Volunteers suppress political talk because it would sink their feeling of empowerment

Evidence

If volunteers and activists consistently sounded more public-spirited in backstage'' contexts, and more self-interested in more public situations, then they did not simply lack the language of civic obligation and solidarity that Bellah, Ignatie¡, Wolfe, and Wuthnow describe; they lacked it only in some situations. Volunteers lacked the language of solidarity when that language seemed dangerous, when the language of solidarity seemed poised to threaten solidarity itself, when speaking without already possessing the power at hand” seemed to be “just rhetoric.” The language protected a faith in the democratic process, given citizens’ intuited powerlessness, their emotion rules, as does their low valuation of public speech itself. — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 147 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

In direct contrast to the volunteeers’ neatly organized, quick meetings, the activists’ meetings often risked overwhelming members. Once the dam against political talk opened a little, everything came flooding through, threatening to drown the meetings altogether. — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 1242 (#expands, via linked claim)

The assertion that modern Italy was characterised by volunteer action is correct (commandos in the war could be added to the list), but it must be stressed that this volunteer action, despite its undeniable historical merit, has been a surrogate for popular intervention, and in this sense is a solution of compromise with the passivity of the masses of the nation. Volunteer action and passivity go together more than is thought. The solution involving volunteer action is a solution of authority, from the top down, formally legitimised by the consent, it is claimed, of the ‘best’ elements. But to construct a lasting history the ‘best elements’ are not enough; the vaster and more numerous national-popular energies are needed. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 2234 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Volunteers spontaneously raised environmental and racial concerns rather than avoiding them — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 64; Skilled, organized volunteers fall silent precisely when divisive topics arise in meetings. — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 96; People voice political opinions privately but suppress them in group settings. (+20 more)

Related

• Volunteers themselves restrict political talk to preserve their civic faith (similarity 0.86)
• Volunteers frame political talk as morally exclusionary of ordinary less-eloquent people. (similarity 0.86)
• People voice political opinions privately but suppress them in group settings. (similarity 0.86)
• Volunteers silence political problems to keep the empowering feeling alive (similarity 0.85)
• Volunteers welcomed structured political discussion despite avoiding it informally. (similarity 0.85)
• Volunteers collectively redirected each other’s political criticisms into private moods rather than public problems. (similarity 0.85)
• Believing public talk is powerless makes volunteers feel powerless. (similarity 0.85)
• Civic volunteers suppress political worry publicly despite private obsession with it (similarity 0.85)
• Volunteers silence political discussion to preserve their can-do optimism (similarity 0.84)
• Volunteer groups suppress political talk even though members privately care (similarity 0.84)
• Volunteers suppress principled political talk because it seems unseemly (similarity 0.84)
• Activists suppress their systemic political analyses when speaking publicly. (similarity 0.84)
• A shared meeting setting suppresses volunteered political speech that members hold privately. (similarity 0.84)
• Volunteer vanguard action masks rather than replaces mass political passivity (similarity 0.84)
• Volunteer groups lack respect for open-ended discussion of unresolved issues (similarity 0.84)

Broader Connections

• People hedge civic language where it feels dangerous or powerless #corroborates (0.90) — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 147
• Allowing political talk into meetings risked overwhelming and drowning the group #expands (0.88) — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 1242
• Volunteer vanguard action masks rather than replaces mass political passivity #complicates (0.72) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 2234