Obama Fight Club training is not for the faint of heart. Grueling physical fitness is almost never required. Nor is the ability to punch through dry wall [but it comes in handy. seriously. I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked to make holes in dry wall with my fists of fury!?]. In reality OFC training is pretty simple, it’s a two day tour de force of all the possible things that a field organizer might ask you to do, which includes but is not limited to: phone banking, data entry, canvassing, setting up events online, emailing supporters, making copies, putting together packets, and other official campaign shenanigans. As a member of OFC, whenever a field organizer asks you to do something you do it [apparently that includes driving the elderly around, just call me morgan freeman in ‘driving miss daisy’].
But before you can master these skills, you must pass the first official test of OFC: the story of self [ohh now the diary gets serious. Put your pseudo intelligent glasses on].
Being a member of OFC doesn’t mean you have to be an expert on the issues. Your views on policy are kept to yourself. Your only weapon in the field is your story; The story of your past, why you feel compelled to support Obama, and why you decided to take action are the only things that truly resonate with voters and other supporters. OFC discourages you from sharing your political views, instead they want you to relate on a personal level to those you come into contact with.
I’ve canvassed a few times in New Mexico, as a part of some OFC training, and I must say it was a pretty sad experience. Not because I got a shit load of doors slammed in my face or that I ran into a lot of republicans, but just the opposite. I was sent to the projects to canvass, in one of the poorest counties in NM, to the areas where people are happy just to keep their heads above the water. Not only did I meet the nicest people ever [almost every person I talked to invited me inside their home to eat or sit, which I had to decline. See: OFC rule #15. confession: i broke the rule a couple of times] but almost all of them were Obama supporters. The depressing part of the whole event was that the people that need change the most, the people who cant afford 4yrs of Republican terror let alone a mere 4 more months are those that can’t even make their voices heard. I’ve talked with those silent Americans that have no say in this election, the residents and the immigrants; and they desperately need change.