Stop the internet wars and go organize in your city or town

Look. I get it. It's fun to dunk on people, find community here and there, see you're not the only one who hates Hasan Piker / Destiny.

And yeah it's cool to clearly delineate yourself from democratic socialists / social democrats.

But this is just online. The loud people are really loud, whether you like them or not. You feel like part of a group, It's cool.

But it doesn't really matter, because all the other, not-permanently-online have never really heard of your wins and losses. They have heard of Hasan and Destiny, maybe, and possibly even have an opinion, but probably not one that is well informed.

Instead, these people in your community have real problems. Problems you can talk to them about, talk about possible solutions, maybe even start a petition, or otherwise get super involved.

With time, you'll find your people. You'll likely find that all the stuffy ou worried about online almost doesn't matter. There's very few tankies amongst socialists / bad neolibs among social democrats. All the DSA loudies you hear about? Yeah they are in the international committee, not your own chapter. Instead, you find real friends, co-activists, and finally, actual success against these fascists trying to take over your country.

So. How can you get there?

• Look around what groups already exist: Maybe your city has a tolerable DSA after all? Maybe your mayor's campaign? maybe working families party has actual meetings where you are?

• See if you vibe with the people: Even if you think group X is perfect, there's a non-zero chance everyone there suuuucks. Maybe they only want to talk, not act. Maybe they are all Castrofans. Maybe they are all boomers. It's ok. Try another group. Or start your own.

• And you know what? It's ok if you don't fully agree with people. Those folks in the actual local groups aren't gonna discuss for hours about Venezuela.

• This way, you get experience, you get engagement. It's fun. You'll start to actually change thigns to the better around you.

This post was sponsored by my inability to comprehend the very online discourse y'all americans bring here.

Get engaged. Social democracy didn't start from a monolith, it started from action and discussions and solving people's problems.