Increasing Bitterness vs Reconciliatory Relationship Building
One of the main critiques of Saul Alinsky style Community Organizing, Marxist approaches and Social Movement Theory is the use of techniques that increase bitterness and anger so as to create a critical mass of energy and to focus peoples energy to bring about change.
This is in general in direct violation of the principle of the cross of reconciliation.
Interestingly some groups learn this as in the following story:
In the 1980s, the IAF organizers switched from the Alinsky-style interest group model of organizing to relationship-based organizing, using power in relationships to act collectively. This merits a bit of explanation. Relationship-based organizing within the BBO and within the whole citywide body politic was a strategic shift to accomplish two things. One was to align collective belief systems (primarily Christian) and ways of acting, avoiding the confrontive
attacks on elected officials and public servants by citizens in a large mass meeting. Although the aggressive attacks certainly made transparent the hegemonic assumptions, power relationships, and, above all, how those in power saw
their constituencies (as simply means to the end of getting elected), the new Leadership reduced the use of this tactic.What the groups learned is that it is best not to alienate someone in power with polarization tactics when that public relationship is important to future issues. Time-tested ways of accomplishing organizational
goals through relationships proved more fruitful.
Accountability nights (as illustrated in the third story in this research) certainly still exist, but the intention is to hold elected and appointed officials accountable to what they have promised. Second, IAF organizers were able to sustain new organizations more easily if they were built on love and respect where Alinsky’s early organizations usually died within 10 or so years. A focus on building relationships was an attempt to sustain these large citywide organizations that were primarily funded by the people themselves.
Sue M. Scott, (2003) The Social Construction of Transformation. Journal of Transformative Education 2003; 1; 269, Downloaded from http://jtd.sagepub.com on April 6, 2009
Scriptural principles are alwasys vindicated by realities.