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Indybay Feature

Feast your eyes. PROOF about ISO plans to silence people this weekend

by xantiglobalizationx@yahoo.com
check this out
So last night I decided to take a trip to the Berkeley Stop The War Coalition site, they are the ones that coordinated and organized this weekends conference that turned into ISO stalking fest and a "shut the fuck up if you are anarchist communist" fest.
So look what I found on the discussion page, this guy
Chric C is one of the main organizers, part of the Coordinating Committee who is in Charge of the conference, this guy who was all over the place and did pelnty of things, and this is what he said, I'll quote the entire thing. but if you want to check it out for yourself, this is what you do
go to: http://www.berkeleystopthewar.org/
double click on DISCUSSION
Scroll down and click on Chric C message titled "Expound on our problems"

We are the "problems" and look at how describes and goes into detail about how we should be "excluded" please pay attention to how this ISO memebers goes about talking and using "community involvment" as a tool to basically say the ISO needs to be involved and have more say. Also note how he is asking for more outreach to new people, but goes on calling them "newbies" and talking about them in such a disrespectful way by saying "It takes too long for new members to figure out what the coalition is, how meetings work, and how they can fit in" WTF is going on people? WTF? we want new people in this movement but we talk about them like this? like they are too stupid to know what's going on so they have to be TOLD what's going on?

here is the quote:

"Hopefully this will get some discussion going on the list.

We can probably all agree that as a coalition we are going to be a miserable failure if we do not manage to (a) bring in new members and (b) retain significantly more people than we lose.
I can see two areas in which I think we need improvement and I'd like to know what you all think along these lines. I'm trying to get something together for the Coordinating Committee meeting but I'd like to get input from other people.

1) Structure and Democracy

It takes too long for new members to figure out what the coalition is, how meetings work, and how they can fit in. And once newbies figure the 'structure' out, they quickly realize that rather than improving our structural problems, we have adopted a process by which important decisions are made (speakers, message, outreach, moderation) at a level that largely excludes people that werent part of this thing from the beginning, when it was still an anti-globalization coalition.

2) Image and Debate

The image we project, at least the way we are perceived, sucks. We dont discuss our message, and how to tailor it to reach different audiences. Part of the problem is that all of our arguments against the war are made from a very familiar viewpoint, to the exclusion of many other kinds of arguments that could be made. This has the effect of equating (in the minds of much of our target audience)
being part of our movement with being comfortable with the language and politics of anti-globalization and socialist movements.

Personally, I think that the only way this movement is going to be successful is to reach out to the large majority of our community that is not a part of this coalition, and actually allow them to take leadership roles in the coalition. If we are going to be successful
as a democracy, then we are going to have to accept that the politics and opinions of our ENTIRE community are going to carry weight in our coalition. Thus far, I dont think that alternative viewpoints (alternative to the core groups in the coalition - SJP, ISO, LT) are
being represented, or even respected.

Anyone care to respond?

-Chris"
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TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
me
Mon, May 6, 2002 4:10PM
gamar
Fri, Dec 14, 2001 8:07AM
Chris C
Sat, Nov 17, 2001 4:52PM
chuckE
Sat, Nov 17, 2001 3:27PM
hippy boy
Sat, Nov 17, 2001 9:24AM
fucking white
Fri, Nov 16, 2001 5:51PM
Amir
Fri, Nov 16, 2001 4:12PM
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