Hey IWW Central! I'll go back to paying "dues" when you go back to "do"ing stuff! Heyooo boom roasted
(Small text: For the purposes of this agreement "stuff" does not include threatening to ban people for sharing articles critical of IWW insiders.)
Like some of the "articles" in question... are pretty fucking stupid. [And also] you probably shouldn't threaten to ban people so quickly, simply for sharing them. Makes one wonder which parts of these stupid articles would inspire such a response.
Oh man someone is abusing the GDPR (Euro law) to get this article about shit that is happening in America delisted from Google lmao
I honestly think this article is flawed but you know how it is. If someone says not to post something without being able to explain why, then you know I'm gonna keep posting it
"How dare you share articles saying that we are acting like stereotypical overzealous party purgers? Anyone who shares these articles will be banned." Like my comrades in solidarity unionism I was a little more sympathetic with you before you moved to ban these lowkey kinda hyperbolic articles.
Anyway, I love the IWW so much that I have been applying the principals I learned from their trainings (which were lowkey plagiarized from SEIU & UNITE HERE) to build up several loose coalitions of labor militants in various industries in my region and we are hella stoked to re-affiliate with IWW whenever y'all stop whatever the fuck is going on. Love y'all talk soon besties
Like if you made me an autonomous member-organizer, offered me no support, and then called me an SJW guess what? I'm an autonomous member-organize so I actually don't need GHQ. It's impressive to me how the IWW still works [in literal spite] of GHQ!
Historically (20's/30's) people formed a very large counter-union called the OBU which was ready to re-affiliate at any time and I think we need to get back to this.
@sidereal My branch and a few others have resolved to work autonomously of GHQ unless we have to involve them. It's just not worth the trouble to gentle-parent our continental headquarters.
I don't have much experience with the weird content policing within the IWW (I'm too lazy to use InterWob) but it sounds just so 💀.
@pansytram I think this is the best possible decision and I applaud you all for your wisdom.
As for InterWob I personally don't think you're missing anything important. The email listservs sucked too. But Interwob was a big swing and a miss.
TBH I suspect the IWW worked better before the internet when people knew the mail wasn't trustworthy so it was all forced to be almost 100% in person interactions
Also the whole thing was more accessible to semi literate workers--a growing problem!
@sidereal Very much to all of that, yeah. I'm hopeful about the IWW, but it is sorely in need of some humility and seriousness. Getting back to actually organizing with a working-class vocabulary would be a good start.
@pansytram Oh wow I'm so glad you mentioned this specifically because I spent like literally over a year trying to get one local to switch from saying "Whereas: " to "Context: " and it was like pulling teeth. Someone actually accused me of anti-intellectualism.
Using accessible language is not anti-intellectualism but implying that terms working class people are familiar with are somehow the opposite of intellectualism IS classist.
Anyone who sees former IWW people yelling at current IWW people and thinks this must be FBI infiltration has never hung out much with IWW people. This is our fucking culture.
I'm sorry to hear that this is coming down on you, comrade. Stuff hasn't hit us on these shores but I keep hearing about it.
@passenger No need to apologize but I appreciate it! I just think it's an [interesting pattern] that people who critique authoritarianism in the North American IWW are consistently labeled FBI informants.
How do I put this? It would be a mistake to think that the Feds haven't infiltrated the North American IWW, but it would also be a mistake to think that those same Feds actually understand what the fuck is going on in the IWW or how it functions, its culture, goals & historic mission, etc.
@passenger Like. I think a lot of middle class American leftists get excited about IWW history and forget those were actual people.
So then some guy who found out about the IWW on a meme page is explaining to me the finer points of XYZ in the constitution and it's like. Buddy, [my grandfather was in the IWW.] He participated in writing your constitution. My parents are old-school American communists. I was actually raised in this recalcitrant ideological shit--and also taught to rise above it.
@passenger So then some guy who found out about the IWW on a meme page is accusing me of being an FBI informant and I just gotta laugh. That guy has no idea who I am or where I'm coming from, just like he has no idea who he is or where he's coming from.
Y'all have no idea how much the IWW means to me and y'all also have no idea how quickly and easily we could destroy it to build a better one.
Anyway, in summation, the OT101 and OT102 Trainings are really amazing. The phrase "life changing" gets thrown around casually but that is actually what I found these classes to be. Easily the best part of the IWW. You should take them if they're available in your area!
At the end of the training you can ask them why the OTC (Organizer Training Committee) doesn't make transparent decisions and why the training manuals aren't available to the general membership 🙂
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