[Peace-discuss] Re: [Peace] Re: Memorial in Champaign-Urbana

[Bob Illyes]

Neil makes some good points. He just convinced me that I should show up at 
the memorial.

I should say a few things about Laurie's prediction of the end of AWARE.

AWARE is a group of anti-war (and anti-racism, but this has always taken a 
second place to war) people who differ on other issues radically. This 
didn't matter initially, because AWARE was run more on the affinity-group 
model, and AWARE meetings were just coordinating meetings for a number of 
autonomous activist groups, some AWARE working groups and some not.

This works very well. Problems arise only when consensus-bullies threaten 
to stop all action unless AWARE takes or does not take certain positions. 
The usual resolution is that AWARE as an organization takes few positions. 
This is good. The working groups can and do take positions.

This is how affinity group collaboration works. The main problem in 
affinity groups is the consensus bully. They always show up, sooner or 
later, and commence to drive people out who aren't sufficiently 
"ideologically pure" as they see it, or unfortunately in too many cases 
just people that annoy them. AWARE has a so-so record in dealing with this 
problem, as do most of the progressive groups in town that use consensus. 
If AWARE is brought down, it will be by not dealing with bullying effectively.

Bob