this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2024
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Is there much support for starting a chapter somewhere that doesn't have one?
I've been cursed to live in conservative states for personal reasons where there's essentially 0 presence, not even trots and maybe a small amount of DSA.
I'm assuming it takes someone of some skill to start that kind of effort, so probably even a simple reading group is better, but I'm still curious if I might be able to lend support or get involved outside their specific hotbeds.
Edit: honestly that training sounds dope too. I'd love to attend some sort of workers school if that kind of thing were still available.
I joined my branch when it was about two years old and have been in it for two years since. We are just now moving out of "pre-branch" - the period of intense direct support from national, including almost daily communication between our national contact and our local leadership. We'll now be a bit more independent, but that's because we were given so much guidance and support to build ourselves up.
I don't know what the very first steps of starting a fresh branch are like from firsthand experience, but my understanding is you first go through study as an individual member and then they help you build the branch from the ground up. The early phase is all about getting a small core of good organizers rather than building numbers.
I'm assuming that study isn't really available through the org unless you're nearby and able to attend events and such. Which would make sense with limited resources. I'll definitely be trying to re-locate somewhere closer to a branch when I can.
No, that's definitely not the case. We have a well developed system for building at-large members with no nearby branch. New branches get established through this process all the time.
Ah, that's very good news! I made that assumption since you said they don't really do on-paper members. I'd for sure be able to attend meetings, study groups, do digital tasks, etc if opportunities like that were available remotely. I'll probably fill out the interest form later this week and just see what happens. Though I have unfortunately heard of people being ghosted for months through that process.
We had more growth than we were prepared to manage and it was especially bad at the height of 2020 and the months following Al-Aqsa Flood. My understanding is it's much smoother atm, but yeah, it's a thing that happens. If you don't get a prompt response, consider other channels - the Instagram page for a branch in your state, even if it's not close, could be helpful.
Yes, I know people who have