My experience with the human mic to the general assembly I went to was positive, I think it encourages engagement and collective action through forcing (in a way) people to pay attention instead of starting side conversations or drifting off as some activist drones on with the same anti-capitalist speech they've heard for years.
But I agree that for planning details it is a poor method. I left my general assembly not really clearly knowing what the plan for today's march was or if there was going to be an encampment starting today or not, I had to seek out some coordinators to make sure what was going on after the GA.
I'm encouraged by the non-violence aspect since I agree on pragmatic grounds that it just flat-out does not work and it has created a culture within some radical communities where confrontation with the state or police is the only tool in the toolbox in the place of building a broad-based infrastructure and communities of resistance.
As much as I've become disenchanted with the North American left and the protest tactics that we seem to have latched on to since the "Battle of Seattle", I hope that I'm being happily proved wrong, it seems that a lot of the experiences and lessons learned in the last twelve years are now bearing fruit for a more dynamic, grass-roots movement.
I know the politics around unions are probably totally different in Canada, but as far as the events in the states go I would be cautious about getting unions involved. Here 80% of the big unions are basically arms of the Democratic Party and filled with Move-on.org type progressives in leadership positions, I be very wary of their motivations as I have not had many positive experiences with them in the past.
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Date: 2011-10-15 11:24 pm (UTC)But I agree that for planning details it is a poor method. I left my general assembly not really clearly knowing what the plan for today's march was or if there was going to be an encampment starting today or not, I had to seek out some coordinators to make sure what was going on after the GA.
I'm encouraged by the non-violence aspect since I agree on pragmatic grounds that it just flat-out does not work and it has created a culture within some radical communities where confrontation with the state or police is the only tool in the toolbox in the place of building a broad-based infrastructure and communities of resistance.
As much as I've become disenchanted with the North American left and the protest tactics that we seem to have latched on to since the "Battle of Seattle", I hope that I'm being happily proved wrong, it seems that a lot of the experiences and lessons learned in the last twelve years are now bearing fruit for a more dynamic, grass-roots movement.
I know the politics around unions are probably totally different in Canada, but as far as the events in the states go I would be cautious about getting unions involved. Here 80% of the big unions are basically arms of the Democratic Party and filled with Move-on.org type progressives in leadership positions, I be very wary of their motivations as I have not had many positive experiences with them in the past.