The Virtues of Basketweaving
Originally Presented by Yasin at Nomos Birmingham
This speech was part of Nomos Birmingham
Last speech of the day, got a lot to live up to, eh? Firstly, I want to thank the Nomos crew for making this event possible, you have done a phenomenal job and this has been a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Round of applause everyone!
Now, I do not think I could possibly match the articulate and well thought speeches of Wickett, Panama Hat, or Adams. Nor, quite frankly, do I intend to. No, I am here now to tell you about Basketweaving!
Originally, this was going to be the point when I would show a basket and make the oh so funny joke about Basketweaving being actually about weaving baskets. I forgot to bring one though, but, no mind, I am sure I can salvage this speech somehow.
Over the course of this evening we have heard a great deal about vanguardism, and the idea that we must create an organised and effective elite, ready to strike when the time is right. To take the places of authority, both structurally and morally, when our current rulers are 'cleared out'. However, it is all well and good to say these things, but in order to achieve these high and mighty goals, we need to start somewhere. Starting somewhere, and quite frankly, starting small.
The term 'grassroots' gets thrown around a lot these days, often in scorn due to the prevalence of astroturf organisations. Once you get past the cynicalism though, I do believe there is some merit to the term and concept. Grassroots organisations, genuine grassroots organisations, can be highly beneficial to a movement, providing much needed structure, expertise and leadership to the general masses that make it up. Such an organisation, however, needs to be strong, with a unified creed and overall objectives. There must be strong leaders, people that rise from amongst the crowd and take responsibility when no one else will. Without these, such an organisation will inevitably crumble, and so often will the movement it is associated with.
Basketweaving, in my humble opinion, is the grassroots organisation of our movement, and what will form the basis of how we move forward. Being a truly grassroots movement, we have the opportunity and the ability to move away from our previously mostly online movement to one that is based and successful in the real world. Not that I would want to stop the online aspect by any means. Keep posting your funny yellow dogs and happy green frogs, I love them, they are great. It is important, however, that we understand and fully appreciate the internet as supplementary, rather than the basis, of what we do.
To me, Basketweaving has four key benefits to the dissident right movement at large. These are:
Sense of belonging, networking
Having fun
Self development
Leadership
On the first point, simply put, knowing that you are not alone in your ideas and thoughts is a massive benefit, both mentally and physically. Knowing that there are others out there, people that you can talk frankly with without fear of repercussion, to use the meme term, to reveal one's 'power level', is incredibly comforting. Indeed, events like this one show this as well, but these do not show up often. Basketweaving provides a much closer, much more casual and approachable way to create the authentic relationships we need to thrive, both as humans and as a movement. Within my local chapter, London, we have over thirty regular members and counting, from all walks of life, and I could not have asked for a better group of spackers to call friends.
Beyond making authentic relationships, another of the key objectives of Basketweaving is to just have fun! Not everything needs to be about politics all of the time, and sometimes, you just want go out and do something enjoyable. Within the London Chapter, we have had many great adventures, hiking, bowling, bouldering, even riding steam trains! We have done it all and then some. Having a group of people you can just hang out with and have a good time, there is a lot to say for that. Especially for some of us, that have, for lack of a better term, difficulties making friends or getting out and about.
That brings me nicely onto the idea of self-development. We speak a lot about strong men, men of action, the kind of men Rudyard Kipling describes in his famous poem 'If'. Well, much like the vanguard as a whole, we all have to start somewhere. Some more than others sure, but even the best of us will admit that we have a lot to learn and develop. Basketweaving is one way of doing that. You might meet someone skilled in a field or topic you want to get into, or perhaps a group of people, met through coming to weaves, maybe go on to work together to learn a specific skill. More than just professional skills though, there are many in our circles who I can only describe as 'fallen men'. Beaten down by the madness and isolation of modern society, they need a helping hand to bring them back into the fold. It is our job, nay our duty, to bring these men from the brink, develop them, and turn them into the men that will lead us to victory. No man will be left behind!
Lastly, through everything I have described, through building organisation, through working together, through developing ourselves, both as a group and individually. Through all of this, leaders will come to forefront. The men of action, ready to take point and make things happen. Any group, any movement, even an elite vanguard, needs leaders, lest it crumble to the forces out to destroy it. Fundamentally, I believe Basketweavers is where those leaders will come, and to that effect, we have already seen certain people take charge of their respective chapters.
Now then, it is all well and good me saying these things, after all, talk is easy, actually doing something, that takes real effort. Well, look around you, the proof is in the pudding, no not that pudding, the dinner is over! We have Weavers here from all over the country, some from Cardiff, some from Milton Keynes, some, believe it or not, from Birmingham, and over fifteen of us braved the journey from London. The various chapters of Basketweavers have made amazing progress in the last nine months so, since the soft-relaunch back in August of last year. Amazing progress, and yet there is so much we can still do.
So then, that leads me to you, all of you, that are not already Weavers. I have one simple question, why are you not? Basketweaving has allowed our previously scattered community to come together in a way not seen thus far. It has allowed us, in small local groups, to discuss our ideas, make authentic relationships, and ultimately build for the future. Is that not something you want? Well, it should be. Our movement depends on men with drive and determination, so get out there, become a Weaver, and be that man!
The right seriously needs to improve its name game because "basketweaving" is one of the cringiest possible names for a concept. When I first heard about it, I thought it was literally about basketweaving and thought it was the lamest thing ever. Just use the word organizing. That's basically what it is.