GETTING THE STORY DOWN - Part I (X.) by X.

Like so many grassroots organizers on the US Left, I have mostly relied on live storytelling to share what I know of the precious experience of the movement. This oral tradition is a powerful way to transmit knowledge. It is the oldest form of communication and it remains in use for good reason: The emotional impact of storytelling helps listeners remember more. It is the magic of the griot, of the bard, of the poet that enthralls us like children at bedtime.

I was mentored through storytelling when I first began organizing in the early 90’s at Rutgers University. Most of what I learned about the history of local campus activism, I learned listening to other organizers recounting previous exploits. Sure, I read a broad array of “classics” that all kinds of people turned me on to: Zinn, Lukacs, Chomsky, Marx, Baraka, Gurley-Flynn, Alinsky, Malcolm, Lenin, Hoffman, Dubois, Mao, Brown, Snow, Feinberg, and many more. But there was no written record of the local movement’s experience, of its hard-working practice and hard-earned theory. That knowledge only got passed on haphazardly from one generation to another, sometimes at meetings but mostly at parties.

I did find that sharing a pertinent story while organizing together is an excellent way to help new activists develop into organizers. While out fliering on the eve of a big rally, relating a funny anecdote, an inspirational account or a cautionary tale delivers key information that really sinks in and generates a whirlwind of ideas. It comes naturally, fulfilling the task of default mentoring for a cozy, little, local movement.

As the movement grows however, individual storytelling can’t seem to keep up with the urgent need to transmit a growing body of knowledge to a growing number of new organizers. A slew of problems arise from this shortcoming, compounded by the lack of infrastructure and resources needed to support growth (which is typical of local grassroots movements). The most unfortunate consequence is that some organizers get easier access to knowledge than others simply because of who they work with, who they hang out with, or who they are dating: The informal channels of haphazard oral tradition consolidate into closed knowledge networks that weaken movement democracy by reinforcing the inequality of access to useful information (a feature of the system we live in).

It takes a while for a local grassroots movement to grasp this problem, and even longer to find the willpower to try and solve it. Efforts to organize the occasional training session or group retreat –while very positive– ultimately fall short because there are just too many experiences that must be methodically distilled into practical knowledge to share with all.

Oral tradition remains a way of life for small groups, be they grassroots activist groups, corporate boards or the extended family at Thanksgiving. Individual storytelling feels comfortable and doesn’t require much effort, even less planning. Above all, individual storytelling is safe. The tales told are not kept on record. Many stories get passed on, appropriated and adulterated from one speaker to the next. No one’s name is attached to the information being promulgated. No one is held responsible for the advice, good or bad.

Of all the obstacles to overcoming the shortcomings of live storytelling, it is this fear of responsibility that is most paralyzing. It is the fear of writing down and making public what you have learned, what you believe, and what you are boldly planning because it might expose you to criticism, disagreement, failure or even success. It is especially scary to US progressives and revolutionaries because the full might of the system is dedicated to ridiculing all that we stand for. Even in the universities a whole cadre of post-modernist faculty works overtime to de-legitimize any attempt by students to build a new progressive movement, encouraging their pupils to internalize their legacy of self-defeatism - a dangerous legacy that the late Kurt Cobain despaired over just months before his suicide:

What else can I write? I don’t have the right.

To be continued...