I currently only organize with DSA but I’ve been thinking of leaving because they don’t align with my goals anymore(tldr: lots of electoralism). I want to organize with a more marxist or politically firm group but I’ve been so burned out I can’t get myself to find one and commit to the time. I feel guilty that I’m not acting/organizing fast enough because we’re in a dire time where fascism is rising and people are dying. I also feel guilty with going on about my life, like planning travel or saving for the future, because I feel like there’s no time and travel/saving/planning doesn’t matter when actions are being taken to oppress marginalized groups and the working class. I feel like we’re in the middle, if not passed, the do or die point and there’s still so much to do.
I want to keep my revolutionary optimism, where I trust our community will be able to come together and preserve in hard times, but when we’re all so disjointed, it’s hard to keep my spirits up.
Anyone else feel this way? How are you coping ? I’m looking for support and community.
If you want to join a ml party then you should join psl
It’s important to look after your own mental health. You must fortify and strengthen yourself, so that you are well equipped to organise and assist others. I’ve seen many people become burnt out and becoming demoralising. Try to remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. And also remember that it’s about the collective, not the individual.
Perhaps you could delegate responsibilities to others whilst you recuperate?
You could take a step back and focus on theory for a bit. This could involve reading, videos, audio books, podcasts
Or you could explore things that are useful in community organising and such. Things like first aide/medicine, nutrition and cooking, exercise and fitness, councilling skills, art/graphic design /poster making
Or things that are useful in the labour movement and political organising. Such as negotiation tactics and so on
Or just chill out for a bit
Hope this helps
This is the right mix of positivity and positivity 💪
This is very helpful thank you. I feel more level headed when I’m consuming theory, I just also feel theory alone can’t save us. But I like the idea of learning a new skill during rest.
It’s fine to take breaks to make yourself more effective in the future.
Then again, you can agitate more people and advertize good works to be done to get other people to do the good work if doing the work directly is too tiresome. You can join a group i suppose and tell them that you don’t want to do much now but maybe in the future.
I personally am getting off from a break and joining a party now. I hope to learn more.
Thank you. Knowing we all need breaks it useful.
whichever party you choose, make sure it’s also based on decolonialism and not only run by settlers
What would you classify as a “settler”? Wouldn’t their politics, ideology, and viewpoints matter more then who they are? You can’t really choose a location’s demographics.
But yes, any ML or leftist group worth their salt needs to be anti-colonialist.
More or less anyone in Amerika who’s not indigenous or a descendant of a slave is a settler in my view, possibly excluding refugees from Amerika’s wars and coups. Mentality doesn’t affect whether or not someone’s a settler, just like being a bourgeois class traitor doesn’t make them proletarian. Being born as a settler is obviously not a personal choice, but I’d still be very suspicious of a nation-wide communist party whose leadership doesn’t largely consist of black and/or indigenous people. It’s another story if it’s a relatively small organization focusing strictly on local issues, but they should still acknowledge that they’re living on stolen land
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