The difference between a true organizer & someone elevating their own profile is this:
An ORGANIZER will empower you. Appeals to emotion are always followed by a call to action.
A GRIFTER will disempower you. Language rarely includes next steps YOU can take to make real change.
An ORGANIZER will empower you. Appeals to emotion are always followed by a call to action.
A GRIFTER will disempower you. Language rarely includes next steps YOU can take to make real change.
https://twitter.com/anarchocorvidae/status/1350703583918886912
2/ If the closest to next steps/a call to action they ever give you is “sign this digital petition that we have no plan to physically deliver anywhere” or retweeting their angry tweets, they aren’t organizing.
Don’t be afraid to ask them “how does this move us toward the goal?”
Don’t be afraid to ask them “how does this move us toward the goal?”
3/ That’s called a theory of change. Obvs no one can predict the future, but an organizer should be able to tell you, “we think doing X will help do Y, which will help get us to our goal.”
If they get angry at you for asking or say that asking means you don’t care, that’s a 🚩
If they get angry at you for asking or say that asking means you don’t care, that’s a 🚩
4/ Organizers will frequently (not always, but often) lead with values 1st. As @AOC has frequently said, organizing is about addition, not subtraction.
Look at how often their statements focus on values & coalition building vs. telling you how awful other ppl are.
Look at how often their statements focus on values & coalition building vs. telling you how awful other ppl are.
5/ Listen to your gut. Do you feel that they are so focused on the goal or common value you’re working toward that you could safely question (or even disagree with!) a specific tactic without your motives being impugned?
If the answer is no, that’s another red flag.
If the answer is no, that’s another red flag.
6/ This isn’t to say that anger toward an elected official isn’t an effective tool that organizers can (and will) leverage.
But the goal is not for you to feel angry or stay angry. It’s about turning your anger into real action BY YOU and moving closer to our shared vision/goal.
But the goal is not for you to feel angry or stay angry. It’s about turning your anger into real action BY YOU and moving closer to our shared vision/goal.
7/ Possibly one of the biggest red flags of all: Telling you publicly that the goal of an action is one thing while internally saying it’s something else.
Tactics can have multiple outcomes but outright lying (or obscuring) an explicit goal they’re working toward is a bad sign.
Tactics can have multiple outcomes but outright lying (or obscuring) an explicit goal they’re working toward is a bad sign.
https://twitter.com/ryangrim/status/1350860561056194567
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