Your group may want a private meeting as part of a series of meetings. You may consider inviting close friends to your house, or meeting at a restaurant -- maybe a picnic in the park if the weather is agreeable.
You might also want to meet privately with public officials for an off-the-record discussion about drug policy and the drug war. Others private meetings: a society of treatment professionals, or event at a ladies' club. The public isn't invited.
Journey for Justice: Palm Harbor, FL 2003
For example, during the Coalition's 2003 Journey for Justice, a couple with a grown-son in prison invited us into their home to meet and talk with two other couples, people they've known since childhood. We helped them explain to their friends the issue of the drug war and mass imprisonment, information they took in mostly because they cared about their friends.
A private meeting has distinct advantages for everyone. Unlike a public discussion, private meetings won't include media representatives and publicity. In the comfort of a living room, or in a ‘closed-door meeting,’ it is often easier to ask questions one would hesitate to ask in public.
Community "After" Meeting: Spokane, WA 2006
Intimate meetings, face-to-face, provide a quality of learning for everyone not always attainable in large, public gatherings.
November Board Meeting: Colville, WA 2007
Hosts of other private meetings found sentencing reform activists from groups whose missions overlap or harmonize with ours.
We're hoping, of course, that private meetings boost your confidence and everyone's interest in public meetings! Though less formal than many public events, plan them with purpose.
