Had an interesting debate (informal) with my friend Walter tonight about the two types of activism/organizing represented locally by Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane (PJALS) and Spokane Alliance (SA). I am actively involved in both organizations and see value in both. Yet I have friends who insist that one is right and the other is wrong (Different friends defend each organization.) PJALS is an issue oriented organization. It has certain issues that it is known to work on, and this is reflected in its name. PJALS is anti-militarization, and pro-peace. It is well known for working on criminal justice, Palestinian rights/recognition, opposing the obscene levels of spending on military.... PJALS uses strategies that include protests, education, political campaigns (issue oriented, not partisan) and lobbying. Spokane Alliance does what it calls broad-based organizing. It makes a distinction between that and being issue oriented. SA does not have certain big issues that it works on over long periods of time. Instead, it brings together local organizations (SA uses the term institutions) to exercise power together. The issues grow out of the pressures on the real lives of members of the organization. SA uses organizing tools to identify issues that have a wide base of support. Then it narrows down the issue to a clear, concrete, effective action that it can take to create change on that issue. That action may be to educate. It may be to get legislation enacted. It may be to change how our community deals with an issue. Some friends criticize PJALS, saying it wastes a lot of time organizing marches and protests and doesnt actually accomplish much. Yet, look at what is happening locally with Criminal justice. Two issues on which PJALS has been working are producing results. Smart Justice principles are beginning to be adopted by local jurisdictions. And Spokane is one of the few jurisdictions that has an Independent Police Ombudsperson. (At least, theoretically, independent. That is still in process.) On the other hand, some criticize SA saying it doesnt stand for anything, it has no clear set of values, and is thus ineffective. SA values are process values: helping people claim their voice; using processes that are community based and inclusive; bringing together broad coalitions. And SA also has significant accomplishments. SustainableWorks (begun as a SA action) is a successful program for doing economical energy retrofits, combining concern for quality jobs and care for the environment in one project. And in the last two years, SA has been instrumental in changing the conversation about the city budget for Spokane, making public needs a priority over salary increases for management. Both groups get criticized for not focusing on my most important issue. Whether thats ending police misconduct; getting more people to vote; getting people to stop voting (and thus participating in a broken system of injustice); working to elect Republicans / Democrats / Progressives. It seems to me we should celebrate both organizations, as well as other groups that work to make a difference on political and moral issues that affect our lives and the lives of others, rather than dissing them for not working on the right issue, or the most urgent issue. I remember people in the 60s and 70s wasting way too much time arguing about whether we should focus on ending the war in Vietnam, civil rights for minorities; or rights for women. We might have accomplished more sooner if we had simply encouraged each person to commit to the work they found most satisfying.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 05:47:12 +0000
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