After reading of actions at UC Berkeley to prevent a speaker from addressing a meeting, and disrupting a dean’s backyard party, as a veteran of the Free Speech Movement, the first thing that comes to my mind is "What was the goal of the protest?"
Resolving the conflict between being visionary and being pragmatic is critical for those who want to transform society. Can we be both visionary and strategic?
In real life, "leaderlessness" simply allows the loudest voices, the most charismatic, the most manipulative, and the most threatening, to dominate and intimidate everyone else — with no accountability at all.
The current political environment shows that activists must be flexible in choosing which political arenas are most open to their goals. Opportunities for state government to enact progressive economic measures are there for the taking, but are not being seized due to a lack of grassroots pressure that is connected to the exclusive focus on federal action.
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