Comrade, have you read up much on mass work from Mao or Pedagogy of the Oppressed?
You might find that starting from a place of going to the massesparents and sincerely listening to their concerns and their issues then linking these individual or familial concerns to larger trends in society and situating them in a historical context would be less antagonistic and it might prove to be more productive.
I’d avoid labels and commie “dogwhistle” style terms and just work on developing a dialog and a mutually deepened understanding of one another.
Think about it like this: you aren’t trying to convert your parents to communism, this is a perfectly laboratory for you to hone your skills at raising class consciousness and building solidarity. If you can practice it now and develop your skills then when you do future work in community organizations, when you are unionizing your workplace, when you are doing any sort of mass work then you’ll be ready for it from all the practice you got in working with your parents.
Good point. I’ve definitely tried to lay off the buzzwords but it’s hard sometimes, they’re just such easy shorthands. But yes looking at these scenarios as practice for bigger works is a good idea. I especially should do as you say in the second paragraph, I react to people’s grievances but should be more proactive with addressing them.
Very fair, depends on the exact parent I suppose. I know I have some family members that the cost/potential benefit ratio is staggeringly bad and I all but completely avoid trying to engage with them. And then some “yellow lights” that I engage but very gently and on eggshells and never showing my whole ass.
Comrade, have you read up much on mass work from Mao or Pedagogy of the Oppressed?
You might find that starting from a place of going to the
massesparents and sincerely listening to their concerns and their issues then linking these individual or familial concerns to larger trends in society and situating them in a historical context would be less antagonistic and it might prove to be more productive.I’d avoid labels and commie “dogwhistle” style terms and just work on developing a dialog and a mutually deepened understanding of one another.
Think about it like this: you aren’t trying to convert your parents to communism, this is a perfectly laboratory for you to hone your skills at raising class consciousness and building solidarity. If you can practice it now and develop your skills then when you do future work in community organizations, when you are unionizing your workplace, when you are doing any sort of mass work then you’ll be ready for it from all the practice you got in working with your parents.
Good point. I’ve definitely tried to lay off the buzzwords but it’s hard sometimes, they’re just such easy shorthands. But yes looking at these scenarios as practice for bigger works is a good idea. I especially should do as you say in the second paragraph, I react to people’s grievances but should be more proactive with addressing them.
deleted by creator
Very fair, depends on the exact parent I suppose. I know I have some family members that the cost/potential benefit ratio is staggeringly bad and I all but completely avoid trying to engage with them. And then some “yellow lights” that I engage but very gently and on eggshells and never showing my whole ass.
deleted by creator