https://twitter.com/DemSocialists/status/1309929174530916354

    • Bread_In_Baltimore [he/him]
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      4 years ago

      I mean you don't have to organize in the DSA. If it's all that's there then I guess go for it. I just don't feel like 100,000 DSA members is going to change anything

            • JayTwo [any]
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              4 years ago

              DSA actually has a clause where if you belong to a demcent org and they think you're causing trouble, they can kick you out for no other reason than belonging to a demcent org.

              There's talk about getting rid of it, and AFAIK it hasn't been used in a very long time, but, currently, it's still there.

              Article I, section 3 of the bylaws:

              Members can be expelled if they are found to be in substantial disagreement with the principles or policies of the organization or if they consistently engage in undemocratic, disruptive behavior or if they are under the discipline of any self-defined democratic-centralist organization. Members facing expulsion must receive written notice of charges against them and must be given the opportunity to be heard before the NPC or a subcommittee thereof, appointed for the purpose of considering expulsion.

              • mrbigcheese [he/him]
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                4 years ago

                There's been talk among the NPC to remove this bylaw, which I hope happens cause its 100% leftover red scare shit. Also NPCs are literally telling people to just join other demcent orgs if they want, this hasn't really ever been enforced as far as I know. I think there was a trot group that got kicked out for doing something weird with a caucus but i forget the drama about it. PSL actually has the same sort of bylaw where you're not allowed to be part of ANY other socialist org, but i mean you still can lol

                • JayTwo [any]
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                  4 years ago

                  It was actually put in at the request of the New American Movement membership, and not the more anti-Communist Harrington-ite DSOC, because NAM had a lot of trouble with a run it or ruin it style attempt by a trotskyist party, iirc the FSP.

                  I know that Refoundation had a lot of trotskyist members, because the goal of the caucus was to try to turn the DSA into a labor party, either directly or indirectly. Don't know if there were any actual shenanigans, though.

                  • mrbigcheese [he/him]
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                    4 years ago

                    I dont remember what the drama was with Refoundation, was that when the bylaw was used or did they just decide to dissolve the caucus?

                    • JayTwo [any]
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                      4 years ago

                      Iirc, they decided to spin out to their own org.

                      Then I think they dissolved shortly after, iirc.

                      But there could have been some internal stuff going on for as to why they did.

                      I know there's rumors, but they're just that, so I'm not gonna give them airtime.

                    • Bread_In_Baltimore [he/him]
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                      4 years ago

                      Baltimore DSA is full of trots and """"Libertarian Socialists"""", all of them college educated PMCs completely disconnected with the struggles that occur in this city. Instead of going into the hood and talking with and organizing some of the most marginalized people in the country they set up tables outside of Johns Hopkins University to inform future brain surgeons of their student rights lmao.

                      I'm sure that's not what it's like everywhere, but that's kind of the problem.

                      • mrbigcheese [he/him]
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                        4 years ago

                        The annoying part about DSA is its leadership structure. Its annoying to try and get involved and learn how the process works or how leadership is elected and how working groups are developed, but you can certainly get involved to change this about the chapter, it all works on whether there's enough people that want to do a certain thing together. If you look up your communist caucus or labor group they might be more inclined about this being a better strategy to undertake, but just expecting someone else to lay the foundation is how nothing gets done i guess. This new nationwide outreach for example can be a good strategy to get engaged directly with poorer working class neighborhoods depending how your chapter wants to organize. Like doing stuff like food banks or something for example.