Notes On Organisation

From BTON 1:

Some of us have been through a few long & difficult political struggles. We want to offer you some of the things we think we learned, for you to think about, criticise, reject or adopt in your own efforts to organise.

::Keep safe. Maintain open communication with people you trust and have your meetings in secure, well known spaces. There’s no need to be paranoid, but know your surroundings and your friends.

::Try to rely on argument and intelligence. Slogans are a staple for all sorts of political factions, but we’ve seen them alienate many more people than they’ve won over. Be smart, be funny, be approachable, and a lot of the resistance you might have come up against will start to soften.

::Don’t get isolated. You’re surrounded by people who are angry and sad about what’s going on, inside and outside of your sixth form; but they keep quiet most of the time: that could be the basis for a huge movement in the coming weeks and months. But the same issues don’t affect everyone, and not everyone can act like a student. So talk to people, find out how they feel about the situation – and what they might like to do. There are one thousand reasons for walking out and doing more (and reasons not to, as well.)

::Have confidence in your judgement. Don’t be afraid to back out of a situation which you no longer agree with. Things move quickly, they can get out of control and you should never be told that maintaining a critical stance is a bad thing or is letting people down. Remember that a good group is a collection of individuals working together.

::Consider the possibility that political activity could be a condition of happiness. Be wary of ways of acting that only feel like a burden – and ways of discussing which always feel like placing a burden on others. They don’t often go anywhere pleasant.