the meaning of political action

I spent last weekend at a meeting of the network-in-formation on civil disobedience, non-violent action and (social) movement. About 40 people, for the most part in their late thirties or early forties, gathered in the seminar house on a farm near Hannover. Surprisingly for me (as this isn't a "scene" I've hung out in before), about 6 or 7 distant friends of mines were there too. The circles of political activists are comparatively small and tend to close and loop in on me when I don't necessarily expect it (Over the past weeks, I've found out that several people I knew from one part of my life knew several people from another corner of my life, including people I met in France during my trip last summer).

My motivations for going were kept consciously low and minimal. A friend of mine, Xavier, co-founder of the civil disobedient network in France and whom I got to know last August in the far west of Brittany, definitely wanted to go to the gathering. His German is about as good as any French person's, and as he was also keen on seeing me again, he did his best to convince me to go and translate for him. I was hesitant at first, for although I was obviously interested in the meeting (mainly out of reasons linked to activist academic research) I had been trying to free up time en bloc for a translation I'm doing (for yet other political friends). Eventually I agreed and finally accepted (for myself) to present myself as nothing more than an interested observer and interpretor. I pledged to keep out of any new tasks and avoid taking on new responsibilities - something that naturally happens at such gatherings.

Amidst these people I knew little to nothing of, I felt I wasn't as at home as in my usual political circles. I realised after a while that what I mainly missed was the common implicit rejection of the state as an instrument of power and hierarchy. This circle of people, as connected to the usual definition of civil disobedience as a critique of one law, one public order, but not of state orders in general, aimed for public opinion and cannot, therefore, voice too radical and absolute a critique of the system. My friend Heinz, anarchist and also at home in more radical circles as this one, has known some of the people for ten years and told me at length about the history of the movements and people who came together in the network, so that I could differentiate my first impression. It nevertheless remained clear that some of the most vocal of the people there were very keen on drawing a clear limit between themselves, the "non-violent" (though each person has a different understanding of non-violence), and what they decided to call the "post-autonomous", which sounded like a big category for all the more radical people they didn't understand and were afraid of.

The more I get to know the extra-parliamentary left scene in Germany, the more nuances I see between the groups, the more I learn of historical processes explaining why so many groups are now half at war with one another. A sorry situation for the movement, but I suppose it's no different in other countries - although the Germans have a tendency to spend hours having theoretical discussions that eventually split up everybody in different camps ("sich todplenieren") (Xavier was very surprised at how happy the people seemed to be talking for two hours on theoretical questions)

What I was most impressed by was the endurance and self-conviction of so many of the activists there. Some have been organising large actions of civil disobedience for the past ten to fifteen years - civil inspections of stocks of nuclear weapons (storming a military place), stopping uranium and nuclear transports with train or road transport blockades, storming the NATO headquarters with about a thousand people etc. And even though the social situation in the last ten to fifteen years has not evolved positively, and at best stagnated (in terms of social liberties and social justice), they remain convinced that the path of political action they chose for themselves, for their lives,
is the right one. They have stuck to their one or two issues - a certain regional antimilitary struggle, or GMO fields for instance - apparently without doubts.
And of course their struggles are important and need to be fought. Of course we need people like them who organise large, visible actions. Yet I can't help wondering how such people function - for I am unable to want to focus on solely one issue, one political path and convince myself this is the one and only right thing for me. I admire their endurance and self-conviction.

In a moment of doubt on the meaning of it all, I talked with Heinz about the significance of large actions. Of course, they can lead to a general public debate on an issue, to a shift of social values within certain limits. But the effort is so large, and the effect so minimal. There Heinz pointed out one further effect of large masse actions: spreading the spirit of resistance as well as providing fields for a practical experience of grassroot democracy. He gave me one example in addition to the last G8: some ten years ago, one anti-nuclear transport blockade action was so large and inspiring that it lead to a radicalisation of a workers' struggle. For one demand or other, they had taken over the mean of blockades for their struggle. The union bosses had however concluded an accord with the politicians, and told the union grassroot they could now stop blockading. The grassroot however wasn't happy with what the union bosses had concluded and continued their struggles in spite of the orders to stop. I'm not sure anymore whether Heinz said they received what they demanded. The important thing however is that a group of people who tend to listen to their hierarchical structures were inspired to take their political struggle in their own hands.

I'm still not sure what form of action I want for my life, and how I want to position myself in relation to all the various scenes. Am traveling tomorrow for four days to one of my three East German friendly farm collectives. They officially invited me to stay for "longer" this year, and I want to talk about it with them. Having vastly non-commercial networks and structures to organise my life seems to be my main form of political life for now.

Gestalt

I officially quit my job - well, announced I would quit. I will continue sitting at the office twice a week until the End of May, and then I've last freed myself from this self-inflicted senseless boredom. Which means I'm going back into the translation trade. Fortunately, I received a well paid translation from friends of mine, and another contact and a small translation job via a co-worker. I wasn't really asking for anything, but jobs seem to be flying to me whenever I need them. Yesterday, I even received a mail from a person for whom I worked once, one day, four years ago (!), asking whether I'd be interested in translating a document for them. Pleased, I was to get this message from my life that quitting was definitely the right decision and wouldn't be any problem. (I refused the translation though - I'm not desperate enough to bother translating a contract for a highly technical waterpipe company).

It's about time I announced that I've fallen in love. Anew. A relationship of freedom and respect for self and the other, and good communication. And much more, of course.

And otherwise: this month will be spent translating, a weekend spent with civil disobedients, half a week on Karlshof again at long last, attempts at organising /finding a large communal flat with friends. The city takes too much energy, and I'm still trying to learn the mastery of zen in an urban context with so many exciting people and projects everywhere.
I'm alive.
And: I am.