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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Carragher who wrote (83492)	3/18/2003 8:53:24 PM
From: JohnM	Respond to of 281500

john we got them blocking the streets again in Philly at 5pm .. What do they accomplish other than get the folks coming out of work pissed off at them. I have no idea, John. As you've described it, it sounds very self defeating. There is a logic which says if the system is misbehaving, shut down the system. But the levels of reification in that logic are not only stunning, they often produce the very opposite consequence. The point of political persuasion is to convince folk of your argument and that you have large numbers and justice on your side. Doesn't sound like the Philly group has done that. There is an old style of community organizing from the 60s, associated with Saul Alinsky, in which in order to get grievances redressed, the demonstrators simply gummed up the system until the mayor, city council, whatever addressed their concerns. The favorite was garbage pickup in slum areas. That worked because the actions were directed at someone who could do something about it and comunicated that life was going to be difficult until something was done. Sounds a little like that. But, if so, they've got the wrong tactics.