Talk:Affinity Groups

From WRIWiki

Comment Andreas

Hmmm - I have some concerns about Starhawk's piece.

First of all, it is very much based in US culture. But that is not my main problem with the article.

While we all might prefer this kind of long-term affinity groups described in the article, they are nowadays often the exception. My experience from many actions in Germany, but also from action in the UK, is that if affinity groups are formed at all, they are formed short-term, specifically for the action.

Obviously, that would be a different kind of affinity group, but nevertheless useful (better than no groups). I have a bit on that in my piece on decision making:

Very few affinity groups today work long-term. For example, the German anti-nuclear campaign "X-thousands in the way" works less with existing groups. Though they still exist and form the core of the action, most activists join as individuals or in small groups, and only form affinity groups on arrival. Therefore one or two days of preparation are needed before an action, to turn a chaotic mass into a community ready and able to act. And even this community is little more than an expanded core of participants. Most activists join spontaneously and without preparation, and the action has to be planned in a way that makes this possible (Jochen Stay, Preconditions and social-political factors for mass civil disobedience, The Broken Rifle No 69, March 2006).

In some way, it might be best to combine the three pieces on affinity groups, decision making, and roles in an action to one article (Starhawk talks a little about roles).

On the exercises:

I am not clear if the exercises come from the same source.

One exercise I saw used by the Spanish shows very well the usefulness of affinity groups in an action - or even sub-groups within an affinity group. The exercise is simple. People close their eyes and walk around. The facilitator needs a big blanket. S/he takes one of the people out and covers him/her with the blanket, so that s/he is no longer visible.

Then the others can open their eyes, and should quickly say who is missing...

As a variation, you can take out two people. Or you divide a big group into sub-groups, and repeat. People should then notice much faster who is missing.

Doesn't take much time, and is fun - more like a game.