Organizing in Alabama

[lilbigman]

Hey,

My name is Tobias, basically trying to get the organizing ball rolling for folks down in AL. I myself am in Birmingham, I've been a regular at the OWS GA's in b'ham while I've been trying to figure out the next step in this process.

I'm thinking the Wolf-Pac and the push for this amendment is it. Not trudging through the system, but doing an end run around the system to get the change we need.

I'm just putting up this thread to see who else is in the state, where we all are and how we can work together, maybe pulling in connections we have to OWS into this to help us Occupy. Occupying is awesome, but I think at least part of it has to come with a specific purpose.

Let's see what we can do about getting it there.

[mrsous]

Tobias, hey thanks for posting. I don't live in AL, but I'm generally interested in politics and strategy and may can help people outside my own state in various ways.

First, let me try to orient myself - Birmingham is one of the more liberal cities in Alabama, right? I just looked and it's also one of the largest cities in AL, but it's less than 5% of the state's 4.7M at ~215k people. I imagine Alabama is probably solidly red with +55% voting Republican, but I've also read some really messed up stories about the big wall street banks and local heavyweights like the Tyson chicken guy screwing over the state and its various financially disadvantaged populations. On the one hand, I think it's unlikely that Alabama's state legislature will go along with a bill for a constitutional convention, but it certainly seems like if people had an effective mass movement calling for getting corporate money out of politics in Birmingham, that'd be on the local, regional, and maybe national news, depending on the tactics used and results attained.

So there's already an Occupy Birmingham? Have you spent much time out there? Because the Occupy groups are such diverse groups, you may be best off just making friends with people there and looking for people you like and could hang out with. At this point, I wouldn't worry too much about "connections" so much as I'd worry about relationships. To that end, look beyond Occupy and look for friends and/or associates in different groups in your area that pay attention to civics. From the Rotary Club to the Vegan Feminists to even the local Chamber of Commerce, it's worth finding groups relevant to your interests in which you can participate and advocate for your interests like the people with the big money do. Keep in mind, part of the reason the Tea Party was so successful was because it was a message that resonated with people who pull lots of water in small pools--I know local car dealers and franchise owners who were all gung ho about the TP, and they're the sort of people who know lots of people and are involved in their communities. If we want to have political power, we need to be part of society in a very boots on the ground sort of way.