Neustart Klima: Reflections At An Afterparty

This past Friday, I went to a demo and then a party. At the demo, there were 50,000 people wearing different clothes, waving different signs, playing different kinds of music, making different statements and taking different actions. All of them were sharing the same space, the same venue, because they shared a common cause: saving the environment before it's too late.

At the party I went to later, I saw hundreds of people wearing different clothes, playing different music, making different statements, performing different sets and dancing different ways. Everyone I talked to there agreed the party was largely excellent, even if it wasn't 100% tailored to their personal preferences at all times. But when I turned the conversation the demo, their responses were roughly the same. "Oh, I would have gone except I didn't like the name, catch phrase or the symbolism," "Oh, I don't think I'd like it, don't agree with a statement that a person there made," "Oh, that one group uses tactics I'm not on board with, or has beliefs that aren't like mine"... etc.

The irony of this was not lost on me. When it comes to a party, everyone seems willing to put their differences aside for a common cause, but when it comes to agitating for the future of the entire planet, people seem happy to expect that everything should be exactly the way they want it from the outset, before they will lift a finger to act.

I think it's a question of expectations. Activist movements have had deeply unrealistic expectations imprinted on them by stealth. The media reduces mass movements to petty, trivial stereotypes; politicians act as if we're doing them a personal favour by casting a ballot for their party. Online, trolls nitpick on every political discussion as if it's a winner-takes-all ideological death match, rather than a cooperative effort encompassing a wide range of views and approaches.

I'm not saying this to have a go - I understand how society got here. I've seen how the public perception of activism has been steadily revised over the years. I understand why people have the unrealistic expectations that they have... but none of these expectations reflects the reality of grassroots action. Just as the stereotypes about ravers rarely reflect the reality of the party scene.

Activism can be just as DIY, cooperative and diverse as any party, and it requires the exact same skill set (motivation, understanding, belief and flexibility) in order to succeed. Everyone I know has that skill set and could easily transfer it to activism at any time --- if only they didn't let their expectations get in the way.

More about this topic: The Right Way To Be Left