Happy May Day!
May. 1st, 2017 07:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luzulaI held a speech today! \o/ I am pretty happy with it, and I am sharing a translated version of it below. Whyyyyyy do people hold boring generic speeches full of old leftist phrases about capitalism and class war? Why not talk from your own experience? Or talk about the concrete things that your organization does, so that people feel invited to join you? Anyway, here's the one that I held (in which I tried to do that):
A couple of years ago my mom told me that she never expected me to become the kind of person who was active in an organization. And it's true that I was more of a loner when I was young, but I was still surprised, since organizational work has become such an important part of my life.
It's often not easy to become active in an organization. Maybe you think that you don't know anyone and all the other people are friends, that you don't know enough, that you won't fit in, or that it's no use and wouldn't change anything. I didn't know anyone in the union when I moved here four years ago, and it was hard the first time I went to a meeting, even if I'd been active in the environmental movement before.
But to think of the alternative to being active--to think about all the things that are wrong that keep gnawing at you, to get stuck reading depressing stuff on the internet. Even if it's hard, you can actually do something about it, and do it together with other people. It does make a difference!
To be active can be to open your mouth at work and talk with a colleage about why it's a good idea to join the union.
It can be to stand up to a boss, your own or someone else's.
It can be to talk to strangers who turn out to be your allies.
It can be to sit up late at night swearing because your organization's liabilities and net worth don't add upp to your assets.
It can be to hold a speech for a crowd.
It can be to have a conflict with someone but still go on to find a way to work with them.
It can be to realize that you need to ask other people for help.
It can be to give credit to someone who's done something good, and support them when they need help.
It can be the joy you feel when you succeed in something you've been fighting for together.
Some things that need doing might be things you've never done before. You might feel like an impostor, like you don't know what you're doing. I've felt like that. But the feeling of learning and succeeding at something new will make you stronger, and when you've learned something, you can pass it on.
There are many things that need doing, and you can't do them all. But you can choose one or two things and do them. A while ago I talked with a friend who was going out on the streets of Kungsbacka to keep an eye on a group of Nazis. I had no idea, probably because I don't have Facebook and also don't live in Kungsbacka. But it felt good. He took care of the Nazis while I welcomed new members of the union.
If you feel hopeless, remember that hope is something we can create together. So if you aren't already organized and active, go ahead and do it, in the union or somewhere else! If you already are, take care of yourself and others, and appreciate the work we all do, because we can only change things if we do it together.
A couple of years ago my mom told me that she never expected me to become the kind of person who was active in an organization. And it's true that I was more of a loner when I was young, but I was still surprised, since organizational work has become such an important part of my life.
It's often not easy to become active in an organization. Maybe you think that you don't know anyone and all the other people are friends, that you don't know enough, that you won't fit in, or that it's no use and wouldn't change anything. I didn't know anyone in the union when I moved here four years ago, and it was hard the first time I went to a meeting, even if I'd been active in the environmental movement before.
But to think of the alternative to being active--to think about all the things that are wrong that keep gnawing at you, to get stuck reading depressing stuff on the internet. Even if it's hard, you can actually do something about it, and do it together with other people. It does make a difference!
To be active can be to open your mouth at work and talk with a colleage about why it's a good idea to join the union.
It can be to stand up to a boss, your own or someone else's.
It can be to talk to strangers who turn out to be your allies.
It can be to sit up late at night swearing because your organization's liabilities and net worth don't add upp to your assets.
It can be to hold a speech for a crowd.
It can be to have a conflict with someone but still go on to find a way to work with them.
It can be to realize that you need to ask other people for help.
It can be to give credit to someone who's done something good, and support them when they need help.
It can be the joy you feel when you succeed in something you've been fighting for together.
Some things that need doing might be things you've never done before. You might feel like an impostor, like you don't know what you're doing. I've felt like that. But the feeling of learning and succeeding at something new will make you stronger, and when you've learned something, you can pass it on.
There are many things that need doing, and you can't do them all. But you can choose one or two things and do them. A while ago I talked with a friend who was going out on the streets of Kungsbacka to keep an eye on a group of Nazis. I had no idea, probably because I don't have Facebook and also don't live in Kungsbacka. But it felt good. He took care of the Nazis while I welcomed new members of the union.
If you feel hopeless, remember that hope is something we can create together. So if you aren't already organized and active, go ahead and do it, in the union or somewhere else! If you already are, take care of yourself and others, and appreciate the work we all do, because we can only change things if we do it together.
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Date: 2017-05-01 08:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-05-01 08:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-05-01 10:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-05-02 09:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-05-02 01:42 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-05-02 09:35 pm (UTC)I thought May Day was not much celebrated in the US, but maybe it is in some places?
(no subject)
Date: 2017-05-03 02:02 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-05-02 01:46 am (UTC)I like that it uses direct language, and has info valuable to any listener.
I wish I had a Mother Jones icon.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-05-02 09:45 pm (UTC)Stemwinder, huh, I have now learned a new word. Interesting etymology, too.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-05-02 10:18 pm (UTC)Speaking of which, you wrote that you "held a speech." If you organized the rally at which you spoke, "held a speech" makes a little more sense. But mostly the idiom in English is "give a speech" or more formally, "present a speech." We do use "hold" with a rally, or a party, or a lead in the polls, or that darn bird in the hand.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-05-03 06:45 pm (UTC)Yeah, that was my Swedish creeping in--we say "hålla ett tal", where hålla = hold, and tal = speech, or etymologically I suppose it's tal = talk.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-05-02 05:27 am (UTC)What a good speech! You're so smart, Luz! I'm sure at least one person walked away with the intent to get involved.
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Date: 2017-05-02 09:46 pm (UTC)