Inactive Activists

I am planning a trip for New York City – I will be there from August 9 to August 18. One of my main goals while there is to connect with local activist, community and political groups.

Unfortunately in my several hours of research so far I have not found one event worth attending. Actually, I haven’t even found one event. Whether it is anarchism, direct action or bicycling, there is as of yet nothing for me to attend.

This drives home the point that activists, across the political spectrum generally, are disorganized and very small in number.

True, I cannot speak much myself, which I’m not too proud of. But this is something that I think needs to change drastically.

I will continue to search for groups in New York City. I still need to search around other issues like anti-war, environmentalism, fair housing and other things. And I would also like to try to find community groups like those who provide free food, health care and other services to those in need. I hope my search turns less depressing.

Because activists often are battling against large corporations, they need to learn from these corporations and become disciplined and organized. It is never going to be enough to have two “organizing meetings” per month and one action every two months. It is never going to be enough to take a lackluster approach towards outreach and publicity. The large, successful corporations, while not nearly perfect, certainly don’t engage in these ineffective activities.

I’m mad, and it is time for a change.