DON'T MOURN, ORGANISE

Yes, times are tough, but this is not the moment to despair. Here’s an inspiring video to watch.

Image by Joe Kabat

These are blankety-blank hard times for progressives and activists…and even more so for those most directly in the proverbial firing line.

Because of climate change, the planet is on fire. Or we face record floods in rural Britain.

Palestinians keep getting pulverised by the Israeli Offence Forces. On Friday (26 Jan.) Israel said its war on Gaza was vindicated after the world’s highest court refused to order an immediate ceasefire to this genocidal outrage. “It May be Genocide, But it Won’t Be Stopped” said commentator Chris Hedges.

Meanwhile, our food bills and rents here keep here rocketing up far faster than our wages.   

BOTH likely candidates to be the next US president are terrible.

The neo-Nazi Alternative in Germany (AfD) remains in second place (at 21.5%) in the polls in that country.

As for what will be on offer in UK elections, there is no serious party of the left to vote for.

Cynicism and despair oozes out everywhere. In fact, it is easy to think the answer is just to give up. Or curl up in a pessimistic strop. The “other side” is just too strong, some say.

That’s not the message that Jane McAlevey delivers in the video we invite you to watch in a minute. A highly-experienced organiser in the United States --- of trade unions, of communities and of environmental protest --- as well as a campaign strategist and author, McAlevey simply has no time for such defeatist talk.

“Everyone has a role in the people’s army” she explains in the video.

Image by Joe Kabat

HOW DO WE GET POWER FOR THE UNDERDOGS

What she is always trying to figure out is this: “how do we win?” and how to get power for the underdogs. She continues, “organising is not about personality, it is about discipline and methods.” She is blunt. “I am a soldier in the class war.”

This video takes you through the steps needed to win ---- whether against bosses in your workplace, the polluters of the stream in your town, or the racists causing division in your city. And she does it relentlessly and with no shortcuts. “NO SHORTCUTS” is the title of her 2018 book on the same subject.

Called “Organising for Power: The Fight of Our Lives with Jane McAlevey”, this videoed interview  was released about a month ago by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, a transnational lobbying and educational group closely linked to Die Linke, a democratic socialist party in the German parliament.

So sit back, make yourself a brew, and be prepared to learn how to win at work and in the wider world. As one viewer commented, she is “a rare blend of optimism and practicality.”

It is worth noting that, right now, McAlevey is battling a high-risk variety of multiple myeloma (cancer). Hang in there Jane!

Here is the video:

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This is the second “issue” of THE LEFT LANE (TLL) Substack; the first is here: https://theleftlane2024.substack.com/p/mark-none-of-the-above-on-your-2024.

As our name suggests, we (Alan Story and Uther Naysmith) seek to cruise down the left lane of UK (and occasionally global) politics, exposing and explaining injustice to the best of our ability and sometimes, as with today’s TLL, suggesting some alternatives.

TLL now has more than 160 subscribers, including three paid subscribers. Their funds currently generate £20.00 per month. We did not set up TLL to make a profit. But reaching £100.00 per month would allow us to pay some of our admin costs and hire a part-time assistant.

Our email: theleftlanepolitics@gmail.com