And therein lies the conundrum.
Any new system we devise will include the same old people.
The Bible teaches us that we must be Born Again, giving up our old
lives and embracing that life laid out for us in the Scriptures. But
there again, some folks refuse to, or simply cannot change. And so,
even in religion, a new approach to living according to the Scriptures
winds up only creating a new Organization, a new structure that will
oversee our behavior. And within that new organization there will be
those who seize the opportunity to take control.
The problem lies within us, but we always look outside for answers.
If we were constructed differently we might simply throw up our hands
and join in, grabbing what we can grab for ourselves. But I see the
mess we're in as an opportunity. I seldom think in terms of winning
or losing. The mess is far to vast to talk in such terms. The
opportunity to suggest to folks ways of looking inside themselves and
beginning to think for themselves. And to trust themselves. This is
not a win lose thing. It is a never ending process. And until enough
of us are truly able to turn inward and think for ourselves, we will
continue to live in a huge mess.
Who knows how it will all end. We are not psychics. So we go on
plowing the fields while looking to the Stars.
Carl Jarvis
On 6/29/16, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Which is why I think that one must take individual differences into account
rather than assuming that if we change to a different system, our problems
will be solved. We may have, what appears to be, a better system, and
within
that system, there'll still be people with varying personality types, some
of whom may be sociopaths.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: Carl Jarvis [mailto:carjar82@xxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 11:16 AM
To: blind-democracy
Cc: Miriam Vieni
Subject: a lesson in how an activist becomes a tyrant
How do you tell if that activist working alonside you is in the fight for
the good of the many, or is waiting for the moment they can step on your
face in their climb to the top?
I looked up good old Dave Beck, one time president of the Teamsters
International(1952-1957). Here's some snippets that track the move from
activist to dictator.
As an aside, I remember the "takeover" of the Boeing machinists by the
Teamsters. The Machinists were effectively broken and Boeing quickly
instituted an "Open Shop" policy. The interference of the Teamsters set
the
employees back many years. And later the Teamsters tried to muscle in on
the Farm Workers in California, attempting to move Caesar Chavez out,
greatly weakening that Union's effectiveness.
.
Carl Jaarvis
***
As Beck's influence rose, Tobin attempted to check his growing power but
failed.
Beck was elected a vice-president of the Teamsters in 1940, and he began to
challenge Tobin for control of the union. In 1947, Beck marshaled his
forces
and defeated a proposed dues increase to fund new organizing.
In 1942, Beck began a six-year campaign to seize control of the
International Teamster newsmagazine. He ousted its editor and won the
executive board's approval to install his own man in the job in 1948.
In 1946, Beck successfully campaigned to amend the union's constitution to
create the post of executive vice-president. He subsequently won the 1947
election to fill the position.
In 1948, Beck essentially supplanted Tobin as the real power in the
Teamsters union. On April 22, 1948, the Machinists (which was not a member
of the American Federation of Labor, or AFL) struck Boeing in Seattle. On
May 28, Beck announced that Teamsters would seek to organize the workers at
Boeing, and formed Aeronautical Workers and Warehousemen Helpers Union
Local
451 to raid the Machinists. Beck and Boeing officials made a secret
agreement in which Boeing would hire members of Local 451-essentially
hiring
Teamsters as scabs and strikebreakers. After as many as a third of the
Machinists had joined the Teamsters, the Machinists agreed to return to
work
without a contract. Beck's actions were nearly universally condemned by
members of the AFL Executive Council. The AFL Executive Council met in
August 1948 to take action against Beck. The day before the meeting, Tobin
privately told associates that he would repudiate Beck. But at a secret
meeting that afternoon, Beck and his followers on the West Coast confronted
Tobin with a fait
accompli: Beck had allied with his long-time enemy Jimmy Hoffa. He now had
more than enough votes on the Teamsters executive board to overrule Tobin
if
he tried to fire Beck. At the AFL meeting the next day, Tobin was forced to
defend Beck's actions. Unwilling to embarrass an AFL vice president and
create a confrontation with the Teamsters, the AFL Executive Council
condoned the Teamster raid on the Machinists.
Five months later, Beck won approval of a significant reform of the union's
internal structure. Instead of the four divisions which existed under
Tobin,
Beck proposed 16 divisions organized around each of the major job
categories
in the union's membership. Although nearly 1,000 Teamster leaders attended
the conference in which the restructuring was debated and approved, Tobin
did not.
In 1951, Tobin's tenuous hold on the Teamsters was further exposed when Tom
Hickey, reformist leader of the Teamsters in New York City, won election to
the executive board. Tobin had needed Beck's support to prevent Hickey's
election, and Beck refused to give it.
Presidency
On September 4, 1952, Tobin announced he would step down as president of
the
Teamsters at the end of his term. But as the mid-October Teamster
convention
neared, Tobin and his supporters formed a draft movement designed to
subvert
Beck's control of the delegates. Beck retaliated by publicly supporting the
draft movement, but privately threatening to strip Tobin of his pension and
benefits should he lose an election.
At the convention which opened on October 14, the 77-year-old Tobin was
paid
well to vacate the presidency. His pay was increased from $30,000 to
$50,000
and the executive board was authorized to pay him this salary for life.
Beck
submitted a resolution asking Tobin to stay on as president, but forced
Tobin to refuse. As further humiliation, Tobin nominated Beck for
president.
He was elected by acclamation. Beck pushed through a number of changes
intended to make it harder for a challenger to build the necessary majority
to unseat a president or reject his policies.
