If you’re in the US, please come help expand [ https://consumerrights.wiki/ ]!
Right now there isn’t really one (assuming USA which is where I’m located). IMO the best thing you can do right now is first find likeminded people IRL and do stuff that’s interesting to yourselves and other like minded people, then use those shared interests/bonds as a foundation for motivated community outreach.
Where I live I feel like the sense of community is almost nonexistent despite having a large population. IDK how much of that is from me being autistic, but a lot of things that stem from capitalism like car culture, addictive social media platforms, anything AI, shitty work-life balance, and horrible safety net are also strong contributors to society being super isolating, which then causes anger and self centeredness which results in a lot of what else is wrong with society.
One of the reasons Republicans are as successful as they are is that they provide community through stuff like religion and church, which tests people’s commitment through rules and tithes but also results in tighter bonds where people are more open and trust each other more and do a lot of (mentally) uplifting things together. Then politicians use that to create a unified vision of an ideal society and wield that to their advantage to gain political power, and those communities are super motivated to uphold it.
Meanwhile there are tons of churches everywhere, but as for a left-wing equivalent there’s next to nothing and I’m not even fully sure that it’s possible to replicate something like this with left-wing values. Probably the most important things to take from this is being based on an agreed upon set of values, having a shared vision, expecting some level of commitment (including financially), meeting IRL, having regular activities that are enjoyable and based on the shared values/vision, and the most visible outreach being centered around the interests of those being immediately talked to and also around helping the local population which contributes to a positive image of the organization among less informed people and helps boost its popularity (it’s also less difficult to make changes locally than nationally). Once there is enough popular support, then there’s actually a chance of gaining political power and overthrowing capitalists through next step actions, but without popular support or some other form of power the chances of that succeeding is basically none.
As far as organizations that exist right now go, for ones like PSL I’m not sure how other chapters work or how it works on a national level. The problems I have with my local chapter is that it mainly focuses on peaceful controlled protests (has no chance at making meaningful change, sucks for community building, and is ultimately a waste of time) and it rarely focuses on local issues on social media (not good for building local support, and I want to actually do stuff, not just read and yell things). The best organization I’ve found so far which I’m volunteering with is one that stemmed from Food Not Bombs, which is run by leftists and focuses on raising awareness of local issues (specifically related to homelessness), using temporary aid as a way to protest unjust laws and promote a vision for an ideal society that fixes systemic issues that cause homelessness. Outside of the main distribution efforts, the main organizers in the group know some homeless people by name and where they’re located and will help them as well. They’ve also gotten media attention in local mainstream news outlets (not exactly good attention but it’s something). Some other Food Not Bombs chapters have gotten national media attention for breaking laws that hurt homeless people. A more broad organization that still prioritizes local issues (until more can be done outside of that) would be a lot better IMO, but that doesn’t really exist where I live so this is what I’ve been involved with for now.
Start contacting local socialist orgs, PSL, DSA, CPUSA, etc., go to their meetings and start talking to people. Look for groups that offer education, seem to have good internal democratic processes, good comradely vibes, and who are actively engaging in campaigns to struggle against injustice, and doing stuff that you want to participate in.
Groups that have lots of political discussion, rather than being obsessed with internal processes, groups that don’t work with cops, and don’t just follow the dems on everything, is another thing to look for.
Your local conditions are the most important thing to consider. I wish I could tell you what group to join, but it varies quite a lot. A small and very active group is probably better than a large group with mostly inactive members. I’m in DSA, because I want to build a alternative workers political party, and I like DSA, but I also know that not every chapter is the same, there’s def some chapters I would not recommend, although my local is very good.
Once you find your political home, you can branch out, keep working with other groups help build coalitions in your city. The most important thing is, you can’t affect change by yourself. We need to combine our efforts to be effective. Always speak up, speak your mind and rep your personal perspective, and groups that don’t handle good well considered perspectives can be toxic. Then again, we can bring toxic perspectives with us, so always be open to hearing criticism and always be trying to improve yourself. Be patient and assume good intent but find a group you can work well with. Develop your cadres.
Virtually every group needs people who can take good notes and/or can begin meetings on time. Like that bar is so incredibly low, but the people who do it for their own groups are some of the only people who will do that reliably, and they’re also often people who are the most committed and experienced. Taking those simple functions off peoples workload or even providing support in those areas can be invaluable to the whole group. Other things, like doing phone/text banking or tabling for like a few hours per month is incredibly valuable work, that helps with turn out to events and allows recruiters to make and build contacts. Very low bar, very high impact. One of the groups I’m involved with actually pays people to make calls so volunteering for that work on your spare time, and being reliable and consistent is another invaluable quality in a new member.
One final tip, it is better to do one thing consistently then it is to try and take on everything that you see needs done. Make room in your life for organizing, and don’t take on extra unless you’re sure you have time/energy for it. Tell people in your life like “I have a commitment every Thursday from 7-9 pm” and then stick to that for a while. Burn out will fucking destroy you. So check in with your self, and check in with others.
Your number one step is privacy. Privacy is the foundation of freedom; it “protects the right to be left alone”.
If you’re a beginner, Naomi Brockwell’s videos have very good tips. If you’re not a beginner, read Michael Bazzell’s book Extreme Privacy. Read it in full and decide the level of privacy you want (you likely will not need every single one of his tips).
lol, there’s no privacy in a fascist State because the state doesn’t feel compelled to respect the law and doesn’t recognize fundamental rights. Nobody is going to leave you alone. Get real.
Encryption requires no respect from the State
yeah, that’s a microscopic element of privacy in a situation where the state can come and kill you with no accountability. You still have a body, you still need to inhabit a space, eat food and exist in the world. Encryption won’t help you with that.
Check out generalstrikeus.com. Also the peoples Union
What resistance? It seems to me that there is not one big organised resistance that is taking members.
Find a local event and network but be careful about it. The US had that “no kings” thing early in the summer (or before?). That was just a bunch of people against tyranny. No real organisation to it. So you’d go to something like that and just talk to people.
It helps if you have an anonymous way to chat. Something like Signal or Matrix or one of the others. Even Telegram would be better than using something public or corporate-backed, like SMS for the former or WhatsApp for the latter. But be careful with Telegram, read up on it, it’s not a solid recommendation but it’s better than nothing. Fortunately there are alternatives. Even if the other person isn’t tech savvy — you probably are by being on Lemmy. So, show them the way.
Occasionally contact them through anonymous chat, just see how they’re doing, and discuss future plans.
Also, aside from demonstrations, places where like minded people meet. For the authoritarians and conservatives, that’s church, the local BBQ spot, and other, more obvious groups. I feel like they feel they can operate more openly since the US president is one of them. Used to be, these guys wore masks and were hidden, joining them wasn’t about finding them, they’d find you, that kind of thing. Nowadays it’s all out in the open. But I think liberals and progressives have meeting places, too. In response to church, for example, you should know that The Satanic Temple is not about devil worship, they’re about resisting Christian imperialism. They’re the ones fighting churches trying to get the Ten Commandments posted in every classroom. I’m religiously neutral, so they do not interest me, but they’re certainly an option. For the anti-theist/“hard atheist,” they’re a good option.
No, don’t use Telegram. Chats aren’t end to end encrypted by default, you have to specifically request a secret conversation. It’s also not possible to encrypt group chats on telegram. Matrix, signal, session, simplex, and many others are much better.
Yeah, I know about Telegram’s limitations. Been using it for ages, just to chat with my wife since she uses Android and I’m on an iPhone, and I don’t do social media. It was the best way for us to message back and forth and we haven’t moved off of it.
I have Matrix, Signal, and Session as well. Nobody chats me up on them but I keep them as options because why not? My phone has 512GB. Most is music and video. Apps are nothing to me.
there is not one big organised resistance that is taking members
The biggest is DSA
Nice try, fed.
Or mossad
Close enough, but I suspect Mossad has TV’s upper hand.
Join an org, if you’re a fed the good ones will filter you out. I recommend either the Party for Socialism and Liberation or Freedom Road Socialist Organization if you live in the US.
If you want a place to start with theory, I made an introductory Marxist-Leninist reading list, feel free to check it out!
<3
<3
Pee on your shoes.
We will contact you.
A member of the resistance has contacted me, thank you !
Done. Am now resisting arrest in the Wendy’s diner.
That’s the cool part… There is no “resistance” …that’s just something made up to profit off terrorizing people.
start resisting, you will find the others quickly
serious answer: start by reading theory and knowing how “the resistance” works at all.
“I want to help”
“Read several books first”.
Are you aware of how disgusting and classist it sounds?
how is reading a book classist for you? you can read. (and its free). the introductory stuff is mostly easy to read too.
you can join a leftist org directly and they will teach you if you prefer it that way. that’s probably how most people start.
most working class people cannot read well, let alone theory, have no material time to read, or if, they do, they don’t have the mental energy or continuity to get to the end of it, grapple alone on how to turn that into action and find a path for themselves. It’s very individualistic, good for the privileged who organize out of aspiration rather than out of necessity. Any serious org, to the people coming to offer help, should answer: “this is John, he will teach you how to do X and Y, and why this is important. Get to work”. Anything else is designed for an intellectual, individualistic minority that never gets shit done.
You need both theory and practice together. Practice sharpens theory, theory guides practice. You don’t have to be a grandmaster Marxist-Leninist with decades of theory under your belt to do good work. A large part of organizing involves training and educating comrades, for example, you even hint at it. Many orgs require a protracted training period before even being a full member, such as PSL or FRSO.
What’s classist would be shutting out the working class from theory, keeping it purely for the vanguard. Many existing communist orgs have run into this problem, and resolved it in various ways. Theory is for the working class, not for a privledged few, so the good vanguards have managed to make theory approachable and digestible.
No problem with that. My problem is with people who expect to start from theory as if that it’s a relatable and normal thing to do.
I’d say it’s definitely a “normal” thing to do. A lot of people don’t understand the importance of organizing until they’ve read a bit of theory, and saying they were wrong to do so, or framing them as privledged, isn’t the right path. There are two “wrong” camps, those who only read theory, and those who only do practice, though the practice camp is less incorrect. The correct group is the group that tries to balance both.
once you get a grip of ohm’s law, resistance is a breeze
I groaned, but that’s a good one lol
Stop touching the plug, Cowbee. I fear this is above your pay grade.
Here’s my Marxist-Leninist reading list if you want a place to start (I’m aware of the joke, haha)!
Thank you!
That’s exactly what I wanted.
No problem! Feel free to give me any feedback you may have if you decide to follow it!
For anyone wanting a good place to start, I made an introductory Marxist-Leninist reading list! Under a bit of revision right now, but still fully usable!
oooo you even got jones manoel’s scolding of western marxists for orientalism in there
What’s that?
Yep! Western Marxism needs to be correctly addressed right off the rip, or else the chance of those going through the list ending up as social chauvanists increases. Manoel says it best!
Want to help Terrence and Philip?
Sneak out after you get tucked into bed tonight and meet at Carl’s Warehouse.
Punch and pie.
Look up the group Indecline and see if they have any suggestions for civil disobedience around you.
I know guys, let’s like all form a resistance group and we’ll all meet downtown on Thursday at 6 o’clock. That way we’re all done with work and everything and we’ll have a big fucking meeting. Like every resister, all over the country, we’re all gonna meet downtown.
Think about it. There will be too many of us for the cops to do anything about it.
Like, even though they’ll know where we are and when we’re gonna be there, it’ll be all of us versus only however many of them can actually show up.
