Thanks for the piece Jono, motivated me to subscribe to your substack. Hope it all calms down for you over the next few months. I've been reading Jane Mcalevey recently and one of the steps she talks about for union campaigning is inoculation (i.e. preparing workers for inevitable attacks that will come from management). The example you gave of the branch member who decided not to volunteer this time round because had bought into the LNP spin might just be due to underlying conservatism or susceptibility to propaganda. But if we can take anything away from that example maybe the Greens really need to up their game in terms of inoculation of members and volunteers against political attacks. Also as far as I'm aware there is no program of political education within the QLD Greens? Unless we count campaigning events, workshops as political education? Hopefully the party will continue to grow and resources for running political education can be found once the dust settles post federal election next year.
I think you're completely right about the Greens needing to inoculate supporters/volunteers against attacks. We did this informally for quite a few of the most common attacks e.g. "The Greens keep blocking new development!" but unfortunately the party didn't do it at all for attacks against me.
And no, the Greens don't have any structured, formal approach to political education. Occasionally elected reps or campaign teams will run policy forums on specific topics and training sessions on our key election messages, and our post-doorknock group debriefs with volunteers also play an important political education role, but there's no meaningful program beyond that. This is definitely an area for improvement, but I don't think anyone in the party is putting much effort towards it at the moment.
i cant imagine a much more vulnerable piece to write than this one, especially given the hostile context. i really value that classic Jonno radical-ness of balancing vulnerable humility with the courage to name the root problem and dare to expect better.
being the person who campaigned against a system set up to dehumanise you, i wish it didn't also fall to you to analyse and communicate the gravity of it. i want so much rest for you and i hope you can get some. having said all that, thankyou for writing it down.
ive also been thinking about PurplePingers' reception, looking back through the overton window at years of your sometimes-spicy-but-pretty-sensible-really commentary about vacant buildings, and wondering how many of the other Jonno (& friends) visions got pinned on (and disappeared behind) the doppelganger.
thanks again for taking the time to share your analysis, its got me interested in Naomi Klein too. wishing you many warm cuppas and some cracking art, music and poetry.
Thanks for the piece Jono, motivated me to subscribe to your substack. Hope it all calms down for you over the next few months. I've been reading Jane Mcalevey recently and one of the steps she talks about for union campaigning is inoculation (i.e. preparing workers for inevitable attacks that will come from management). The example you gave of the branch member who decided not to volunteer this time round because had bought into the LNP spin might just be due to underlying conservatism or susceptibility to propaganda. But if we can take anything away from that example maybe the Greens really need to up their game in terms of inoculation of members and volunteers against political attacks. Also as far as I'm aware there is no program of political education within the QLD Greens? Unless we count campaigning events, workshops as political education? Hopefully the party will continue to grow and resources for running political education can be found once the dust settles post federal election next year.
Thanks heaps for the support!
I think you're completely right about the Greens needing to inoculate supporters/volunteers against attacks. We did this informally for quite a few of the most common attacks e.g. "The Greens keep blocking new development!" but unfortunately the party didn't do it at all for attacks against me.
And no, the Greens don't have any structured, formal approach to political education. Occasionally elected reps or campaign teams will run policy forums on specific topics and training sessions on our key election messages, and our post-doorknock group debriefs with volunteers also play an important political education role, but there's no meaningful program beyond that. This is definitely an area for improvement, but I don't think anyone in the party is putting much effort towards it at the moment.
i cant imagine a much more vulnerable piece to write than this one, especially given the hostile context. i really value that classic Jonno radical-ness of balancing vulnerable humility with the courage to name the root problem and dare to expect better.
being the person who campaigned against a system set up to dehumanise you, i wish it didn't also fall to you to analyse and communicate the gravity of it. i want so much rest for you and i hope you can get some. having said all that, thankyou for writing it down.
ive also been thinking about PurplePingers' reception, looking back through the overton window at years of your sometimes-spicy-but-pretty-sensible-really commentary about vacant buildings, and wondering how many of the other Jonno (& friends) visions got pinned on (and disappeared behind) the doppelganger.
thanks again for taking the time to share your analysis, its got me interested in Naomi Klein too. wishing you many warm cuppas and some cracking art, music and poetry.