Sunday, July 30, 2006
What not to do
In a column published almost a year ago Brian Yanity of Anchorage Alaska discusses how to avoid left wing cliches. I don't believe the Greens are left wing, nor do I think we need to be left wing, but his opinions ring true for we Greens as well in my opinion. The piece is behind the "Read more!" link...
October 14, 2005
Avoiding Left Wing Cliches
by Brian Yanity, insurgent49
Anchorage Alaska
http://www.insurgent49.com
This very partial list discusses four issues that face progressive movements not just here in Alaska, but across the U.S. Outside of this country, even in Canada, the left tends be a bit more advanced than it is here. The purpose is to contribute to a collective discussion of where we progressives need to go from here.
1. Negativity
Complain, complain, complain. Whine, whine, whine. Negative, negative, negative. Anti-war, anti-this, anti-that. Perhaps the biggest clich of leftists is this: complaining all day about what is wrong with the world, and never saying (or actually doing) anything positive. I have heard "all leftists [or liberals and
progressives] do is whine about everything, they never do anything constructive" and "you leftists are just anti-everything" a countless number of times. Such negativity and cynicism also represents a lack of courage, and thus is self-defeating. If you are going to be defeated, at least don't be self-defeated.
Its time to negate the negation, so start saying some positive things! Coming up with positive alternatives, initiatives, and projects may be difficult, but there is no alternative to doing so. One thing I have learned by reading those silly Anchorage Times editorials is that right-wingers may be stupid a lot of the time, but they are not afraid to state bold, positive-sounding visions for the future, however
wrong they may be in practice. The left needs to do the same: people don't want to hear more depressing news, they want hope. Our purpose is to change the world for the better, not just complain about it.
2. Sectarianism
Sectarianism is defined as being characteristic of a sect; narrow-minded, limited or parochial. Not working with someone on a political issue unless they see things exactly the same way you do has historically been the greatest weaknesses of the left worldwide. Though it also exists here in Alaska, one of the strengths of progressives I have encountered in Anchorage is non-sectarianism. Back when I lived
in New York City, the sectarianism of the left was out of control, making all progressives a potential laughing stock to those not participating in protests/activism. Such parasites dividing the left are also useful tools for conservatives and/or governments to purposefully divide progressive movements. Even
if you are only in agreement with another progressive activist 80% of the time, you still need to find a way to work together. The stakes right now are too high to do otherwise.
3. "What do we do?"
If you do not have a clear plan about what to do, read some history about past social movements that were at least partially successful, such as the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. A good present-day example of hopeful changes is going on in a lot of Latin America. I am not just talking about the election of leftist presidents such as Hugo Chavez and Lula, but that continent's exciting social movements that are
going on. But part of my job as an insurgent49 reporter is to find good examples and clear plans right here in Alaska.
4. Baby-boomer and 'Old White People' Culture
Baby-boomers (Americans born between 1946 and 1965) and those slightly older dominate the progressive activism in Anchorage. For those of us born during the Reagan Administration and after, baby-boomer culture has been shoved down our throats by baby-boomer parents since the crib, giving my generation something to rebel against. Even so, we young people are told that to rebel against such 'protest roots' is an act of betrayal. I hate to break it to you all, but it is not 1967 any more. I am a little tired of hearing the same Dylan songs repeated ad nauseum. Such cultural preferences, in the baby-boomer 'activist' sense of the word, are also very 'white'. This is a factor to consider when you count the number of 'people of color' attending
protests in Anchorage.
When they started singing church hymns at the Sept. 24 anti-war protest on the Anchorage park strip, I had to leave because it brought back some many bad childhood memories of being forced to sit through church. Older people also have a tendency to be, I hate to say it, more burned out (and more guilty of negativity described above) and more stuck in their ways. Below is a good excerpt from an article by my friend Matt Dineen's article on TowardFreedom.com:
In an essay about ageism on the left for ZNet, Brian Dominick addressed this challenge: "It remains true, as ever, that adults have plenty of experience to offer their younger activist counterparts. It's all the more unfortunate, then, that what is usually offered is dogma, traditional methodology, unilateral conversation, tokenizing, and worse. When we think of social change, we should reflect on the
subjective meaning of that term-that is, we should acknowledge that we and our organizations and movements must themselves change, not just the world around us." He concludes, "Change requires new influences on a regular basis, and that requires young people. Kids aren't going to get involved in activism with adults on any wide
scale until those adults make some radical changes in how they treat young people."
De-boomerization of the left is needed, not by kicking baby-boomers out of the movement, but by inviting more youth into the movement. Here in Anchorage, youth, immigrants and Native Alaskans are the future, not old white people. If you look
at history, the major revolutions of the past century were made by young people. For example, the average age of the Bolshevik party members during the Russian Revolution was 19. I am not saying that we should act the like Bolsheviks today in Alaska, but keep in mind that those people were able to put an end to centuries of Czarist tyranny.
Brian Yanity is a student activist and freelance journalist who resides in an undisclosed location in Southcentral Alaska. He can be reached at byanity@insurgent49.com.
October 14, 2005
Avoiding Left Wing Cliches
by Brian Yanity, insurgent49
Anchorage Alaska
http://www.insurgent49.com
This very partial list discusses four issues that face progressive movements not just here in Alaska, but across the U.S. Outside of this country, even in Canada, the left tends be a bit more advanced than it is here. The purpose is to contribute to a collective discussion of where we progressives need to go from here.
1. Negativity
Complain, complain, complain. Whine, whine, whine. Negative, negative, negative. Anti-war, anti-this, anti-that. Perhaps the biggest clich of leftists is this: complaining all day about what is wrong with the world, and never saying (or actually doing) anything positive. I have heard "all leftists [or liberals and
progressives] do is whine about everything, they never do anything constructive" and "you leftists are just anti-everything" a countless number of times. Such negativity and cynicism also represents a lack of courage, and thus is self-defeating. If you are going to be defeated, at least don't be self-defeated.
Its time to negate the negation, so start saying some positive things! Coming up with positive alternatives, initiatives, and projects may be difficult, but there is no alternative to doing so. One thing I have learned by reading those silly Anchorage Times editorials is that right-wingers may be stupid a lot of the time, but they are not afraid to state bold, positive-sounding visions for the future, however
wrong they may be in practice. The left needs to do the same: people don't want to hear more depressing news, they want hope. Our purpose is to change the world for the better, not just complain about it.
2. Sectarianism
Sectarianism is defined as being characteristic of a sect; narrow-minded, limited or parochial. Not working with someone on a political issue unless they see things exactly the same way you do has historically been the greatest weaknesses of the left worldwide. Though it also exists here in Alaska, one of the strengths of progressives I have encountered in Anchorage is non-sectarianism. Back when I lived
in New York City, the sectarianism of the left was out of control, making all progressives a potential laughing stock to those not participating in protests/activism. Such parasites dividing the left are also useful tools for conservatives and/or governments to purposefully divide progressive movements. Even
if you are only in agreement with another progressive activist 80% of the time, you still need to find a way to work together. The stakes right now are too high to do otherwise.
3. "What do we do?"
If you do not have a clear plan about what to do, read some history about past social movements that were at least partially successful, such as the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. A good present-day example of hopeful changes is going on in a lot of Latin America. I am not just talking about the election of leftist presidents such as Hugo Chavez and Lula, but that continent's exciting social movements that are
going on. But part of my job as an insurgent49 reporter is to find good examples and clear plans right here in Alaska.
4. Baby-boomer and 'Old White People' Culture
Baby-boomers (Americans born between 1946 and 1965) and those slightly older dominate the progressive activism in Anchorage. For those of us born during the Reagan Administration and after, baby-boomer culture has been shoved down our throats by baby-boomer parents since the crib, giving my generation something to rebel against. Even so, we young people are told that to rebel against such 'protest roots' is an act of betrayal. I hate to break it to you all, but it is not 1967 any more. I am a little tired of hearing the same Dylan songs repeated ad nauseum. Such cultural preferences, in the baby-boomer 'activist' sense of the word, are also very 'white'. This is a factor to consider when you count the number of 'people of color' attending
protests in Anchorage.
When they started singing church hymns at the Sept. 24 anti-war protest on the Anchorage park strip, I had to leave because it brought back some many bad childhood memories of being forced to sit through church. Older people also have a tendency to be, I hate to say it, more burned out (and more guilty of negativity described above) and more stuck in their ways. Below is a good excerpt from an article by my friend Matt Dineen's article on TowardFreedom.com:
In an essay about ageism on the left for ZNet, Brian Dominick addressed this challenge: "It remains true, as ever, that adults have plenty of experience to offer their younger activist counterparts. It's all the more unfortunate, then, that what is usually offered is dogma, traditional methodology, unilateral conversation, tokenizing, and worse. When we think of social change, we should reflect on the
subjective meaning of that term-that is, we should acknowledge that we and our organizations and movements must themselves change, not just the world around us." He concludes, "Change requires new influences on a regular basis, and that requires young people. Kids aren't going to get involved in activism with adults on any wide
scale until those adults make some radical changes in how they treat young people."
De-boomerization of the left is needed, not by kicking baby-boomers out of the movement, but by inviting more youth into the movement. Here in Anchorage, youth, immigrants and Native Alaskans are the future, not old white people. If you look
at history, the major revolutions of the past century were made by young people. For example, the average age of the Bolshevik party members during the Russian Revolution was 19. I am not saying that we should act the like Bolsheviks today in Alaska, but keep in mind that those people were able to put an end to centuries of Czarist tyranny.
Brian Yanity is a student activist and freelance journalist who resides in an undisclosed location in Southcentral Alaska. He can be reached at byanity@insurgent49.com.
// posted by Gregg Jocoy @ 7:57 PM 
