Moving on through the autumn into the winter
Regular readers will have noticed that there's been a bit of introspection on this blog recently. It's nothing to worry about - it's just the two of us behind this project thinking out loud about where it should go. Rather than get stuck in a rut, while holding true to our principles, we always regularly review what we do in the context of the prevailing social and political climate. Things have been getting quite 'interesting' here in the UK, and our latest strategy review is an attempt to get to grips with that. So, in the interests of absolute transparency and openness, our latest effort at doing this is reproduced below:
Autumn into winter strategy review - 27.09.24
It does seem like I'm producing a strategy review every month! The reasons for this are the macro factors affecting the social and political context we have to operate in. It feels like things are becoming more unstable. A situation exacerbated by a Labour government that only one in five eligible voters endorsed, bearing down upon us with austerity and authoritarianism. As for the general mood of the populace, you don't have to scratch too far beneath the surface to see a fair bit of anger and bitterness that's looking for an outlet. As we saw during the brief period of disorder we had back in the summer, it only takes a spark to set things off. This is why we need to seriously think about what we're doing with this project and what has to change in order for us to make more of an impact.
How we have to adapt to the political and social climate
As I mentioned in the previous strategy review, I took some time off blogging as the summer disorder was fizzling out to think about the direction the Stirrings from below blog should be going in. I also took a bit of a step back from posting on social media, albeit that I was still monitoring what other people were saying. At that time, after having written a few posts about the summer disorder, I started to think that commenting upon and trying to analyse it was only serving to add to the feeling of tension. This applied to the blogging and the social media posting. As I've mentioned before, you only have to go on social media, in particular on X (formerly known as Twitter) to see a lot of hand wringing despair, fear mongering, tension raising, race baiting and divide and rule. It feels like many people has an axe to grind, but significantly fewer have any solutions. It needs to be noted that some of the 'solutions' on offer on platforms such as X are downright unpalatable!
My concern is to do my level best to make sure I'm not part of the problem when it comes to blogging and social media posting. My desire is to start the process of offering some pointers towards solutions. That's short term solutions that can be implemented in the here and now as well as the longer term ones that will require a lot more work and sacrifice. With our practical work, it's hopefully clear that it's a real life expression of our desire to work towards finding solutions. It's the blogging that needs to be looked at to work out how it can shift towards inspiring people to collectively start developing their own solution at the grassroots, thereby starting the process of building the world we want, rather than the dysfunctional one we currently have to endure.
At the Gassroots was set up with the intention of achieving this. However, the low reach we have on our social media platforms has made promoting At the Grassroots a very difficult and frustrating task. What also needs to be taken into consideration is the uncomfortable truth that a significant minority of people are doom and gloom addicts, and would rather read that kind of material than anything positing a solution. Anyway, the upshot of this is that the viewing numbers for At the Grassroots are abysmal. While I've no intention of binning At the Grassroots. I also have to think about how I build an audience for blog posts that deal with various aspects of prefigurative action.
This is why there's an At the Grassroots section on Stirrings from below. This is simply because the viewing figures for posts on Stirrings from below always go above the 200 mark. That's a pretty decent audience for posts looking to inspire people to collectively start taking action at the grassroots to make positive changes in the here and now. By posting At the Grassroots material on Stirrings from below, it signals that the blog is in the process of taking a fairly fundamental shift in its direction. While Stirrings from below will continue to offer some fairly pointed critiques of the shitshow we currently have to endure, a shift in the balance is vital.
I've stated the following on quite a few occasions but, it bears repeating. Genuine change can only happen at the grassroots in our communities. A key part of that change is people becoming more confident about taking responsibility, and acting for their neighbourhoods. Any change that comes from above is not genuine change, it's merely a change in who's exercising power over our lives. Which is why I want, as far as possible, to avoid the kind of rhetoric that makes demands on those who presume to rule over us to better our lives. Obviously there are to be exceptions to that where we have to deal with the system as it is. Transport and general freedom of movement advocacy is one example of where we do have to compromise our principles in order to try to get what we want. However, on the other hand, taking ownership of a food production and distribution system that puts us in control is one thing that can genuinely push the balance of power towards us at the grassroots.
Taking ownership of the food production and distribution system is a radical objective. Not least because of this: “whoever controls the food supply, controls the population as well”. If we can wrest the supply of our food away from the corporations and ultimately, the government, by decentralising and localising it, then we've taken an important step towards securing our autonomy at the grassroots. This is why we've stated that At the Grassroots is not a fluffy project. This is why I'm fairly positive about the We Are Avon initiative, and more specifically, Bath Area Growers. While they wouldn't meet the criteria of a rigid political purity test, they tick enough of our boxes to make us want to support them. Given the urgency of the situation we face, if we're more than 50-60% in agreement with a grassroots initiative, it would be churlish of us to not offer our support.
We Are Avon and Bath Area Growers seem to me to be built on the principles of non-hierarchical, decentralised networking. For us, that's a massive plus. That's not just because we don't like dealing with egos, wannabe leaders and self styled messiahs. It's also because a decentralised network comprised of people and groups focused on actually getting stuff done is going to be pretty hard for the malign forces of the state to disrupt. That's why we emphasise the importance of place focused, grassroots actions and initiatives, because the accountability of residents towards each other makes it nigh on impossible to disrupt what they're trying to achieve.
Right, that hopefully describes the political and social climate we have to operate in, and also, how that influences how we can operate and how we set our goals for the future. Now it's time to look at the specifics of our practical work, and also, our propaganda.
Our practical work
Our practical work is the expression of our desire to build a sense of community and belonging.
We do what we can, when we can, within the constraints set by family commitments, the need for some kind of life away from activism, and our health. With the Plot In The Park and the litter picking with Keynsham Wombles, we're probably at the limit of what we can take on and sustain on a consistent basis.
With the Plot In The Park, it's about encouraging the de-centralisation and localisation of our food supply. It's about bringing it as close as possible to the grassroots so that everyone has a stake in a sustainable, healthy de-centralised food production system. Which is why as well as our work with the Plot In The Park, we also do what we can to support local food producers and independent shops and cafes.
With the litter picking, it's about caring for where we live. People caring for, looking after and having pride in where they live is one of the factors in building a strong sense of community. Litter strewn neighbourhoods and parks give the impression that people don't care about where they live and that there's no sense of community and solidarity. Litter picking may seem like an activity to enhance the amenity of a neighbourhood, but to us, it's an important part of building a community that takes a pride in where they live.
Propaganda
Propaganda is an important part of what we do, so every so often, it's worth reviewing how we produce and disseminate it. For various reasons, not least my physical health, there has been an over reliance on online dissemination. Now my health conditions are manageable and I can lead an almost full life, I want to shift the balance towards analogue means of getting the word out.
The blogs
Regardless of what happens or doesn't happen with the viewing figures, the At the Grassroots blog is here to stay until the day I decide I want to quit activism. The reason it's staying is because of The Directory which is a long term project that will hopefully start to gain some traction in the not too distant future.
Stirrings from below is doing pretty well. There has been a tendency for me to post up pieces that are best characterised as being prefigurative. That's looking at what can be done in the here and now to start building the world we want. These seem to have gone down pretty well. These posts are mirroring what's going up on At the Grassroots but, I don't think there's any real harm in that - the greater the spread, the better:)
However, Stirrings from below won't be going completely down that route, particularly as the brown stuff is hitting the fan with some regularity! We've got a reputation for the way we comment on a range of issues, on occasions, going in for some outright shit stirring! I want to maintain that edge, albeit being careful to not stray into areas I don't have much experience of, or expertise in. However, as previously mentioned, I need to avoid falling into the trap that too many 'truthers' seem to have fallen into, which is spreading the doom mongering. The kind of doom mongering which leads to despair and demoralisation which is just what those who presume to rule over us want.
The paper
The At the Grassroots paper has been printed and, the distribution is now underway. This is intended to run up to the end of this year. The aim of the paper is to reach the people we can't reach with the At the Grassroots blog. It's also to promote The Directory.
Stickers
We have them, we put them up, they stay up for a while, then they're removed. It's a cycle, isn't it? We need to keep on getting out and putting them up. We're overdue a visit to Bristol so, a combination of getting some stickers up while finding venues willing to take some copies of the At the Grassroots paper would be a good thing to do. We also need to remember to take them with us when we go to Bath.
Leaflets
The only leaflets we have available for distribution are those promoting the Plot In The Park. As well as getting these into local venues, we need to start handing these out at the monthly Farmers Market.
As for producing any other leaflets, unless we have an ill judged rush of blood to our collective heads and decide to start having stalls at events again, it's highly unlikely we'll be producing any.
Conclusion
This concludes yet another strategy and tactics review. I'd like to think that this will be the last one I'll be doing this year but, as they say in the classics, 'events dear boy, events'. What I hope is coming out of a period of introspection since early August, plus one or two fairly intense conversations, is shift in the totality of what we do towards prefigurative action. As has already been mentioned, we won't be giving up our critical, and sometimes antagonistic edge. We do however want to get away from the doom merchants in what's left of what some have dubbed the 'truth' movement, and move towards solutions that will lead to change. It's going to be a period of experimentation and trying things out to see what does and doesn't work. What it will also hopefully be is a period of building some solid alliances. There are encouraging signs that this is already happening. We're not after a tribe we can join, just people and groups we can work alongside in relationships of trust and mutual respect to actually get things done.