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Brian Dm's avatar

I have said they are different, I went to a protest, since that I have been actively anti BLM. This just puts it in perspective, thanks Mr. meme man

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CanadiaNerd's avatar

While I take all of this and agree, I will quibble in one place. When people I know who went to protests say "on the ground" or "grass roots" they literally mean "me and people like me" who aren't part of the organization. In that sense, they are different. These folks aren't part of the org. That is, I think they aren't engaging in a Motte and Bailey, so much as engaged in self-focused ignorant wishful thinking.

For instance, I didn't present it the way you did, but I just presented the gist of the new grievances from the chapters, in summary, to my quasi-ancom (latino, if it matters) housemate, and (a) he didn't know chapters existed, (b) knew the org existed but scrunched his face up in an "oof" when he found out there were and the central org hasn't opened it's coffers, and (c) didn't know about the executive director shenanigans, and (d) said "damn, that's a real problem" and indicated he was going to go back and check what he did with his donations to see where they went.

So, this article is important context, and valuable, but also, many are going to make the claim that the grass roots isn't the org, because they are like my housemate - grass roots supporters who barely knew there was an org, or how "org" it really was.

This may change. If anything these scandals may separate the org from the intention. That would be healthy. Very. But I think most of the differentiation by well intended people has been in this sense, not playing a Motte and Bailey trick. (That said, my experience is driven mostly outside of social media, and I only speak or my own experience here, I can't generalize it)

To reach those, this is why I communicated this article differently, without the "see, I told you it was garbage" flavor. :). That said, give the shit Pete took online, the tone of this article, in response to that experience, does seem quite warranted.

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