Non-Profit Industrial Beast

I am sittin here on my bed with a 2 liter of Ginger Ale in my lap drinking straight from the bottle to relieve my tummy pains. I thought about so many things today thanks to the people I have been around at this 5 day training in Chicago, part of a program called Young People for the American Way.

It’s got me thinking a lot about the institutions of white supremacy and capitalism. I hear other fellows saying the same thing as me, as far as radicalism and progressivism. We understand that we can’t all the way be ourselves in YP4.

I hear the excuse we all give ourselves “opportunity to tailor what I take away from here to my own work and beliefs, networking with others like me, etc…”

It has got me questioning all that I believe and what my path in life is.

If we are so against the system why do we allow ourselves to be so controlled by it, thinking it’s in the interest of the greater good? We say that there are ways that capitalism and white supremacy play out in our lives and that we must build parallel institutions and stop subscribing to all the rules of these systems but then we make excuses for ourselves to join a Democratic or “non-Partisan” organization that focuses on traditional methods of civic engagement (ex. voting) and say that we are only doing it as a stepping stone to organize radically, to organize from the grass roots.

Why, though? Why do we allow some far off old white people to shell money out for our “cause” because they feel bad and maybe even complicit in the system? After all they are wealthy folk in America…

It leads me to wonder…are we perpetuating and condoning the status quo by actively participating in the system, in order to “change” it? Are we being distracted by larger powers to never make a qualitative change in the minds and hearts of our people?

Today, in one of our sessions, another radical person, a male identified person, who is also a feminist, said “we as people of color can be players in the institution of racism without being racist,” like the cop just doing her “job” or an elected official who has a hand in passing regressive laws, when it comes to human rights.

If we apply this same logic (which I strongly agree with, by the way) to the organizing we are doing, is the non-profit industrial complex not the same thing? A piece of the problem, a cog in the wheel of capitalism and white supremacy? And if our answer to that is yes, why is it that we make excuses for ourselves to be in the same space as people who have faith in creating a dependence on old rich white folk in order for us to be able to get into a space to talk about how oppressed peoples should change the world?

Let me try to draw a picture of that for you (if I do have any readers somewhere out there haha)

If you give a man to fish, he eats for a day. If you teach a man to fish he eats for a lifetime. Ever heard this parable?

Well it is a lie.

….Why?

Because of the way this country is set up. Ownership. If someone owns all the fishing poles and waterholes, she then can take away the ability for a person who can fish to be able to provide for themselves and their families. The “owner” of said means of production (fishing poles and waterholes) then has the right to bargain with the person in order for them to have access to fish. They can say “to fish here you must give me 80% of what you catch, and you can only fish on Tuesday mornings,” this restricts access to fish, so this person can no longer “eat for a lifetime,” if they cannot get access to waterholes/fishing poles.

(Youtube “Ed Whitfield fish”)

So, with that as a reference, “teaching a man to fish” or training oppressed peoples on movement work, is not going to help those people change their situation. It will create a dependency on the training/teaching entity (in this case YP4). Do we want to create a dependency on this arm of the system? Can we not train and organize ourselves?

Furthermore, when you look at people who join these types of organizations, they have the “opportunity” to move up in positions in these orgs and that is problematic as well. It is problematic because it is essentially exploitation.

Why? I think it makes people dependent, complacent and comfortable with the way the world is, and that’s scary. It is scary because is that why we do this work? To be told we’re are powerful, strong, the best of the best, and then stay within our bubble and get paid to do the same for others?

It is exploitation because it is a group of people using their resources to sift through our communities, find the “best and brightest” and “train them to be leaders” this creates a structure that says, there is a type of leadership worthy of learning these things and being mentored. While it sound fine and dandy it leaves me thinking.

I’m thinking that if we are saying we need entities like YP4 are we saying we are not capable of cooperatively owning our own resources like this and using a popular education method? Building a strong foundation from the ground up as opposed to this, essentially, trickle down progressive mindset? Or are we just being lazy. I’m tired of having to prove I’m worthy of being developed cuz I’m “so talented”

I’M WORTHY OF BEING DEVELOPED FOR THIS WORK BECAUSE I AM ON THE OPPRESSED END OF THIS SYSTEM. PERIOD.

And I shouldn’t have to abide by the restrictions put in place by these entities when it comes to movement work, like having to veil my radical identity around progressive white donors.

I, and other members of my community and oppressed communities alike, should be able to OWN THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION AND ACCESSIBILITY of movement resources etc.

Thank you.