I get that organizing is important, but I still don't actually know what that entails. Like what am I supposed to do? It's kind of like telling a straight guy who wants to get a girlfriend to just "be himself." So when I see someone complain about the hellworld we live in and a common response is "organize," it feels kinda condescending. Same with "join an org." What org? How do I know which one is good?
Like for real, why isn't there some sort of organizing guide or FAQ on here? There's a recommended routine for body weight fitness and there's even a 14 day primer on getting started (https://old.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/kofo8l/bwf_primer_buildup_community_event_day_1_happy/). So where is the organizing primer? I mean it can start with something really simple, i.e. "on Day 1, say hi to a neighbor if you see them out walking (no need to get into a convo unless it just happens)." Like tbh how about a 14 Day Primer for organizing? Even the radlibs on the Bernie campaign had training sessions before having volunteers do stuff like call, text, or canvass. Even pick-up-artist idiots have training programs (e.g. day 1 talk to a random stranger and ask them directions, just say your phone is dead, etc.). We should have one too.
Great idea to put together a primer. It would probably need to be broken into two parts: one for folks with leftist groups in their area, and a second for folks who would have to start from scratch.
For the first part, the primer would look something like this:
At that point it becomes more difficult. If the org you pick is already doing good stuff (however that's defined), you're golden. But what if it's only a few people, but they claim to be growing? What if it's poorly run? What if it's super lib? What if it does a lot of great charity work, but makes no effort to translate that into political activity? You could write pages on each question, but each situation will be so fact-dependent that it's probably something you have to work through on a case-by-case basis.
The second part -- people who have to start from scratch -- is an even bigger question, because "starting from scratch" could mean anything from "I have a group of quasi-lefty friends who all want to do something" to "I know none of my neighbors and everyone around me seems to be a chud."
Yeah this is a huge issue in rural areas, cuz the DSA doesn't seem to give a fuck about areas outside major cities or college campuses.
There's no need to assume bad intentions on the part of the DSA. Organizing in dense, predominantly-liberal areas is easier for all sorts of reasons, so it's only natural that those places would be DSA hotspots. You can critique the lack of rural outreach efforts without assuming they just don't care.
The thing is, there are lib orgs all over the place in rural areas. The NAACP has a foothold in lots of rural areas. Like I said in another comment, I tried looking into starting a local chapter where I am, but I "can't" because I'm under the "jurisdiction" of a chapter in a major city that's super far away and totally disconnected from the issues here. I would understand if the web site allowed me to create a chapter if there wasn't one in my zip code. But to tell me that I can't because there's already one super far away baffles me, especially when there are YDSA chapters on college campuses in rural areas.
"Doing a poor job of rural organizing" =/= "not giving a fuck about rural organizing." I do a poor job with all sorts of things I care about, for instance.
See, nothing here seems malicious. There's likely a benign reasons behind this -- they probably want people joining nearby, established chapters instead of forming a dozen chapters for every neighborhood. That might make sense as a blanket policy even if it doesn't work in your specific situation.
Have you contacted that "local" chapter that's too far away for you to join? "I'm interested, but I can't drive an hour to attend meetings" is a reasonable problem, and they'll probably work with you.
Not to mention aren't basically all meetings online right now?
What is the NAACP doing that DSA is not doing in rural communities? Like I understand how rural DSA chapters are doing poorly because they're basically on their own just like the city one are. But the city chapters have enough people that they can do shit on their own.
AFAIK the only thing that can be done is for national to actually send more people to those rural chapters to help organize them. But I'm genuinely curious how other orgs do that successfully.
Also if your in a small town under the domain of a larger cities chapter the solution is to contact that chapter and ask to form a new chapter. My chapter did this years ago since we had like a quarter of the state in our domain.
I'd suggest you email that org, see if you can arrange a meeting. They probably have contacts in your area (paper members), that maybe they could point you towards. Be honest that you'd like to start a rural focused chapter with those members.
Although, they might not have any. I idly asked when I reconnected with my old chapter last summer if they had any near me, and that was a resounding no.