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GUIDELINES FOR ORGANIZING
1. First, people have to come together. This may require
some advertising,
or door-to-door recruiting.
2. Problems have to be agreed on. This calls for discussion. Once a problem
that everyone cares about has been identified, the process of
organizing
can move forward.
3. Early on, it is important to identify a leader, someone people have faith in.
The organizer should act as a consultant to the group, and not as
the
leader of the group.
4. Once a problem has been identified, build some spirit in the group. Let
people gripe about the problem. Encourage them to look at it
from a
number of different angles.
5. Begin to develop a strategy. Using the client, target, action system format,
help the group identify the elements that fit this scheme.
6. Then develop a plan. Focus on specific things that will be done. Be sure
that people agree, and not just because the leader or the
worker think
some-thing should be done.
7. If danger is involved, plan very precisely what will be done if certain situa-
tions arise. A feeling of safety will be partly connected to
the specifics of
such plans.
8. Analyze in what ways the opponent is vulnerable. How can he or they be
affected, so that behavior is changed?
9. Find some allies, preferably ones that are prominent in the community.
Ask them to endorse your actions, after filling them in on
the problem and
the group's plans. Don't give away the plans to people who
cannot be
trusted.
10. Go public with the problem. Find a way to protest that will get attention.
Have backup tactics if the first ones don't work. Help
group members
understand that the problem will probably not be solved
in just one
action, or even several actions.
11. Part of your tactics may involve becoming a nuisance to someone who
isin a position to do something about the problem. Be
sure to prepare
group members for criticism that may result from being a
nuisance in a
public way, no matter how unpopular the target.
12. Think about how to develop support. Use small fund-raisers, parties, the
arts, and other ways to get people involved and
informed about your
issues.
13. Think about how to keep up the group's spirit when things are not going
well. There will be times when everyone is
discouraged.
14. Persistence is a valuable quality when organizing people.
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