Community organizer

[a.e.B.O.T.]

Jane Addams, César Chávez, Samuel Gompers, Martin Luther King, Jr., John L. Lewis, and Paul Wellstone were ALL community Organizers according to wikipedia. Its loosely defined, but it is about awareness and getting community and civil rights in to action. The best example is MLK, his whole work as we know it through our generic education on Civil Rights is essentially "community organizing." Of course, community organizers can fall on altering sides of standard morals and ethics.

I think the disrespect to the position as a generality presented at the RNC was ridiculous and unfair. Their work can be greatly compared to politicians and definitely associate themselves with local and national politics.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by a.e.B.O.T.

Jane Addams, César Chávez, Samuel Gompers, Martin Luther King, Jr., John L. Lewis, and Paul Wellstone were ALL community Organizers according to wikipedia. Its loosely defined, but it is about awareness and getting community and civil rights in to action. The best example is MLK, his whole work as we know it through our generic education on Civil Rights is essentially "community organizing." Of course, community organizers can fall on altering sides of standard morals and ethics.

I think the disrespect to the position as a generality presented at the RNC was ridiculous and unfair. Their work can be greatly compared to politicians and definitely associate themselves with local and national politics.

Do conservatives ever describe themselves as "community organizers," even if the label fits the job they do? I suspect that the RNC is disrespecting the terminology more than the actual work.

And maybe it's helpful to remember that the context, at least for Palin, was responding to people who wanted to minimize the work involved in being a small town mayor. And from that perspective her barb wasn't far off.

All the folks you name in your post were leaders who worked on behalf of a cause(s), but they were leaders who got to shape and define any responsibilities they took on, as opposed the the well defined responsibilities and accountability of being a mayor.

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Do conservatives ever describe themselves as "community organizers," even if the label fits the job they do? I suspect that the RNC is disrespecting the terminology more than the actual work.

And maybe it's helpful to remember that the context, at least for Palin, was responding to people who wanted to minimize the work involved in being a small town mayor. And from that perspective her barb wasn't far off.

All the folks you name in your post were leaders who worked on behalf of a cause(s), but they were leaders who got to shape and define any responsibilities they took on, as opposed the the well defined responsibilities and accountability of being a mayor.

Yes, conservatives do use the term. One of the anti-choice organizations in the area is quite fond of it...or at least they were until the GOP declared war against it.

[crescent&pearls]

You meant a pro-life organization, right? As opposed to a pro abortion organization? People we've got to stop that kind of rhetoric and respect that we can disagree on important issues and still stand together as Americans, evaluating each candidate fairly, and knowing that we won't agree or disagree with either on on every position they take or decision they have made or will make.

Back to the topic, I've seen a few interesting programs on Obama's work as as a community organizer over the past few days and it's helping me, an undecided, registered independent form a better understanding of his experience and point of view.

So when did this term come into the current usage? From what I've seen Obama was working as a community activist or advocate, and a big part of what he was doing was registering people to vote and encouraging them to do so. So why call it "organizer" instead of activist or advocate?

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally Posted by crescent&pearls

You meant a pro-life organization, right? As opposed to a pro abortion organization? People we've got to stop that kind of rhetoric and respect that we can disagree on important issues and still stand together as Americans, evaluating each candidate fairly, and knowing that we won't agree or disagree with either on on every position they take or decision they have made or will make.

No, I don't mean pro-life, I mean anti-choice. They call me anti-life, I call them anti-choice.

[BetteDavisEyes]

Originally Posted by GeekyPenguin

No, I don't mean pro-life, I mean anti-choice. They call me anti-life, I call them anti-choice.

HAHAHAHAHA!

FTW!

This is very true. My hubby's relatives all keep saying I'm anti-life so I say they are anti-choice which really pisses them off. They claim they are for choice as long as choice is defined by them.

[pbear19]

Originally Posted by crescent&pearls

You meant a pro-life organization, right? As opposed to a pro abortion organization? People we've got to stop that kind of rhetoric and respect that we can disagree on important issues and still stand together as Americans...

I am tickled to death by the irony of a post that asks to stop 'that kind of rhetoric' immediately after using the term 'pro abortion'. I would think that pro abortion would be equally troublesome to pro-choicers as anti-choice is to pro-lifers. (If not more so, because many people like me are pro-choice but not necessarily pro-abortion.) I am not meaning to pick on you, crescent&pearls, but it really did strike me as deliciously ironic.

As to the original topic, I don't know when community organizer became common terminology, but I've heard it for years. I don't have anything more than anecdotal evidence, but I personally don't think it's a terribly new phenomenon.

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally Posted by pbear19

I am tickled to death by the irony of a post that asks to stop 'that kind of rhetoric' immediately after using the term 'pro abortion'. I would think that pro abortion would be equally troublesome to pro-choicers as anti-choice is to pro-lifers. (If not more so, because many people like me are pro-choice but not necessarily pro-abortion.) I am not meaning to pick on you, crescent&pearls, but it really did strike me as deliciously ironic.

As to the original topic, I don't know when community organizer became common terminology, but I've heard it for years. I don't have anything more than anecdotal evidence, but I personally don't think it's a terribly new phenomenon.

I feel the exact same way as you on that sis.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by pbear19

I am tickled to death by the irony of a post that asks to stop 'that kind of rhetoric' immediately after using the term 'pro abortion'. I would think that pro abortion would be equally troublesome to pro-choicers as anti-choice is to pro-lifers. (If not more so, because many people like me are pro-choice but not necessarily pro-abortion.) I am not meaning to pick on you, crescent&pearls, but it really did strike me as deliciously ironic.

I took to be intentionally ironic.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I took to be intentionally ironic.

Me too.

What's the organization that you mentioned, Geekypenguin? It seems odd to me that "community organizer" would fit for an anti-abortion/ anti-choice group? Who are they organizing, picketers?

On the other hand, I can see how you might be organizing a community to for women who were having babies and needed support, in which case, you might actually be Pro-Life. What group was it?

I hadn't realized the RNC had declared war. It seems like they were making fun of a job title.