Comments on: Too much Alinsky, not enough Lenin http://blog.voyou.org/2009/09/30/too-much-alinsky-not-enough-lenin/ Lazy rascals, spending their substance, and more, in riotous living Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:46:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Nate http://blog.voyou.org/2009/09/30/too-much-alinsky-not-enough-lenin/comment-page-1/#comment-37721 Nate Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:29:29 +0000 http://blog.voyou.org/?p=831#comment-37721 hey Voyou, I realize your real fish to fry are not w/ Alinsky but I think your presentation on him and on Alinsky-ites is bit flat. At the least it doesn't speak to my experiences in Chicago working w/ people who worked w/ Alinsky closely and were trained by him. (And FWIW I'm not much of a fan of the guy.) Also, what would power "appropriated collectively" look like in the occupation context, vs "collective action [used] to force concessions from those who do hold power"? It also seems to me that power "appropriated collectively" vs "collective action [used] to force concessions from those who do hold power" is a false dichotomy, since collective action is a sort of act of creating/appropriating some power. cheers, Nate hey Voyou, I realize your real fish to fry are not w/ Alinsky but I think your presentation on him and on Alinsky-ites is bit flat. At the least it doesn’t speak to my experiences in Chicago working w/ people who worked w/ Alinsky closely and were trained by him. (And FWIW I’m not much of a fan of the guy.) Also, what would power “appropriated collectively” look like in the occupation context, vs “collective action [used] to force concessions from those who do hold power”? It also seems to me that power “appropriated collectively” vs “collective action [used] to force concessions from those who do hold power” is a false dichotomy, since collective action is a sort of act of creating/appropriating some power.
cheers,
Nate

]]> By: patient persuasion http://blog.voyou.org/2009/09/30/too-much-alinsky-not-enough-lenin/comment-page-1/#comment-37662 patient persuasion Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:31:43 +0000 http://blog.voyou.org/?p=831#comment-37662 Check this out . . . http://advancethestruggle.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/924-opening-shot-against-the-budget-cuts/ Check this out . . . http://advancethestruggle.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/924-opening-shot-against-the-budget-cuts/

]]> By: hammer and sickness http://blog.voyou.org/2009/09/30/too-much-alinsky-not-enough-lenin/comment-page-1/#comment-37645 hammer and sickness Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:57:22 +0000 http://blog.voyou.org/?p=831#comment-37645 very well said. i was wondering when someone would sum it up. i gotta say though that there was a lot of hysteria in the assembly when it was discoverd that an occupation was being prepared. that was hilarious - the fear of the liberals. the doors were open for people to leave, but someone panicked and started screaming some craziness about this being undemocratic. some people were saying that occupation is premature at this point. i think now is the time to polarize through big actions like occupation. if anything, it is assemblies - which should involve real actors in real struggle - that are premature. there was 500 people at this conference/assembly; if they occupied it couldve been huge. punks. an occupation could have become a catalyst for a sustained daily movement on campus. then assemblies would start to make sense instead of being mere simulations of democratic structures that actually matter. oh well, things seem to be on the right track. next time. very well said. i was wondering when someone would sum it up.

i gotta say though that there was a lot of hysteria in the assembly when it was discoverd that an occupation was being prepared. that was hilarious – the fear of the liberals. the doors were open for people to leave, but someone panicked and started screaming some craziness about this being undemocratic.

some people were saying that occupation is premature at this point. i think now is the time to polarize through big actions like occupation. if anything, it is assemblies – which should involve real actors in real struggle – that are premature.

there was 500 people at this conference/assembly; if they occupied it couldve been huge. punks. an occupation could have become a catalyst for a sustained daily movement on campus. then assemblies would start to make sense instead of being mere simulations of democratic structures that actually matter.

oh well, things seem to be on the right track. next time.

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