The Pros and Cons of Community Organizing as an Avenue to Real Change

Introduction Community organizing is a powerful and time-tested method for promoting social and political change. It empowers individuals to come together, voice their concerns, and work towards a common goal. However, like any strategy, it comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. In this article, we'll explore the pros and cons of community organizing as an avenue to real change.

Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

The Pros:

Empowerment: Community organizing empowers individuals who might otherwise feel powerless in the face of large-scale societal problems. By working together, people can amplify their voices and have a greater impact.

Inclusivity: It fosters inclusivity by bringing together people from diverse backgrounds, giving everyone a chance to contribute and be heard. This diversity of perspectives can lead to more well-rounded solutions.

Local Focus: Community organizing often focuses on issues at the local level, where participants have a more direct impact on their immediate environment. This approach allows for more tangible results and builds a sense of ownership in the community.

Building Social Capital: It helps build social capital by fostering connections and trust among community members. These bonds can extend beyond the initial issue at hand and strengthen communities for the long term.

Grassroots Advocacy: Community organizing is inherently grassroots, allowing it to respond quickly to emerging issues and adapt to changing circumstances. This flexibility can be a significant advantage when addressing pressing concerns.

The Cons:

Time-Consuming: Community organizing can be a slow process. Building consensus, raising awareness, and effecting change can take years, which may be frustrating for those seeking immediate results.

Resource-Intensive: Effective community organizing requires time, energy, and resources. It may be challenging for marginalized communities with limited resources to engage in sustained organizing efforts.

Not Always Effective: Success is not guaranteed. Despite the hard work and dedication of organizers and participants, sometimes change is elusive, leading to frustration and disillusionment.

Potential for Division: Sometimes community organizing can lead to divisions within a community, as differing opinions and approaches clash. This can weaken the overall impact and cohesion of the group.

Limited Scope: Community organizing is primarily suited for local issues. It may struggle to address larger, systemic problems that require broader policy changes.

In conclusion, community organizing is a valuable avenue for creating real change in society. It empowers individuals, fosters inclusivity, and allows for a local focus. However, it is not without its challenges. It can be time-consuming, resource-intensive, and not always effective. Moreover, it may have limitations in addressing systemic issues. The key to successful community organizing lies in understanding its potential and limitations, adapting strategies to the context, and being committed to the long-term process of change. It remains a powerful tool for those who are willing to work together and advocate for a better future.

Source: I asked Chat GPT3.5 to "write a short article about the pros and cons of community organising as an avenue to real change".  The text and post title above is what it produced, I made some minor formatting changes and added the picture.

Listen better: Your filter bubble is limiting whose voices you hear

 

If you’re passionate about helping community organising, then during coronavirus you really need to be aware of your filter bubble.

Why? Because the bubble of online information you’re presented with is being filtered. And if you’re not aware of that then your listening won’t be what it needs to be.

A filter bubble is the reality of internet algorithms choosing what you see on the internet. This often means that, when scrolling, you end up in a bubble where the algorithms have filtered what you see based on the information they have about you, and what you do online.

If you think this is another conspiracy theory then try this experiment…

Sit down with a friend, type the same search term into Google, and look at how the auto search suggestions that appear below the search box are different. That’s the algorithms trying to present you with options they think you’ll be interested in.

Filter bubbles aren’t new – it’s just that the internet algorithms have given them steroids. Before the internet (ask your grandparents), the same bias was there – it was just evidenced in what newspapers people preferred to read or TV channels they wanted to watch (back when there were only four).

So one of the core principles of community organising is about listening. Via one to ones we begin to learn what people are angry or passionate or care about. However, in a day and age where we are intermittently living in lockdowns, national or local, how do we avoid filter bubbles impairing our listening? Here are three tips:

1)      As you spend more time online the filter bubble will affect you more. So make a conscious effort to subscribe or follow online sources you fundamentally disagree with.

2)      Remember that in these more digitally connected days, there is an inherent bias against those without access to decent broadband or kit that can use it. So make an effort to contact people via telephone calls to have one to ones.

3)      When you’re thinking about the self-interests of those with power – look at who they follow/subscribe to – and do the same for a bit to understand their perspective.