Activist Circles

 I am realising how tiresome activist groups can be. I am on the periphery of two organising groups for Palestine. One is old-school with a clear governance structure, which runs pretty smoothly. I am not privy to the diagreements, which I am sure there are. The other is the group of staff supporting the student encampment. The student encampment appears to be pretty horizontalist in its structure, and the staff group is mix of old-school vs younger people who have their own ideas. I don't want to pick sides because I find each side almost equally tiresome. My observation is the students don't seek the guidance of staff and don't want staff to be involved in decision-making, although they want our support and solidarity. The staff do not seem to appreciate that. The old-schoolers fear that a badly organised movement could sabotage itself by being too aggressive or too soft or foolish. The younger staff seem more in tune with the students, but do feel they have a big part to play too. Two factions have formed among the staff group, and the whatsapp group and the much smaller Signal group are on fire. Anyone who hasn't checked their messages in a few hours would struggle to make hear or tail of what has transpired and what has been agreed upon. I have a newfound respect for the discipline of organisational studies. Organising a group of volunteers when the goal is not clear feels like a fiendishly tough business. There is nothing stopping people from leaving in a huff, and many do.