Petrelis Files

Political Organizing Without Electeds & Nonprofits

This essay was written yesterday before the Bay Area Reporter published Liz Highleyman's story about the meeting last Saturday. It is in response to a post from longtime queer feminist writer Anne-christine D'Adesky that she posted to the Bay Area Queer Anti-Fascist Network's Facebook page.

That page has been unavailable today, so I've not been able to share this with the network yet. Reading how Liz gave a lot of space in her story to the electeds and nonprofits, I feel doubly justified in putting forward this response:

Many thanks for the dense fact filled report back, Anne-christine D'Adesky. In my queer book, it's sign of mature organizing when reports are written up on meetings and actions by those who organized the events. My feedback follows, as someone who wasn't present and has been around a number of decades queerly agitating.

You cite ACT UP as your primary organizing model and I come outta that school, and one reason ACT UP succeeded was because of egalitarian ways. We didn't carve out time for electeds and non profit leaders. They were certainly free to speak like everyone else and participate.

I'm uncomfortable, not the best word but it will do, that two elected were given mike time in the big group meeting, as were four or five folks from nonprofits.

As you may know, I have allergies with politicians and nonprofits, generally speaking. What I'd like to suggest is that at future big group meetings that no time be alloted to electeds or nonprofits. Let them wait like everyone else to speak during public comment time.

There is a need for queer and progressive organizing free of domination by electeds.

Last week, in addition to the Bay Area Queer Anti Fascist Network, which doesn't roll off my lisping tongue so easily btw, the San Francisco Vision political network or whatever the hell it is, held a "What the Hell Just Happened?" town hall at the Women's Building in San Francisco.

Over 350 people showed up to hear a current and former member of the Board of Supes, and aide to another current supe, and a paid political consultant, and to have about 40 minutes of public comment time. So I am told by those who were present, which doesn't include me.

Let's talk ineffective organizing. The organizers didn't, um, organize themselves to take notes and maybe a foto or two so they could issue a report back to those who weren't in attendance.

Seriously, if you gonna gather that many folks to prep for further resistance to Trump and his policies, take some damn notes and tell us what the hell was discussed and decided. Otherwise, it's just political masturbation.

We must create space that is community driven and free from colonizing by the electeds and nonprofits. They don't allow us to attend their strategy meetings at the Board of Supes or City Council or the board meetings of nonprofits - two privileges I want.

I am advocating for keeping the electeds and nonprofits on a tight leash, to better develop activist leadership or strenghen what exists, and a network that can sustain itself for the coming battles with the Trump Administration.

A bit of history. Eight years ago, I saw Prop 8 have great polling before the election and we lost on the measure. Folks had dreams dashed at the voting booth, we took to the streets, community meetings were organized to fight back and Join the Impact and Courage Campaign mobilized.

Two presidential elections later, we've not heard from either of those groups, if they're still around, and all the post election 2008 agitation seemed to produce two major victories for LGBTs: gay marriage and gays in the military.

What I'm asking of this new network is a conversation that takes into account these concerns so that this current wave of anger and organizing doesn't crash with little to show for our efforts.