Political activism

[rufuspollock]

@davidkobilnyk

I’m not super connected within 2R yet, but from my prior experience in “sensemaking web” groups, it stood out to me that sensemaking people tend to have great strength in thinking things through well, but are very slow to action. On the other hand, I see in the activism space, we have a lot of people and a lot of energy, ready to act, but not much well-thought-out strategic planning.

Wow, this is spot on! I think there are a lot of proximate connections for 2R / sensemaking communities to make … and a big one is with activism space(s)^[1]

Now, the big challenge for activism (and i say this about myself as a “recovering” activist") is that often many activists are reactivists – ie. a bunch of our energy and motivation comes from reactivity about stuff in personal / ancestral past. Now, that’s not bad/wrong – we can welcome it – but if it runs the show it tends to perpetuate more of the victim/perpetrator dynamics that we want to try and transcend.

So i think the connection here is both on the strategic “ideas” dimension and also on the inner dimension. Creating spaces where we can “stay with the trouble” - cf The Bergerac Praxis Hub etc.

@davidkobilnyk

This moment is so incredibly ripe with potential – so much anger and energy, without a clear sense of direction. I wonder if the resistance movement could be a practical stepping stone to longer-term manifestation of 2R, as some activists end up becoming aware of 2R through the collaboration, etc: help mobilize the resistance movement, but over time, shift the energy from mere resistance to ongoing evolution.

A big yes to all of this.

Yes, this could be a moment for directing energies constructively.

Yes, engaging in activism can be a stepping stone to longer-term manifestation of 2R vision in practice and in action.

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1. others are with e.g. Effective Altruism cf the post on Integral Altruism Others are with the contemplative folks – creat ↩︎