Signs of hope and resistance---We are not the stereotypes we think we are.

Sections of the left seem quite willing to form a circular firing squad when we are most needed and most relevant. Many of us have bought into a stereotypical vision of the left that has us all or mostly white, middle-class, isolated, and either too conservative or ultra-left. While the firing squads load their ammo on Facebook and we fight over the meaning of the election results some people are moving forward and are, perhaps, recreating a left because the left isn't doing its job.

I don't want to exaggerate the dimensions of the moment we're in: I can't say that I see great evidence that people are moving leftward, especially working-class people like us, but people are looking at us and expecting something more from us than we're offering. Most left organizations are growing and are challenged by how to handle that growth. We could be building a united front, organizing and picking up victories in this period. By not doing this we're creating a vacuum which may prove debilitating in the future.

A quick look through the news today produces photographic evidence of people in motion. Are you with them or not?

Photo from The Guardian