J-Auld

A MINI ESSAY ON AMIABILITY IN THE LEFT,
BY J. AULD.

So, you have the perfect ideology, and you’re new on campus. You’ve just registered your group and you have two mates to help you get started. They fortunately also have The Perfect Ideology, and are disabled/trans/queer/a person of colour, etcetera, so everyone HAS TO LISTEN TO YOU SPECIFICALLY.  Why is no-one attending more than two or three of your meetings?

So, you have The Perfect Ideology, and you’re new in the Union at your workplace. You’re talking to your Union mates and your co-workers, but no-one wants to push things in the way You Know Is Best, and everyone also seems to distance themselves from you. What’s going on?

So, you have The Perfect Ideology, and you’re new to Leftist activism, hitting the streets, selling mags, attending protests, gathering strike funds, et cetera. But you notice there are a lot of meetings you simply aren’t invited to, and they barely tolerate your presence at the mentioned actions. You’re The Most Dedicated And Correct Leftist, so what’s the deal?

Let me ask you these three questions: I imagine you wouldn’t join a rugby, basketball, or football team if the members of that group were right pricks, even if that was your favourite sport? I imagine you wouldn’t go to a specific cafe if the staff were outright rude or haughty to you, even if their coffee and tan slice were 5/5? If you were at a family gathering, and your sibling was getting up in your face, and/or is being antagonistic, would you not walk over to your more polite cousin for a while? Why then, do we say and/or expect otherwise in the field of politics? Quite naturally, those who pour themselves into politics (sometimes to the point of self-admitted obsession) tend to be asocial, and this is something that sometimes is unavoidable. However, some go as far as to be ANTI-social, and even celebrate the fact, with such insufferable merch as “Sometimes antisocial, always Antifascist,” as if Fascists aren’t the most antisocial force there is!

Not to legitimise Capitalist “productivity” and “professionalism” mindsets more than a spoonful, but if one was to act like this in the workplace, rude to a manager, a workmate, a customer, a vendor, or a trucker, you’d likely be fired or at least brought to a disciplinary meeting, one of the few that I could agree with.

The feeling we have of being the outcast, the maverick, or the Glorious Leader, is sometimes inevitable in our formative years, but I’ll bet quite a few people reading this know characters who keep hold of that feeling, that trait, that shard of identity well into their fifties, sixties, seventies, right to their grave.

It’s something that we’ve long needed to shake, especially if we want to recruit regular humble people into our meetings, those who would be off put by grandstanding and unnecessary pomposity/Da Bigg Wordz. I feel part of this stems from the issues of academia and having the incorrect assumption that degrees = intelligence & cranial horsepower. May I remind the audience that Nats and ACT fools have degrees and certificates? If we are to be a movement of the people, BY the people, why would we cling to such an incredibly specific European idea of intellect? Are my fine feathered friends not aware that factories, farms, shipping lanes, construction yards, warehouses, and hospitality sectors are run by people without doctorates?

I have met smart and capable people both with and without degrees. I have also met brilliant people who, left school at 15, battle with problematic drug use drug addiction, have a nasty criminal record, and are terminally unemployed (by choice or otherwise). We know the Working Class looks a multitude of ways, so I really don’t think it’s wise or accurate to assume that intelligence or correctness looks one specific way either.

In my opinion, we need to prioritise politeness, patience and cool-headedness above theory in quite a few circles. Those who are interested in theory can simply buy more books. They’ll often find a way to read more. Whether or not they do so with YOU is the problem we wish to address here.

I might propose the following to more experienced Leftists looking to recruit:
A: Do not treat those less educated than you with derision or talk down to them in your specific field. Remember where you were 1, 5, 10, 20+ years ago. EVERYONE you meet knows something you don’t and can likely teach you as well, if you’re willing and polite.

B: Get a hobby, go outside, hit the beach, have a social life, join a sports club, or do a social activity that is not politically motivated. When someone only does politics, and turns everything into a polemic/panegyric, they become straight up insufferable. This is also a near guaranteed way to burn yourself out, which is its own nightmare to deal with, an accumulated slow-burn trauma of sorts that you should certainly avoid.

Through this, you can likely make some great friends, which will improve your quality of life – and possibly theirs.

C: Learn to take political groups (and yourself) 5-10% less seriously, just take the edge off. This will mean you’re not so strung out and tense at every meeting. Dealing with someone who’s living life on a razor’s edge is neither pleasant nor effective to organise and educate/learn with. By divesting your emotional sanctity from political groups, you will have other things to look forward to. If the latest meeting/action/reading group was rough, you can then more easily look forward to the next thing. A nice dinner, a pint with mates, a visit to the beach.

D: To be an elder brother, take your health seriously. You don’t need to become an Olympian. Just eat a bit leaner, exercise 3-4x a week, and get GOOD sleep. This’ll make you naturally less cranky and give you more energy for the work that you need to do.

I might propose the following to newer Leftists, looking to get amongst it:
A: Don’t expect every meeting to be One Step Closer to the revolution. I and other ancient Leftists have met plenty of people like that. Behaving as if the revolution is always right around the corner comes off as  feels frantic and desperate . Thi scan often ruin our night trying to clean up emotional spills. On the flipside, if you as a newbie have genuine curiosity, friendliness, energy, and good faith, the morale of the more experienced Leftists will be significantly boosted, reinforcing the group as a whole.

B: Try to befriend people based not just on politics. This is a shaky ground to base an entire friendship on. If you’re really into Warhammer 40,000 (totally not biassed in my example), you’ll have politics AND your undying hatred of the Tau to share and can probably have a game later.

C: When you show up to meetings, try not to steer everything to the specific politic currently on your mind. If you show up to an environmentalist meeting, you don’t need to make it into a Marxism 101. If you show up to a socialist meeting about Labour Surplus Value, you probably don’t need to mention the sinking of Kiribati. It’s far more productive to stay on topic. If you do this, others are more likely to help when it comes to your passion project.

To conclude and to make this more brief (“tl:dr:”, if you will): What would the ideal meeting look like to you? What would the ideal action look like to you? What’s the end goal look like? You might roll your eyes when I say this, but Leftists should also treat others how they would like to be treated. Be patient, look at someone else’s perspective, do not interrupt people (and be assertive about your own and others’ speaking rights), don’t swear at your comrades, and think twice often.

My idea of a post-revolution utopia is one of endless kindness, and an end to malice.

What’s yours?