Thinking of joining an ml party. I’ve been doing little things with dsa and other orgs now and again but it gets tiring having to hold my tongue around liberal progressives all the time and I’d like to be part of an org where I theoretically don’t have to do that.
If you’re in one of these parties, why do you like it, why should I join? I’m also mainly interested in any reasons why I should not join any of these orgs. Like are any of them just full of cops, or are they political cults full of abusers or anything? Tbh right now I’m leaning towards frso just because I like their stance of national liberation struggles within the us and also the idea that they’re sort of a “pre-party” organization, since I recognize while I’m probably knowledgeable enough theory-wise to join an ml organization, I definitely still have a lot of learning I need to (and would like to) do. But it would be nice to have comrades and not just be reading alone in my room lol.
But that is by no means set in stone and I’m hoping someone can give me a rundown of the ml landscape in the USA and/or guide me away from any parties I probably shouldn’t join.
Most parties have at least some meetings, and certainly many events, which are open to the general public. Just attend some, and join the org which is doing the work you most want to be involved in. As for the dangers of cult-like microsects and burnout, maybe why you shouldn’t join any, check out this podcast by a bunch of former members of such a party.
For burnout, I think it can happen fast when you engage with the pointless performative actions like marching to demand billionaires being taxed or getting your ass kicked at some lib climate protest on the sidewalk. But performative actions are still important in certain scenarios, such as showing up to pro-Palestine or pro-LGBT rallies and marches since the numbers matter as well as having allies unrelated to the event’s demographics
Billionaires know that people want them to be more fair, they don’t care. But marginalized people need to know that they have people standing in solidarity with them otherwise they will become further alienated, and it pisses off and scares the establishment