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DISARM
DSEi 2005: Shut down Spearhead! |
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| >> Affinity Groups: A Beginner's Guide |
| Edited from Ploughshares and
Anarchism in Action, and re-written in parts by DISARM DSEi. What is an affinity group? An affinity group is a small group of about three to twenty people who work together autonomously on direct action or other projects. You can form an affinity group with anyone: friends, people from your community, workplace, or organisation, or people you meet at an event. Affinity groups challenge top-down decision-making and organising, and empower those involved to take creative direct action. Affinity groups by nature are decentralised and non-hierarchical. They are small so that discussions, participation and support can flow more easily. Larger groups tend to be dominated by just a few people and those left out of the discussion often do not have a chance to have their needs met or to contribute equally. As part of an affinity group on an action, you can move with your group, finding alternative routes and avoiding being trapped by cops without being isolated. Roles within an affinity group There are many roles that one could possibly fill. Medical - An affinity group may want to have someone with first aid / streetmedic knowledge, who can deal with medical or health issues. Legal observer - It may be important to have people taking notes on police conduct, e.g. circumstances of arrests, detention of crowds, or other police violence. Legal observers may face a dilemma of whether to stay out of the way to observe, or try to help. Media - You may want to consider how your group will relate to the media. You might choose one person to speak to the media, either on their own behalf or as speaker for your group. Arrest - People have different attitudes to risks of arrest, and arrests will have different consequences for different people. You may want to discuss these and plan your actions and look out for each other to minimise the risks, as well as considering how you can support anyone who is arrested. The roles within an affinity group can depend on the type of action you are taking. Sometimes the above roles may be inappropriate and individual roles can be defined by the nature of the action. It is important to plan exactly what each person intends to do as part of the action and talk through possible scenarios. What is a Cluster and a Spokescouncil? Clusters and spokescouncils can be useful particularly on mass actions. A cluster is a grouping of affinity groups that comes together to work on a certain task or part of a larger action. A cluster might be responsible for blockading an area, organising one day of a multi-day action, or putting together and performing a mass street theatre performance. Clusters could be organised around where affinity groups are from, an issue or identity or style of action. A spokescouncil is a larger organising structure sometimes used by affinity groups to co-ordinate a mass action. Each affinity group (or cluster) chooses a delegate to go to a spokescouncil meeting and decide on important issues for the action, having consulted the other members of their group. For instance, affinity groups need to decide on a strategy for dealing with cops, possible tactical issues, meeting places, and many other logistics. A spokescouncil does not take away an individual affinity group's autonomy within an action; affinity groups make their own decisions about what they want to do on the streets. How to start an affinity group An affinity group could be a relationship that lasts for years among a group of friends and activists, or it could be a week-long relationship based around a single action. Either way, it is important to join an affinity group that is suited to you and your interests. If you are forming an affinity group, find friends or fellow activists who have similar issue interests, and would be willing to use similar tactics. If you are looking to join an affinity group at a mass action, find out which affinity groups are open to new members and which ones are closed. For many people, affinity groups are based on trusting relationships based around years of friendship and work, so they might not want people they don't know in their affinity group. You might need to take the initiative and ask people you meet to form a new affinity group. Consider what you want to do and with whom you'd be able to get on. What can an affinity group do? Anything! They can take part in mass or smaller scale actions. An affinity group could drop a banner, blockade a road, provide back-up for other affinity groups, do street theatre, block traffic riding bikes, confront the police, destroy selected property, change the message on a billboard, play music or sing etc. There can be affinity groups that take on certain tasks in an action. For instance, there could be a roving group made up of street medics or an affinity group who brings food and water to people on the streets. What makes affinity groups so effective for actions is that they can remain creative and independent and can plan out their own action without an organisation or person dictating to them what can and can't be done. They can respond immediately to opportunities and problems as they happen. There is an endless amount of possibilities of what affinity groups can do. Be creative and remember: direct action gets the goods! |
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