read

[flea]

Going Public, Michael Gecan. This is a book about political activism by a guy who organizes, primarily in NYC with East Brooklyn Congregations, as part of an organization called IAF, which I forget what that stands for. I read it because of the small activist group I am currently leading which lobbies the Looniversity on family-friendly policy. Things I learned from this book: I do not have the temperment or the interest in politics necessary to be a community activist. I knew this already, but this sure reinforced it. I think I am doing okay leading this grouo right now becaue Is ee my role as a coordinator and reminder, rather than an activist. I call the meetings, I remind everyone what we're working on, and that's a really important role. I (we) could be doing better in some areas: understanding the power structure of the Looniversity, and who actually makes the decisions that lead to change (I can't even keep the frickin' administrators straight); keeping a consistent message and choosing one issue to focus on at a time, and making small, manageable, concrete proposals for progess on that issue. So we'll talk about this stuff at the next meeting.

Home sick, basically as a gift to myself for the end of last week. (By "gift" I mean "I plan 4 loads of laundry and other domestic chores".) Last Friday night after I spent an hour walking to pick up Casper and return her home (my mother: "this is when you should take a cab!" me: "I'd forgotten they existed") I found myself huddled in layers and a blanket and hat on the study floor with a 102 fever. Casper was kept happy by the iPhoto slideshow, featuring herself (every time mr. flea was in a photo, she said "Dada!"), but boy was I getting tired of Minuet in G.

Comments

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

Is your journal title a Candide reference? Cause that'd be way cool.

[casperflea.livejournal.com]

Yes, and also it's about actual, you know, gardening, and also as a metaphor for raising a child.
See also, more eloquently than I could say: http://www.livejournal.com/users/casperflea/28801.html

[jesseh.livejournal.com]

IAF = Industrial Areas Foundation. Saul Alinsky, no?

[casperflea.livejournal.com]

Yes. I don't know how involved you are in NYC nonprofit politics, but he has some funny anecdotes, most of which date back to the Koch administration.

Do you have a sense of what the standard view of IAF style organization is? I'd be interested.

[jesseh.livejournal.com]

I'm not involved with organizing stuff now, but when I was in college, I thought I might be (Urban Studies major). So I don't really know what people think about IAF.