavement.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)back in the early 90s when we knew that networked "online" culture would happen, but we didn't know how it would happen, or what it would look like.
i did social theory and the most obvious thing was that networking would bring people closer and multiply opportunity for participatory democracy.
hell, i used to have to drive to the indie bookstore (we were lucky to have one) to buy NY Times and Washington Post on Sunday. It was such a big day for me every week. Now i get 100x that information in my twitter feed every day.
BainsBane
(53,003 posts)If one uses DU to organize people for outreach, letter writing campaigns, or organizing protests.
Posting here is not in and of itself activism. That would be like saying sitting around in your living room talking to your friends is activism. If you don't use that gathering as a springboard for political engagement of some kind, it's not activism.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)unless you have a really big living room and an active social life.
also, rarely does your living attract party leaders...unless you have a really elite social life.
if you go down to your local community organizing group's office they will tell you that they need people to work social media and if they're good, they'll spend the time to explain SEO to you and why it's so important.
BainsBane
(53,003 posts)to classify one's actions as activism.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)pragmatically you look to the real world for correspondence to determine the truth of a matter.
it's great that you take activism beyond *engagement* to *mobilization.* but there's plenty of need for engagement on a national level. there's need to have informed writers. there's need to mobilize social media strategy. and there's need to refine messages and test ideas. all of these things are activism.
clearly there's a desire for some within the party to not be bothered by what rank-and-file folks think about policy. like George W. Bush said, this would all be much easier if we lived in a dictatorship. that way the party would go about their business and the rest of us could just live with it.
but that's how we end up with unengaged members who don't mobilize to vote or turn out to events. the order of operations is identify > engage > mobilize. we do all three to some degree or another.
BainsBane
(53,003 posts)but if the message is confined to this site, how do they even know what we think?
Believe me, I'm not portraying myself as an activist. I'm not. I call my representatives and canvas during the election season. I'm looking to become more involved on gun control, but I don't think anything I do rises to the level of activism. I think of activists as people who are truly engaged in a full-fledged way with an issue, like a friend of mine who runs a free college for undocumented students and protests relentlessly for immigrant rights. She uses social media and works in communities.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)And, if gun control is your area of policy interest, then (wow!) please take your experience from DU out into the world.
as I volunteer with community organizations, one of the things that we *always* need are people who're engaged enough to work on "rapid response." With gun control there's a constant need to have people taking that message out in LTEs and social media. There's fundraising. There's opportunities for meeting with electeds and telling your story to larger audiences.
It really is activism. Just b/c you're not paid for it, or haven't devoted your life to it (yet!) doesn't mean it's not! and you'd be amazed how much impact you can have. we hear talking points from professional activists all the time. the world needs to hear from real people who're putting their own narrative out there.
there's ways to step your game, but doing the first two things...identifying yourself and engaging...is necessary to going further.
Maedhros
(10,007 posts)Because there are a lot of people who drop in and form opinions from following threads. Engaged debate within a thread can have a ripple effect - the visitors then share their opinions with coworkers, family, friends, etc.
BainsBane
(53,003 posts)but I don't classify this as activism.
Maedhros
(10,007 posts)DirkGently
(12,151 posts)And there is a broad spectrum of comment here, certainly the entire gamut of the Democratic Party and then some. The site is not some conservative echo chamber dungeon, just chanting soundbites and bumper stickers. We're not just talking to liberals, or just to party insiders, or just to lurking conservative trolls.
Everyone is in here, discussing, debating, arguing policy, news events, politicians. And it gets bloody in here, as I think you can attest.
None of which is to say activism doesn't comprise all of the other things it always has. But it simply isn't true that doorknocking and phone-banking and protest marches are the only "real" activism anymore.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)It allows discussion and persuasion in a way that standing on a street corner with leaflets could not hope to accomplish.
Note that it's the very same crew that naysays Occupy (and who, by the way, relentlessly attack liberal Democrats here and defend every corporate outrage coming out of this administration) who now argue that only "on the street" activism is capable of getting things done.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)left-oriented critique on this forum is a bad thing that will "depress voter turnout" or "hand Republicans a win" are right here, claiming it's not activism.
Which is it? Ineffective navel gazing, or destructive disloyalty?
Can't be both, I think.
leftstreet
(36,081 posts)randome
(34,845 posts)Yet here we are defining 'activism'.
Not sure what that means but there may be some irony at the core.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)DirkGently
(12,151 posts)On the contrary, some here deciding that DU isn't activism are the same who would decide who can and cannot be a journalist.
Both would narrow the categories of whose speech matters. Pretty rightwing idea, that.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Echo chamber, chance to vent, exchange of snark.
Activism, not so much.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)unfortunately for them, that's not the case. fortunately, for the rest of us, we do amazing things here.
Maedhros
(10,007 posts)the TPP and other issues, this place is hardly an echo chamber.
Exchange of snark? Yes, I'd like to see more substantive discussion and less sneering.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)we're more like a sports stadium with during playoffs with non-stop marching bands, cheerleaders, dancing bears and deafening crowd noise.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)But it can be, don't you think?
The other times, snark reigns supreme!
I find this board very valuable, and I enjoy my discussions here. I just wouldn't call it activism.
Maedhros
(10,007 posts)participation in online forums generates meaningful debate that can have an impact on peoples' views of the issues. Online communities are an important way of getting information to people that is routinely ignored by the media.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)I can't argue with that.
FredStembottom
(2,928 posts)I needed to hear this.
I get discouraged by the Disruption Swarm that exists just to spit on Democrats with Democratic values. They are very prolific. And I never, ever expected the Spanish Inquisition just for having traditional values. And to get that treatment [/]here has stunned me at times.
I hadn't quite caught up to the "it isn't activism" meme as just the latest tactic of the No Values squad.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)it's at the center of the work need to do.
i get discouraged too, especially when i see folks being told they don't matter. it's the first move that people make when they're coming for your wallet, or your rights or your dignity...and for sure dems don't need to be doing it to our own.
i've been at this long enough to recognize that those silencing moves are meant to discourage, which means you're doing something right.
FredStembottom
(2,928 posts)Let's all talk to each other more often.
Lots of Noobs must be shocked and discouraged by the Group ( new term catching on that I like).
We need to work around the noise and keep ourselves and new folks engaged.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)PowerToThePeople
(9,610 posts)Not enough time to read the whole thread. Very interesting...
WorseBeforeBetter
(11,441 posts)We've had excellent communication in that group.
hfojvt
(37,573 posts)at least not for me.
This post, about the glories of activism on DU, is getting a lot of replies and a lot of views. My own efforts at activism, you know, trying to get people to care about progressive taxes, get far, far fewer replies and thus far fewer views.
As many as 5,000 people might read one of my LTTEs in the local paper. More in some other papers I have written in, like the KC Star or the Des Moines Register.
Not sure if anything I have ever written has ever changed a single mind though. Sure doesn't seem to on DU. And these are people who supposedly already largely agree with me.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)we would not be treated to the daily, absurd, and unnaturally growing presence of the propaganda/disruption machine.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)and recognize that you're perceived as a threat.
leftstreet
(36,081 posts)That's probably why M$M and tv programming has no depth or perspective
Gone are the days when you could find investigative reports and counterpoint discussions on the tv/radio. It's becoming one giant Sham-Wow! spectacle of Orwellian talking points
The propagandists know that when media becomes interactive, the people have the control
MineralMan
(146,192 posts)Some have more effect on elections than others. Everyone does what they see fit with regard to their activism.
That's how it always has been. DU postings are relatively low on the scale of effectiveness. It's in the preaching to the choir category.
Uncle Joe
(58,112 posts)and was that an influence on you?
NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)That's right, with a smartphone you can post on DU from the toilet, bed, lounge chair next to the pool......
The term you are looking for is Slactivism. Sure there are some well thought out posts, but nothing really gets done on DU. DU can be a tool for activists, but in and of itself it's not true activism.
Ps. Signing petitions, emailing congress, and calling the Capitol Switchboard are not activism either.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)So what?
I think you're feeling some tool bias here, NW. Just because instant, worldwide communication is easy doesn't mean it's ineffective.
Occupy would not have happened without Internet chat, Facebook, and Twitter. It terrified the PTB, because it seemingly erupted out of nowhere. Shoe leather's great, but it simply doesn't have the capacity to unite huge numbers on specific issues in such a short time.
I also don't see where you can say petitions, e-mail and phone calls aren't activism either. Activist orgs put massive energy into getting constituents to reach out to legislators. They all -- and especially Congress -- carefully track opinion polling and constituent phone calls. They modify their speeches and positions accordingly, because public opinion is the lifeblood of any elected figure.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)n.
The use of direct, often confrontational action, such as a demonstration or strike, in opposition to or support of a cause.
DU is passive in nature. You can get tasered on DU. You can't have police dogs turned on you. You can't break a police line on DU. Sure, you can plan to meet and storm the line, but that's when you've become Active. I dare say most here are not actively trying to change anything.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)no wonder there's so few people doing it by your estimation.
Uncle Joe
(58,112 posts)First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.
Napoleon Hill
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/napoleonhi393412.html#jhveSdhogdXQhRJB.99
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/activism?s=t
noun
1. the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political or other goals, sometimes by demonstrations, protests, etc.
2. Philosophy .
a. a theory that the essence of reality is pure activity, especially spiritual activity, or process.
b. a theory that the relationship between the mind and the objects of perception depends upon the action of the mind.
Those thoughts can come regardless of where you are, even on the toilet, if you upload them to the Internet then you have altered the objects of perception by the actions of your mind.
Here's another thought your subconcious mind works best when you're relaxed, that's one of the powers of meditation or selp-hypnosis.
No doubt many great earth changing thoughts came about when the thinker was relaxed.
grasswire
(50,130 posts)People such as Catherina, Kpete, WillyT, Octafish, Fire Walk With Me, Omaha Steve, Dkf -- day after day they bring us articles that are critical to Democratic issues and/or our understanding of the news of the day.
Informing DU is valuable activism.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)It is sharing information that can be used in activism, and that is very important. But what happens within this site is of no consequence at all by itself. It is only when DU members become activists OUTSIDE this bubble that we have an impact.
There are clearly many people here who do exactly that, and I applaud every one of you.
And there are others who I suspect never get far enough away from their keyboard to accomplish much of anything.
Please spare me your daggers and arrows. If the shoe fits, wear it. It the shoe does not fit, then don't take offense. I'm not talking about you.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)On one level it's just you and me exchanging ideas (preaching).
On another level, it's you and me moving each other to action -- trading best practices (teaching).
And on yet another level, it's you and me pushing messaging, and *trending* ideas that are paid attention to by party leaders and other decision makers when they need to take the temperature of the people on the ground (outreaching).
Many in the party would like for Dem activism to all be focused outside of the party. Something that DU offers that is unique is that our activism is focused on both outside and inside the party.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)When people are simply keyboard warriors inside this space and don't actually do anything outside this space, it is not activism. It is just a club.
Uncle Joe
(58,112 posts)First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.
Napoleon Hill
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/napoleonhi393412.html#jhveSdhogdXQhRJB.99
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/activism?s=t
noun
1. the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political or other goals, sometimes by demonstrations, protests, etc.
2. Philosophy .
a. a theory that the essence of reality is pure activity, especially spiritual activity, or process.
b. b a theory that the relationship between the mind and the objects of perception depends upon the action of the mind.
Typing, reading, communicating ideas, motivating and influencing are actions, that carry beyond this bubble.
People come and go, lurkers read and are influenced and the message is spread
I'm not by any means suggesting that phone banking, knocking on doors to get out the vote, protesting, raising and contributing money aren't activist but writing your sincere ideas and debating their merit for all the world to see and spread most certainly is activist.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)Activism doesn't happen here. Nothing wrong with thinking of this as a good home base when you need information or need a boost of enthusiasm. But activism doesn't happen inside here. You have to go outside the clubhouse to be an activist.
And that really isn't asking a whole lot. It means:
- Calling your representatives
- Emailing your friends and colleagues
- Attending local events, such as town halls
- Writing letters to the editor -- yeah, newspapers still exist
- Donating to or volunteering for progressive candidates
- Etc
I'd like to think that the majority of people here do some of those things, and therefore can rightfully call themselves activists.
Uncle Joe
(58,112 posts)Activism doesn't happen here. Nothing wrong with thinking of this as a good home base when you need information or need a boost of enthusiasm. But activism doesn't happen inside here. You have to go outside the clubhouse to be an activist.
But it's more than just getting information or enthusiasm, it's the spreading of ideas and debating them, that's the crux.
The Founders believed in the power of debate, no doubt that's why the 1st Amendment is the 1st Amendment.
Now if one wants to live in a bubble, just get your news and information from the corporate media; where debate is heavily skewed toward one side or non-existent.
Influence is power, no one knows that better than the corporate media and that's why they're attacking the Internet ie: by trying to kill Net Neutrality, they want turn the Web in to cable television.
The corporate media knows the Internet is a powerful contending counter to their corporate supremacist propaganda, they also know our power and influence is growing virtually every day as more people log on and come up through school familiar with the Net from when they were just a child.
Propaganda is power and countering it is activism.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)"Influence is power, no one knows that better than the corporate media and that's why they're attacking the Internet ie: by trying to kill Net Neutrality, they want turn the Web in to cable television."
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)It may be good training for when we actually go outside the bubble and engage with people who aren't already in the club. But activism does not begin until you actually engage somebody who is not already in the club.
I don't mean to be pedantic, but I cannot let people perpetuate the myth that typing snarky messages to fellow DUers is actually activism. It isn't. You have to get outside to be an activist.
Uncle Joe
(58,112 posts)read D.U. and have their own pre-concieved ideas altered or influenced by our debate.
Furthermore I never said that "snarky messages" were activism, I said that our publicly debating sincere held beliefs and ideas is activism.
MADem
(135,425 posts)the sun, or going over to the diner for a cup of coffee, or hanging around the barbershop, and having a chat with a few pals.
You learn a little something, you might impart a little something....but "activism?"
Not by my definition of the word, sorry. That's a bit of a stretch.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)and i totally cop to not being in that category.
but there's also people who're engaged in rhetoric, developing messages, and intending to sway opinion. there's also those take that messaging so seriously that big flame wars start. if it wasn't impactful, there wouldn't be tussle.
granted that beyond engagement we need folks to mobilize, and i'm particularly happy when i see issues brought here like immigration and tax reform that require a simple action like calling a rep on a patch-through line, or linking to an online issue site that serves both as an action (such as signing on) and education through sharing the link with others. Social Security issues have benefitted from this model as have worker's rights issues such as the Our Walmart campaign.
DonCoquixote
(13,615 posts)I will confess, I would probably still be a "centrist" if not for reading DU, which shows points of view that not even the "far left" of media tends to cover.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)were it not for coming here in 2004 and getting educated about how central that issue is to the larger goals.
community organizers get funded for "education" b/c it's central to our work. some organizations do nothing but education. it's a BIG piece of the activist pie.
Rex
(65,616 posts)You can tell them by the foam over your OP. SO for that reason, it gets a big Kick and Rec from me!
bemildred
(90,061 posts)nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)people don't believe the BS.
Uncle Joe
(58,112 posts)Thanks for the thread, nashville_brook.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)Keeping people informed enough about political issues absolutely is activism. I know my own arc of political life has been affected in major ways over the past 8 years I've been a member here.
Also I was just on Facebook, where I found my cousin had reposted DU's photo of the day, which was itself shared by Rachel Maddow's fan page, so this OP is particularly relevant at the moment.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)social media memes can be so fun and effective.
Hydra
(14,459 posts)And it's interesting to see the people who say it isn't. They claim to be busy in the outside world doing political things, but their first thought is that the DUers they don't agree with is that they are keyboard warriors.
Very curious. I've learned a lot of what I activize with here from articles posted, discussions and cross links. I also activize here on subjects that I think are important when I have the time, because I used to lurk, so I know people are lurking and listening and having their opinions formed by what they are reading here.
Smells like desperation to me. Probably because 3rd Way only polls 16% favorable. That's even less than GWB the Unelected.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)tech and national mobilizations kinda demand online engagement. it doesn't make a lot of sense to work those issues on the local level b/c the levers don't reside locally to make action meaningful.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)That posting on an anonymous message board wouldnt qualify as activism; but your OP has me re-thinking that, somewhat. As one that grew up and around folks that did the sit-ins and demonstrations, took to the streets to register voters, etc., this social media thing is relatively new
As misanthrope mentioned
it might be a generational thing.
While nothing will replace the actual face to face, get on the phone, knock and drag activism, DU does serve, as many have mentioned, a vital test your metal and refine your message proving ground function among other politically engaged folks
the two can, and should, go hand in hand. But, I fear too many will post and call it a day.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)using the sit-ins analogy, I'm sure people attended meetings for quite some time before the actual events. Of the 100% of the people who attended the meetings to learn, there were maybe 5% who self-selected to do the action, and 3% who made it all the way through training to do the action. Everyone else went out and talked to people at church to teach the message. Or took the idea to another city. Or, they might have spent time with their family educating them about why this was going to be important and why the protestors needed support. The 97% of people who didn't make it all the way to doing the actual sit-in served a very important purpose of lifting up and supporting those who did. In other words, they were engaged.
One of the my criticisms of Occupy was that there wasn't enough focus on how much planning and how much support you need to pull of effective actions. Unless you were on the ground with an Occupy you might not know that nearly every day there were demonstration. We did a mock water boarding at an Army recruiters office. There were bank blockades. Marches every other day, it seemed.
The marches and actions that were effective took a few weeks to get the word out through social media, leafleting and some lucky media coverage before the event. They were raging successes b/c in addition to the 40 or so core Occupiers, we had 2,500 "engaged" people who got the message and showed up. They had no intention of sleeping in the park, but it was their numbers that made the work historic.
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)a newsletter going on to healthcare providers is not usually providing direct healthcare to the community but it informs and raises awareness about issue that many providers may not otherwise be adequately informed about and this sometimes motivates the providing of healthcare to the community.
To the extent that posting on DU either motivates people to action or on some slight level contributes to the general shift in consciousness toward a more progressive understanding of the world - well that is part of the real body politic.
Rex
(65,616 posts)Looks like it is making an impact!
pintobean
(18,101 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)JoeyT
(6,785 posts)an administrator didn't come to my house and physically chain me to the table my computer is on to prevent me from ever going offline. It's perfectly possible to engage in activism here AND to engage in it offline too. If nothing else, DU makes informed activism possible.
nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)SidDithers
(44,228 posts)Posts on DU stopped the invasion of Syria.
Sid