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Title: Affinity Groups Author: Destructables Date: June 14, 2011 Language: en Topics: affinity groups, how to, how-to, guides, and manuals Source: Retrieved on 21st June 2021 from http://destructables.org/node/54
You and your friends already compose an informal organizational
structure capable of tremendous achievements. Here’s the theory to go
with that practice.
You will need ( tools or supplies ):
Chances are, even if you have never been involved in direct action
before, even if this is the first radical website you have ever
encountered, that you are already part of an affinity group—the
structure proven most effective for guerrilla activities of all kinds.
An affinity group is a circle of friends who, knowing each other’s
strengths, weaknesses, and backgrounds, and having already established a
common language and healthy internal dynamics, set out to accomplish a
goal or series of goals.
An affinity group is not a permanent arrangement, but a structure of
convenience, ever mutable, assembled from the pool of interested and
trusted people for the duration of a given project. Once assembled, this
group may choose to be “closed,” if security dictates: that is, whatever
goes on within the group is never spoken of outside it, even after all
its activities are long completed. A particular team can act together
over and over as an affinity group, but the members can also participate
in other affinity groups, break up into smaller affinity groups, and act
outside the affinity group structure.
The size of an affinity group can range from two to, say, fifteen
individuals, depending on the action in question; but no group should be
so numerous that an informal conversation about pressing matters is
impossible. You can always split up into two or more groups, if there
are enough of you. In actions that require driving, the easiest system
is to have one affinity group to each vehicle.
Affinity groups can be practically invincible. They cannot be
infiltrated, because all members share history and intimacy with each
other, and no one outside the group need be informed of their plans or
activities. They are more efficient than the most professional military
force: they are free to adapt to any situation; they need not pass their
decisions through any complicated process of ratification; all
individuals can act and react instantly without waiting for orders, yet
with a clear idea of what to expect from one another. The mutual
admiration and inspiration on which they are founded make them very
difficult to demoralize. In stark contrast to capitalist, fascist, and
communist structures, they function without any need for hierarchy or
coercion: participation in an affinity group can be fun as well as
effective. Most important of all, they are motivated by shared desire
and loyalty, rather than profit, duty, or any other compensation or
abstraction: small wonder whole squads of riot police have been held at
bay by small affinity groups armed with only the tear gas canisters shot
at them.
Affinity groups operate on the consensus model: decisions are made
collectively, based on the needs and desires of every individual
involved. Democratic votes, in which the majority get their way and the
minority must hold their tongues, are anathema to affinity groups: if a
group is to function smoothly and hold together, every individual
involved must be satisfied. In advance of any action, the members of a
group establish together what their personal and collective goals are,
what their readiness for risk is (as individuals and as a group), and
what their expectations of each other are. These matters determined,
they formulate a plan.
Since action situations are always unpredictable and plans rarely come
off as anticipated, an affinity group usually has a dual approach to
preparing for these. On the one hand, plans are made for different
scenarios: if A happens, we’ll inform each other by X means and switch
to plan B; if X means of communication is impossible, we’ll reconvene at
site Z at Q o’clock. On the other hand, structures are put in place that
will be useful even if what happens resembles none of the imagined
scenarios: internal roles are divided up, communication systems (such as
two-way radios, or coded phrases for conveying secret information or
instructions aloud) are established, general strategies (for maintaining
composure, keeping sight of one another in confusing environments, or
blocking police charges, to name some examples) are prepared, emergency
escape routes are charted, legal support is readied in case anyone gets
arrested. After an action, a shrewd affinity group will meet (again, if
necessary, in a secure location) to discuss what went well, what could
have gone better, and what comes next.
An affinity group answers to itself alone—this is one of its great
strengths. Affinity groups are not burdened by the procedural protocol
of other organizations, the difficulties of reaching accord among
strangers or larger numbers of people, or the limitations of answering
to a body not immediately involved in the action. At the same time, just
as the members of an affinity group strive for consensus with each
other, each affinity group should strive for a similarly considerate
relationship with other individuals and groups—or, at the very least, to
complement others’ approaches wherever possible, even if these others do
not recognize the value of their contribution. People should be thrilled
about the participation or intervention of affinity groups, not resent
or fear them; they should come to recognize the value of the affinity
group model, and so come to apply it themselves, from seeing it succeed
and from benefiting from that success.
An affinity group can work together with other affinity groups, in what
is sometimes called a cluster. The cluster formation enables a larger
number of individuals to act with the same advantages a single affinity
group has. If speed or secrecy is called for, representatives of each
group can meet ahead of time, rather than the entirety of all groups; if
coordination is of the essence, the groups or representatives can
arrange methods for communicating through the heat of the action. Over
years of collaborating together, different affinity groups can come to
know each other as well as they know themselves, and become accordingly
more comfortable and capable together.
When several clusters of affinity groups need to coordinate especially
massive actions—for a big demonstration, for example—they can hold a
spokescouncil meeting. In this author’s humble experience, the most
effective, constructive spokescouncils are those that limit themselves
to providing a forum in which different affinity groups and clusters can
inform one another (to whatever extent is wise) of their intentions,
rather than seeking to direct activity or dictate principles for all.
Such an unwieldy format is ill-suited to lengthy discussion, let alone
debate; and whatever decisions are made, or limitations imposed, by such
a spokescouncil will inevitably fail to represent the wishes of all
involved. The independence and spontaneity that decentralization
provides are our greatest advantages in combat with an enemy that has
all the other advantages, anyway—why sacrifice these?
The affinity group is not only a vehicle for changing the world—like any
good anarchist practice, it is also a model for alternative worlds, and
a seed from which such worlds can grow. In an anarchist economy,
decisions are not made by boards of directors, nor tasks carried out by
masses of worker drones: affinity groups decide and act together.
Indeed, the affinity group/cluster/spokescouncil model is simply another
incarnation of the communes and workers’ councils that formed the
backbone of earlier successful (however short-lived) anarchist
revolutions.
Not only is the affinity group the best format for getting things done,
it’s practically essential. You should always attend any event that
might prove exciting in an affinity group—not to mention the ones that
won’t be otherwise! Without a structure that encourages ideas to flow
into action, without friends with whom to brainstorm and barnstorm and
build up momentum, you are paralyzed, cut off from much of your own
potential; with them, you are multiplied by ten, or ten thousand! “Never
doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the
world,” as Margaret Mead wrote: “it’s the only thing that ever has.” She
was referring, whether she knew the jargon or not, to affinity groups.
If every individual in every action against the state and status quo
participated as part of a tight-knit, dedicated affinity group, this
revolution would be over in a few short years.
You don’t need to find a revolutionary organization to join to get
active—you and your friends already comprise one! Together, you can
change the world. Stop wondering what’s going to happen, or why
nothing’s happening, and start deciding what will happen. Don’t just
show up at the next demonstration, protest, punk show, traffic jam, or
day at work in passive spectator mode, waiting to be told what to do.
Get in the habit of trading crazy ideas about what should happen at
these events—and of making those ideas reality!
An affinity group could be a sewing circle, a bicycle maintenance
collective, or a traveling clown troupe; it could come together for the
purpose of starting a local chapter of Food Not Bombs, discovering how
to turn a bicycle into a record player, or forcing a multinational
corporation out of business through a carefully orchestrated program of
sabotage. Affinity groups have planted and defended community gardens,
built and burned down and squatted buildings, organized neighborhood
childcare programs and wildcat strikes; individual affinity groups
routinely initiate revolutions in the visual arts and popular music.
Your favorite band—they were an affinity group. It was an affinity group
that invented the airplane. Another, composed of disgruntled Nietzsche
enthusiasts, nearly succeeded in assassinating Adolph Hitler during the
Second World War. One set up this website.
For affinity groups and larger structures similarly based on consensus
and cooperation to function, it is essential that everyone involved be
able to rely on each other to come through on their commitments. When a
plan is agreed upon, each individual in a group and each group in a
cluster should choose one or more critical aspects of the preparation
and execution of the plan and offer to bottomline them. Bottomlining the
supplying of a resource or the completion of a project means
guaranteeing that it will be accomplished somehow, no matter what. If
you’re operating the legal hotline for your group during a
demonstration, you owe it to them to handle it even if you get sick; if
your group promises to provide the banners for an action, make sure
they’re ready, even if that means staying up all night the night before
because the rest of your affinity group never showed up. Over time
you’ll learn how to handle crises, and who can be counted on in
them—just as others will learn how much they can count on you.
Although one of the rules of thumb for affinity groups is that they
should not be so large as to need formal structures for discussions,
larger meetings—between clusters of affinity groups, for example—may
require them. Be warned: using such protocol unnecessarily will bog down
discussions and alienate participants, and can even foster needless
antagonism and drama. On the other hand, if an assembly shares good
faith in a given approach and works out its details together, such
structures can make group decision-making quicker, easier, and more
responsive to the needs and interests of everyone involved. No system is
better than the people who participate in it; make sure in advance that
everyone is comfortable with the format you use.
In one common format, the discussion goes around a circle, each person
taking a turn to speak. In another, suited better to larger gatherings,
the group begins by agreeing on a facilitator, an individual who will
help keep the discussion constructive and on topic. Another individual
volunteers to “take stack,” keeping track of the order in which people
raise their hands to speak; if people feel it is important to make sure
different demographics represented in the group get equal time speaking,
this person can take a separate stack for each, and alternate between
them. Next, individuals propose items for the agenda of the discussion,
then come to consensus on an order for these items and, if time is
pressing, a time limit for the discussion of each. During the discussion
process, individuals can ask to respond directly to questions, so the
group doesn’t have to wait until the stack comes around to them to hear
their response. Individuals can also make comments on the process of the
discussion, urging people to focus when they are getting distracted, or
proposing a break so people can stretch their legs or discuss matters in
smaller groups. When it’s time to make a decision on an issue,
individuals make proposals, propose amendments, and then address
concerns until the group reaches consensus or the closest thing to it.