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delfinavannucci · 7 months

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Delfina Vannucci, Untitled (lumpy standing figure), 2023, Paper mache over aluminum wire, acrylics, approx 8 inches high

#delfina vannucci #contemporary art

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tomatofights · 2 years

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[n.b. lists abridged (by tomato, the person typing this) to those behaviors less specific to anarchist collectives and most likely to impact online communities. comments added by tomato are in italics and square brackets.]

The following is a by-no-means exhaustive list of behaviors that should send up red flags among collective members that the groups dynamics need to be reexamined to ensure equal participation...The reason we list these red flags is not so people who identify them in their own groups can point fingers or find fault, but so they might become aware that the dynamics of their group need attending to....

Group Behaviors

People walk on eggs for fear of upsetting the “leader.” People chastise others for having upset the “leader.”

Unsubstantiated rumors and gossip, especially attacking someone for being racist or sexist (hard to defend against [even without evidence]) or for unspecific offenses, such as being “uncooperative,” “unreasonable,” or “disruptive” (hard to prove or disprove).

A sustained campaign to discredit someone, with accusations such as “thief,” “liar,” and “control freak” being tossed around without substantiation or clearly trumped up (i.e., a person who borrows or loses something is declared a thief and a ban is called for [or a person who watches the “wrong” show is called a pedophile and a ban is called for].)

A petition [or call-out] being circulated for...signatures that vilifies someone. People signing such a petition [or sharing such a call-out] without any first-hand knowledge of the accusations, often in an attempt to be helpful....(Or to avoid angering the accusers and becoming themselves the subjects of the next petition [/call-out]).

Constant shit-talking about people formerly associated with the group, even in a humorous vein.

Calls for banning cropping up whenever there’s a problem.

Individual Behaviors

Acting exasperated that someone would waste the group’s times with trivialities.

Crushing dissent by fabricating distracting excuses or creating a smokescreen.

Trying to create a feud by consistently slandering someone behind their back or baiting them to their face. (For instance: is there someone who takes every opportunity to complain about the same person? “They’re a stalker/a sexual harasser/a sexist/crazy/out go get me, etc.”)

Using outright intimidation such as staring down, yelling, histrionics, or acting as if one is (barely) suppressing indignant rage.

Acting wounded or victimized when one is actually the aggressor.

Acting wounded or outraged whenever someone makes a reasonable request, like asking for accountability of an expenditure. (Extra-red flag: does this person consider themselves to be so far above the rules that govern the group that they might actually be appropriating the group’s funds or other resources?)

Making oneself indispensable by not allowing anyone to help or have access to the information they would need in order to help.

Suggesting (or insisting!) that fundamental principles [or behavioral norms and boundaries] should be set aside to deal with a crisis (or to appeal to important constituencies, like sources of funding [or attention, in the online economy]).

Having no patience for fundamental principles [or behavioral norms and boundaries] (implyng that they, or ideals [or behavioral rules] in general, are childish).

Relishing verbal arguments with those less knowledgeable or more vulnerable just for the glee of crushing them.

Demonstrating contempt for other people’s ideas or their right to express them (i.e., by scoffing, ridiculous, or belittling [i.e., calling people “freaks”]). Not to be confused with honest debate, which engages. Contempt only silences.

Controlling situations with fear by flying into a histrionic rage at insignificant provocations (i.e., a group didn’t put away chairs after a meeting....[or someone respectfully disagrees with a group’s de facto leader]).

Controlling situations with fear by predicting dire consequences. People who are worried or perceive an impending crisis are much more likely to succumb to manipulation.

Creating and spreading doomsday scenarios while setting oneself up as the lightning rod to deflect them,

Paranoia. Ascribing nefarious underlying motives to someone whose actions are merely uninformed or apparently innocent. Going on the attack is often the most effective way to avoid having to answer for one’s own behavior.

Creating self-fulfilling prophecies that serve one’s goals. (For example: repeatedly stating that the neighbors are becoming less and less tolerant of loud punk rock shows [or repeatedly warning that watching, reading, or thinking the wrong material will lead to dangerous or abusive behavior].)

Flaunting one’s knowledge (esp. of anarchism, collectivism, radicalism[, morally correct, anti-racist, leftist behaviors]) to set oneself up as the go-to person for advice on how to proceed.

from Come Hell or High Water: a Handbook on Collective Process Gone Awry by Delfina Vannucci and Richard Singer

#delfina vannucci #richard singer #ethics #collective ethics #high control groups

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wearepioneerspress · 9 years

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