this post was submitted on 19 Apr 2025
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They have seen a meteoric rise in recent years. Their sister/front organisations like ANSWER, Codepink, People's Forum, BTnews have all become household names. When I look at protests in the U.S., it seems so many of them are organised directly, or indirectly, by them. In comparison, organisations like the CPUSA or the DSA are lacking behind.

How and why?

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[–] ZWQbpkzl@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (7 children)

Of those "front organizations" the I only recognize is CodePink. I might have heard of People's Forum in passing and BT News doesn't even show up in google results. Even then CodePink are absolutely not a household name and seem like a sister organization. I haven't seen the PSL put forward any tactic beyond media attention. From Claudia's presidential run to showing up at protests with buckets of signs, everything the PSL seems to do is just media attention.

I'd love to be proven wrong. I'd love to see some evidence of PSL chapters supporting a union drive, or pressuring a local government to pass some policy, or some sponsoring some mutual aid effort, or any sort of direct action. I'd love there to be an ML organization that had a strategy beyond a protest to recruit burnout cycle.

[–] jack@hexbear.net 29 points 1 month ago (2 children)

pressuring a local government to pass some policy,

My branch got two counties to divest from Israel bonds

[–] SpiderFarmer@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago

Hello? Based Department?

[–] ZWQbpkzl@hexbear.net 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

With respect to not dox, I'd love to see how that was accomplished.

[–] jack@hexbear.net 19 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Consistent pressure, building coalitions to lobby individual council members on the most relevant approaches, big public shaming media campaigns (Your tax dollars are funding genocide while they but education and transit, "progressive" county exec is responsible for genocide). We're hosting a statewide conference to help other counties achieve the same next month.

[–] Jabril@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I've made similar comments in a different post and comrade @jack@hexbear.net had some good responses I'd recommend checking out: https://hexbear.net/post/4142649

[–] grandepequeno@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'd love to see some evidence of PSL chapters supporting a union drive, or pressuring a local government to pass some policy, or some sponsoring some mutual aid effort, or any sort of direct action.

This is all stuff that obviously happens, even materially probably, whether they succeed is a different question

[–] ZWQbpkzl@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago

Maybe branches are just as subject to regional differences as the DSA. All I see from the local branch is tailism, but I'm not plugged into literally every movement in the city.

[–] Ram_The_Manparts@hexbear.net 9 points 1 month ago

BT News doesn't even show up in google results.

Did you search bt news or breakthrough news. I just googled the latter and got tons of results, and I'm not even on the same continent as the PSL

[–] FunkyStuff@hexbear.net 8 points 1 month ago

BT News doesn't even show up in google results.

Breakthrough News has a pretty big audience on youtube.

[–] borschtisgarbo@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It's breakthrough news, I abbreviated it. They're not organising stuff on the ground, just doing daily news coverage online. They have about a million subs on YouTube.

[–] ZWQbpkzl@hexbear.net 8 points 1 month ago

That makes more sense. I still would not call it a household name.

[–] CaliforniaSpectre@hexbear.net 2 points 1 month ago

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DI1-jQlTmTq

They are currently in Sacramento trying to get SB332 passed to help keep utilities costs low. I think PSL has a chance to be the real deal.