Community Organizer

Editor,

Right-wing ideologues have turned the phrase "community organizer" into an epithet because President Obama, whom they hate, was a community organizer in Chicago.

This reminds me of the kid down the block bad-mouthing your brother to all of his junior high school classmates because your brother is a "rugby player." It makes no sense.

"Ohhhhh, that guy." (Roll eyes.) "A real good-for-nothing. A plumber!"

What community organizers actually do is --- organize communities. This means bring together stake holders like landlords, tenants, business owners, churches, parents, commuters, etc. and "facilitate" conversation among them so that together they can work out solutions to issues that concern them all.

Now I realize that "community organization" --- participatory democracy --- goes against the grain of right-wing authoritarianism, where "someone" --- namely the guy with all the money, who pays the cops, who have society's sanction to beat you over the head, lock you up, or shoot you if you don't acquiesce to the Big Man's authority --- makes the rules, and everybody else just better obey them or else.

So, hey. If you are on the rule-making team, I can see how "community organizing" rubs you the wrong way. But if you like the idea of conflicting parties talking over their differences and finding ways to coexist, then "community organizing" is quite a useful skill, and Mr. Obama seems to have a talent for this.

Re: "U.S. Economic Growth Slows to 2.2% Rate, Report Says" (4/28/2012)