Q: Third Rail; Dues And Other Inquiries.
- Thread starter einwindir
- Start date
Maybe call the paid membership the Independent Supporter's Trust. That way everyone can be a member of the Third Rail, but only paid members are in the Third Rail I.S.T. In conversation people would say I'm in the IST and give a little elevator speech if necessary. Something to that effect (doesn't have to be IST) would probably be a good idea so when people say I am in the Third Rail it is clear that that is not the same as being a paid member. I don't want to alienate people from the Third Rail with rumors or implications that it requires dues.
Great point. I think it would make sense to evolve into something like this ( I like the sound of IST) as soon as we get memberships rolling. I don't know if it will ever become an "official subgroup" of the Third Rail but at the very least it's better sounding than saying I am a "paid member".
@zl10
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Vain and pretentious? I am not naive to think that the political process works exactly as it should but we ARE the constiuents and although we may not represent a large part of the constineuncy we can certianly advocate and educate others. There is a lot of misinformation fed to the public by politicians activist groups exist to educate make the finer points known and then let the public decide. It is a big undertaking but can be done in a grass roots manor and in no way shape or form is vain or pretentious. Doing what I am describing is the opposiste of vain it is actually the exact way the process is supposed to work.
The process is absolutely malleable, how does he think the religious right became so powerful: A small subset of individuals (Women's Christian Temperance Movement is a good example) were able to prohibit ALCHOHOL! I'm surprised to see a Board Member give up so easily on trying to change policy...isn't that why we have this Supporters Group? To address issues that we believe in and take action? This is democracy, this is how it works. Is it always successful? No, but you can't expect to be taken seriously if you don't even try.
I am not a board member. It should be clear that I am not on the Third Rail board. I am not advocating for us to give up. I am being realistic. I know very little about the prohibition movement but I am sure there was probably a company that stood to benefit from prohibition working the backroom that had more of an impact than the Temperance Movement on prohibition.
Regardless, my point is rather that we should be realistic about the impact we can have and allocate our resources accordingly. I would rather this supporter's group allocate more resources to recruitment and charity work than lobbying for a stadium. I think we have limited lobbying potential because most of us are not part of the power broker's constituency. Most of us do not live in the Bronx, and I don't know if any Third Rail member lives in the district where Yankee Stadium and the potential NYCFC stadium is. If there comes a time when we need to show face, like town hall meetings and community feedback sessions, that is where we can be most productive. I just don't see where else we can make ourselves politically relevant.
If I could be presumptuous enough to summarize your post. We should absolutely work to fight NIMBYism, I think that is where we can be most effective since that will be a battle about which small group can be louder in order to direct the media narrative.
However, that is a late game fight. Before that happens t steps must be taken with regards to money and power. Everybody has to get theirs in the wheeling and dealing between the relevant parties. That is (hopefully) happening over the past few months. We have very little, if any , influence over that crucial part of the process.
