it seems clear that there are less POC people on hexbear then there was before. what would you propose, and what do you think the issues are if any. i will be refraining from sharing my opinion for now to encourage more ideas.
white comrades are allowed to post emotes to boost this thread so more people can see it.
One other thing (and this is a repeat of what I said in a previous comment):
I work in an org, and we've noticed that a lot of communists that are white tend to be from Reddit or recruited online from Reddit/Twitter.
Non-white communists are people you're more likely to find, say, on a non-Reddit community (or non_Twitter) or out IRL where you may be able to convince others to study Marxism or Marxism-Leninism while you're studying.
In addition, we've also noticed that many MLs don't speak English or, at times, too many speak English. In America especially, it is increasingly a fact that many do not speak English and this goes for many European countries.
Frankly, this last part is a huge problem and the project to deal with this would take a long-ass time to nullify, though I believe that it's of the utmost importance that it is nullified and that non-English-speaking peoples have a fair share.
For example, even though I speak perfect English, a lot of people around me IRL speak Spanish or prefer Spanish... or they speak an African language some sort (or European but with an African dialect).
This was found in my org, but again, I noticed some other orgs or people in orgs talking about this so I thought I'd give some info while also keeping vague on internal details.
I will say this:
More communities on Hexbear dealing with BIPOC communities might also be in order (not just, say, one community dealing with BIPOC issues or topics).
Like, I wouldn't, say, make a comm for just "class issues" all in one; there would be "labour" or "organizing" or even "electoralism" (since, yes, PSL, FRSO, and CPUSA do electoral struggle in various ways, I think). Oh yeah, and "poverty finance" is a class issue, but obviously, it's not just relegated to a comm called "class;" instead, we have multiple comms that encourage this thing.
In some:
We need new members from places that aren't just Reddit/Twitter.
We to diversify and separate certain topics (in order to highlight them) while still talking of them, ultimately, in a holistic way, I feel.
We need to (at least eventually, as this will be difficult given where we are now) find ways to include people that at least grew up in non-English-speaking background or with English as a second language or no English.
(Among other things, of course; this isn't a definitive list.)
I think online spaces will always inherently be white due to typical socioeconomic issues. People with more free time are gonna be more likely to be online, longer, and more active
I also bet POC communists are way more likely to actually organize because for a lot of us, class struggle is something they need to win for hopes of a good future and something they have way more of a stake in than white communists
Furthermore:
Not everyone uses the Internet
or
They don't have "ready-access to the Internet."
Prisoners, many of which are BIPOC, cannot use the Internet at will.
Poor people in rural areas also do not use the Internet at will or have poor connection or WiFi.
Undocumented immigrants also do not use the Internet at will and not for social media.
Social media is a thing of the "middle classes" (who I still count as proletarians) but not for poor proletarians, imho, many of whom are non-white.
In addition, as you said: time is a factor and if you're under-middle class, for example, then you will be less likely to use social media during your downtime, especially as a means of fun or relaxation or recreation.
The truth is: we say "everyone has the Internet" but that's not true and, even when they do, they don't have it in the same way as, say, I assume many in Hexbear do.
While many white communists who live in poor areas do organize and I call them "comrade," it's true that many BIPOC communists (and non-communists and non-anarchists as well) do it on a scale and percentage that's bigger than their white counterparts.
(I include white communists here in this case as we also have a problem with including rural poor whites in our movement, but of course, I can tell you that rural poor BIPOC people are doubly neglected.)