What is the best way to discover socialist organizations in my local area in the US? After looking around the only active group seems to be a DSA chapter. I don’t have anything against them, but I thought there would be more of other active groups as well.
Trying to find an active Socialist group ln the US is like deciding whether to join the Peoples Front of Judea or the Judea Peoples Front. The DSA congressional members all voted to send $40b to Ukraine so you should have something against them. Since the Great Red Purge of the '50s, the only significant socialist group has been the Black Panthers. If there is a large college campus near you, try looking for socialist meetings there or Marx reading groups. You could look for an active Socialist Altenative or Socialist Equality Party meet-up if you’re in a large city. Hate to be a glass half empty person but an organized left just doesn’t exist in the US so you’ll have to be in the vanguard.
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Which is why (to borrow a phrase about planting trees) the best time to organize was 30yrs ago, and the next best time is now. Right now we are seeing a real rise in general interest in socialism by millennials and zoomers. With the obvious and looming failures of our current capitalist systems. Now is basically one of the most opportune times to really push forward.
As we (definitely millennials like myself) were raised in the post-“victory over the evil USSR” 90’s. As such we were pumped full of indoctrination about the “greatness/correctness of free capitalism” and consumerism. Told lies about how you “must go to college or you will be poor” and all the false promises. We were taught that the US is basically ordained to be the protector of the world, and that other nations are wrong (especially the remaining socialist ones). Even to the point where being the ones that are against the conservative views still presume that there isn’t any freedom in such nations. That their suffering is because of their oppressive systems, and not really taught about the stuff done by us “good guys” to cause suffering. 9-11/Afghanistan/Iraq really taught me the lesson of how our “free” media and “good” leaders are able to create the demand for “liberating” other nations and installing our systems.
The big crash of 2008 really showed me that laws and rules are only for the poor. For all the talk of what should happen to “bad guys”, and that “the market decides if a business grows or dies and shouldn’t be messed with by our government”. We saw those that broke laws and very much caused law abiding people to lose everything get off with nothing. At least nothing when compared to folks that are caught dealing drugs for their crimes that “ruin society”. We saw our money go everywhere but into helping working and poor people. Money isn’t around when talk of public healthcare that actually works. Yet it is there to burn when the military industrial complex is knocking, or when companies are deemed “too big to fail”. We didn’t place real terms on the bailouts, which lead to those same people firing hundreds of thousands of workers and giving themselves higher bonuses than any other year. Our tax money went into badly ran car manufacturing that was in-part failing due to our companies not wanting to focus on MPG and just sucking down gas. And we don’t even get the benefit of dividend payouts like other shareholders do.
The right-wing has been growing and growing more bold and open since before I was born in the 80’s. Yet the left is either placed in the same camp as the right when libs/centrists want to feel superior. And we are blamed for “throwing away votes” when they lose again and again to conservatives/far-right leaders. They love to steal our words, but always say “it just isn’t the right time to do X” when we ask/demand actions that they promised while running. If we don’t start being more visible and active in interacting with both comrades of various leanings as well as taking back our stuff from the centrists and conservatives. No more just letting them claim victories when nothing was done!
I have personally been openly outspoken and am willing to take time to speak with people when they ask why “I support socialism/communism when they are anti-freedom”. I have opened their minds to at least second guessing what we have been told. I am unfortunately not very well versed in book theory (and am working one that), but I think they like how I am coming from a place of sharing what I have learned. I don’t speak in the way that some academics do where they care more about being smug and letting you know that they are smarter than you. Maybe because I speak like just another worker is helpful. Some right of centre folks aren’t prepared for me to agree that the Dems are focused on the wrong things and that I am very much pro-gun owning. We have so much to do, and so many hearts and minds to win.
So planting the correct seeds in in of itself is one of the simplest and important actions for day to day life and building the communities we must build. At least that is my most basic personal goal as one person outside of efforts made with my chapter.
As a normie, most people I know in real life don’t give one hoot about reading.
Also as someone who identifies more with anarchism than communism, I too don’t like reading.
So in my opinion, as long as you can talk the talk, that’s the more important part. Not sure if this is helpful to know lol
I haven’t fully thought about any specific camp to claim. But I do like how the term socialist throughout the history of the left can mean all three (communist, anarchist, socialist). I think a well rounded person can use theory to help with having a good framework. Just the same as another well rounded person can discover theory based around being good at just understanding others and their needs. Obviously there are some people that think they do either of those, and are the cause of much misunderstanding.
I used to be able to really sit down and read non-fiction stuff pretty easy (so long as I had interest), but at some point I just found myself starting a sentence and just losing all focus. Which is weird because I can read the fuck out of really random shit on sites like this. I also can really get lost in podcasts that both teach our (the left) past and present struggles. So I have decided to give audiobooks a try for getting the actual books of theory going. So I might actually get some of my old spark back and feel more sure of how I argue things. But I also will more than likely always consider myself “green” knowledge-wise. When you are new, you have both the excitement and drive to keep learning. I have much more respect for people that don’t just assume they already know it all.
If nothing else, you strike me as a blogger, long replies!
lol, I am not one. I just tend to either be super short, or go way overboard with over-explaining/mental tangents based on wherever my mind starts to go. Which is very frustrating for many of my friends/family/coworkers.
that’s something nice abou Lemmy/other similar services. Good for posting rants, often somebody replies too which is nice for feeling acknowledged
You are right about that lol
DM me your matrix username
Fucking Judea People’s Front, shitty splitters.