Thoughts on Organizing: The Listening Tour

As I have moved about the Southern Tier since Jan. 20, 2017, I have heard several people refer to some kind of listening process as a key in organizing. Then they usually say if it weren’t so atrociously time consuming, they’d be all over it. I would like to address this concern.

It is true that the foundation of all organizing is the art of listening. Not just because it shows respect for the people whose interest you require. Not because it flatters them. Listening is not a tactic or a means of manipulating people. It is a means of organizing them. Helping them develop their power.

Listening done well is the very definition of organizing. It revolves around one basic question: 

What are you up against? 

The question is revolutionary. 

You are not only asking for information, but for insight and analysis. You are not only listening but, in fact, probing:

You say you’re worried about ______. 

What could be changed that would make you feel better about that? 

Who would make that decision?

What would it take to get them to see it your way? 

Another word for this is “agitating.” (gasp!) 

Yes, for most people, it’s a stirring experience. They will think thoughts they’ve never thought before, see connections they hadn’t seen before, and surprise themselves by saying things they didn’t know they knew. They will be intellectually excited. 

“Outside Agitator” is the name of a scapegoat people in power love to accuse whenever constituents challenge their control. They’re not far off, but it’s actually the inside agitator, the person’s own self-organizing, that’s causing all the trouble. There’s not much any politician can do about that—at least, not in a free society.

In our culture, the individual citizen’s power lies dormant, like the pale sprout inside an acorn. What makes it start to itch and twitch and push its way to the surface is the realization that citizenship comes with a constitutional right to organize for change. It is the role of the organizer to pose the questions that awaken this power—tell me what you’re up against; why is that; who else feels this way; and what could be done to change it? This probing is the nascent, revolutionary act of organizing: of you challenging another person to organize her/himself. In working over these seemingly simple questions, a person crosses a threshold that cannot be uncrossed; for, once someone sees and feels his or her rightful place in a democracy, things are just different. For good.

Let’s review what each party in an interview is doing. The person being interviewed is being really heard, and knows it. S/he is being agitated into a thoughtful and creative state of mind, and may be having “aha” moments as his/her own analysis begins to clear some of the fog away. S/he may feel excited, exhilarated, empowered.

You, the organizer, are listening with full intent. You are learning about the person’s values and how those values are lived out. You’re listening for how this person understands his or her situation. Is s/he knowledgeable, reasonable, motivated, angry, passive, dismissive, deluded? You’re also gathering facts about the person’s grievances, assessing their viability as potential issues that an organization could take on. Is this person a leader? 

Finally, you end each interview with this question: 

Who else should I be talking to? 

You are about to find out to whom that person listens. It’s a powerful question, because in the course of several interviews in a given community, the same names will start to pop up over and over. This is the secret web of influence. You are uncovering the real leaders. Bingo.

Now, think about this. Is it necessary for you to interview every person in the community? (thinking, thinking ..)

No! Remember that you are tapping into a system that is already organized. People in a community already belong to neighborhoods; congregations; social clubs; interest groups; parent groups; sports teams; work groups, etc. They know each other. They’re already talking, influencing each other. 

Let’s use a corporeal model: you’re looking for the arteries, knowing there are veins and capillaries to finish the job! So don’t waste precious organizing time knocking on every door. The rewards just won’t be there. The organization you’re building is going to be a magnet. It will draw in all of the people who can be moved by democratic ideals, and that’s enough to get the job done. 

I’ll leave you with this: 

Platitude. A remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful.

Platitudes about listening are not useful to the organizing process. Nor is scattershot listening, which depletes precious resources. But an artful, disciplined listening process is the lifeblood of citizen organizing. Always was. Always will be.