Of Multi-Level Marketing and Politics

In case you’re not aware, the Philippine Presidential Elections happens next May 2022 and unlike other countries, we are shit show through and through. And so with the upcoming presidential election that will determine our fate another 6 years, we can’t sit it out. Sure, we vote. Sure we complain in our siloed social media, but it can’t just be that.

I was introduced the Spectrum of Allies and it struck me how this relatively simple framework was something that would give me structure as I tried to embark on “doing something” more than retweeting things. And it plays to my ideals of keeping connected with close friends/allies.

In a nutshell, I’ve bucketed connections into different stages of ally-ship with the goal of moving everyone one step to the left. It’s been a pretty interesting experience thus far, reconnecting with friends and family as I try to approach this from a place of curiosity rather than of coercion. Everyone is obviously entitled to their own opinion and hearing differing voices in this very polarised landscape has proven to be a little more challenging than I thought.

Still, it’s been quite eye-opening. And if you know what multi-level marketing is, the idea is that everyone I talk to will hopefully talk to their friends and their networks to have the effect of a pyramid scheme so that we get to reach our own spheres of influence and spread the word on the election next year.

It’s not much but it’s a start and at this point, being a bit far away from home and feeling disconnected, it’s a good way to stay involved. If you’re interested in learning more about this, let me know. I’m happy to have that conversation with you. Maybe you’ll be my ally too.