SWP expulsions and squabbles

[imposs1904]

I'd love to know what "hostile and insubordinate" consisted of

I hope the line: "you can shove this weeks quota of Socialist Workers up your arse, sunshine" was used at some point.

 

[two sheds]

I hope the line: "you can shove this weeks quota of Socialist Workers up your arse, sunshine" was used at some point.

They have targets for how many to sell a month? That's soooooooo 1950s corporate quality control.

 

[DrRingDing]

Slightly more details about the London SWSS thing: apparently the two CC members now in charge of student work organised a meeting with a large bunch of students to whack them back into line. And it went badly wrong as they were unprepared for a totally hostile and insubordinate response.

It keeps getting better.

 

[cesare]

I hope the line: "you can shove this weeks quota of Socialist Workers up your arse, sunshine" was used at some point.

Seems a bit tame compared to actually doing it.

 

[ViolentPanda]

I'd love to know what "hostile and insubordinate" consisted of

Not genuflecting in an obsequious enough manner?

 

[sihhi]

They have targets for how many to sell a month? That's soooooooo 1950s corporate quality control.

It's just a way of drawing funds from the student membership.

I know an ex-member - member only for a short while - couldn't sell them because other paper sellers were there at the same time, was young and unemployed, so by giving 15 or 20 x the cover price to the SWP pretending that they were sold, got away from the dreaded "pep talk" by the SWP full timer.

 

[cesare]

Not genuflecting in an obsequious enough manner?

"Audible murmurings and shuffling of feet"

 

[two sheds]

It's just a way of drawing funds from the student membership.

I know an ex-member - member only for a short while - couldn't sell them because other paper sellers were there at the same time, was young and unemployed, so by giving 15 or 20 x the cover price to the SWP pretending that they were sold, got away from the dreaded "pep talk" by the SWP full timer.

Wehey, 'pep talk' if you don't hit target - closer and closer to 1950s corporate quality control mentality

They need to be told that it's the system that's at fault - its the managers who set the system up that need the pep talk not the downtrodden workers who can't change the system they have to work under.

 

[Pickman's model]

"Audible murmurings and shuffling of feet"

rumblings

 

[cesare]

rumblings

Askance glances

 

[Pickman's model]

Askance glances

SIDELONG glances

 

[cesare]

SIDELONG glances

Those too

 

[Pickman's model]

a murmur of discontent

 

[cesare]

a murmur of discontent

Now is the murmur of their discontent.

 

[two sheds]

 

[sihhi]

Wehey, 'pep talk' if you don't hit target - closer and closer to 1950s corporate quality control mentality

They need to be told that it's the system that's at fault - its the managers who set the system up that need the pet talk not the downtrodden workers who can't change the system they have to work under.

Worse than that the middle-class members can "buy" their own Socialist Workers and avoid facing the music, working-class ones can't afford it so face the full "pep talk".
Obviously if the members were able to admit how limited their sales were to one another, they could organise a better system, but they are afraid of admitting it in case the secret is out.

Anyway, Callinicos admits he is notoriously bad at selling Socialist Worker:

"The great anti-war demonstrations in London this year - immortalized in all those photos of huge clumps of people filing along holding placards and banners - didn't just happen. They had to be organized by local activists all over the country. The SWP are only a minority among these activists, but most people involved in the anti-war movement in Britain would concede that we have played an important role. This reflects the concentrated impact that precisely the features you list - Marxist analysis, democratic centralist organization, and socialist vision - can have. Selling Socialist Worker weekly is part of the same process. It organises us to engage in a regular political dialogue with the people we encounter in our activities. Sure it can be done badly, even robotically (I'm notoriously bad at it), but the contempt that you show for socialist paper-sellers reflects more on you than on them."

 

[two sheds]

Worse than that the middle-class members can "buy" their own Socialist Workers and avoid facing the music, working-class ones can't afford it so face the full "pep talk".

Don't they know that it should be distributed according to need?

 

[kavenism]

she left two years ago apparently - over the initial investigation into this affair

Ah! I really am behind the times!

 

[sihhi]

Don't they know that it should be distributed according to need?

Most new recruits are given a highly selective history of their party which stresses the Socialist Worker as the key to just about everything good that the SWP does - as in that Callinicos quote about Socialist Worker and the STWC. The rank and file bulletins are basically forgotten, everything great about the SWP comes from having sold Socialist Worker which builds up the organisation via the united fronts. Having so many united fronts is in large measure a means to have more sales.
Traditional Saturday sales are less productive despite the SWP lead petition, so if you have more united front meetings then your paper-sellers aren't so overbearing and conspicious (some say "robotic" - I think that's harsh) at the kind of meeting/event where they might be sold.

 

[two sheds]

Interesting, ta.

 

[Nigel Irritable]

The CC members who crashed and burned with the London students were, apparently, Leather and Cardwell.

 

[electric.avenue]

It's just a way of drawing funds from the student membership.

I know an ex-member - member only for a short while - couldn't sell them because other paper sellers were there at the same time, was young and unemployed, so by giving 15 or 20 x the cover price to the SWP pretending that they were sold, got away from the dreaded "pep talk" by the SWP full timer.

I'm surprised by that. We (small town branch) were given targets by centre, but we just sold however many we could. It varied a lot - we had good Saturdays and bad Saturdays.

We might have been given the occasional pep talk, but no way I would have bought extra papers myself. If they didn't like it, they could lump it !!

 

[butchersapron]

And the lead member? Are you sure she didn't have tons of them under her bed?

 

[DaveCinzano]

The CC members who crashed and burned with the London students were, apparently, Leather and Cardwell.

Might I suggest:

​

HELL FOR LEATHER & CARDWELL​

​

​

​

 

[Pickman's model]

Ah! I really am behind the times!

You and murdoch both

 

[The39thStep]

Don't be mean to 39thStep. I'm sure he's already put his interest to afed by way of an email ALREADY.

your wish was my command

 

[electric.avenue]

And the lead member? Are you sure she didn't have tons of them under her bed?

I was t'paper organiser !

 

[imposs1904]

A bit of light relief from Facebook:

eta: A loyalist Swappie who set up the Hallas, Harman and Serge pages on Facebook has been using the dead comrades to push the CC's line.

 

[TremulousTetra]

Worse than that the middle-class members can "buy" their own Socialist Workers and avoid facing the music, working-class ones can't afford it so face the full "pep talk".
Obviously if the members were able to admit how limited their sales were to one another, they could organise a better system, but they are afraid of admitting it in case the secret is out.

Anyway, Callinicos admits he is notoriously bad at selling Socialist Worker:

"The great anti-war demonstrations in London this year - immortalized in all those photos of huge clumps of people filing along holding placards and banners - didn't just happen. They had to be organized by local activists all over the country. The SWP are only a minority among these activists, but most people involved in the anti-war movement in Britain would concede that we have played an important role. This reflects the concentrated impact that precisely the features you list - Marxist analysis, democratic centralist organization, and socialist vision - can have. Selling Socialist Worker weekly is part of the same process. It organises us to engage in a regular political dialogue with the people we encounter in our activities. Sure it can be done badly, even robotically (I'm notoriously bad at it), but the contempt that you show for socialist paper-sellers reflects more on you than on them."

Ha, not surprised.

We had one comrade our branch call Brian. He was just one of those people, if people were getting befuddled around an issue, he just had this knack of cutting through the bullshit ,and making things clear. He was absolutely hopeless on the paper sale. stood the totally unable to engage with people.

I on the other hand, sold loads of papers, and my contributions to the meetings were always met with,,,,,,,,,,,,,.

 

[The39thStep]

A bit of light relief from Facebook:

eta: A loyalist Swappie who set up the Hallas, Harman and Serge pages on Facebook has been using the dead comrades to push the CC's line.


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The Gerry Healy comments are brill