It's been a while since I've indulged in a rant on parliamentary procedure... and I'm sure no one is more thankful for that than the readership of Latte Republic.
But that's all over now.
I've watched the Occupy Bellingham movement up close since it started up just a few weeks ago and this, weirdly enough, is relevant to parli-pro.
The Occupy Bellingham General Assembly events, held every day at 5:30 p.m., are almost text book examples of a parliamentary phenomenon known as a "mass meeting".
Mass meetings are temporary societies that make decisions as a group using rudimentary parliamentary procedures to do so...
It would be more accurate to say that Occupy Bellingham employs a method that is based on Consensus Building than traditional Parliamentary Procedures. The group is ostensibly leaderless, with the roles of Chair and Secretary filled by volunteer/appointed members who perform the function on a per meeting basis.
Nonetheless, from a parli-pro standpoint, this is an opportunity to see group decision making unfold in real time, and with real results.
This is not to be missed, even if you are not a parli-pro geek.
History doesn't happen every day.
Go down to Maritime Heritage Park on any given day at 5:30 p.m. and see the democratic process unfold.
Fridays are particularly well attended, but there is a General Assembly every day.
The more the merrier.
No comments:
Post a Comment