Editing Weather Underground (section)

===Practice===
Shortly after its formation as an independent group, Weatherman created a central committee, the Weather Bureau, which assigned its [[Cadre (politics)|cadres]] to a series of collectives in major cities. These cities included New York, Boston, [[Seattle Weather Collective|Seattle]], Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Buffalo, and [[Chicago]], the home of the SDS's head office. The collectives set up under the Weather Bureau drew their design from [[Che Guevara]]'s ''[[foco]]'' theory, which focused on the building of small, semi-autonomous cells guided by a central leadership.{{sfn|Varon|2004|p=57}}

To try to turn their members into hardened revolutionaries and to promote solidarity and cohesion, members of collectives engaged in intensive criticism sessions which attempted to reconcile their prior and current activities to Weathermen doctrine. These "[[Self-criticism (Marxism–Leninism)|criticism self-criticism]]" sessions (also called "CSC" or "Weatherfries") were the most distressing part of life in the collective. Derived from Maoist techniques, it was intended to root out racist, individualist and chauvinist tendencies within group members. At its most intense, members would be berated for a dozen or more hours non-stop about their flaws. It was intended to make group members believe that they were, deep down, white supremacists by subjecting them to constant criticism to break them down. The sessions were used to ridicule and bully those who didn't agree with the party line and force them into acceptance. However, the sessions were also almost entirely successful at purging potential informants from the Weathermen's ranks, making them crucial to the Weathermen's survival as an underground organization.{{sfn|Eckstein|2016|pp=76–77}} The Weathermen were also determined to destroy "bourgeois individualism" amongst members that would potentially interfere with their commitment to both the Weathermen and the goal of revolution. Personal property was either renounced or given to the collective, with income being used to purchase the needs of the group and members enduring spartan living conditions. Conventional comforts were forbidden, and the leadership was exalted, giving them immense power over their subordinates (in some collectives the leadership could even dictate personal decisions such as where one went). Martial arts were practiced and occasional [[direct action]]s were engaged in. Critical of monogamy, they launched a "smash monogamy" campaign, in which couples (whose affection was deemed unacceptably possessive, counterrevolutionary or even selfish) were to be split apart; collectives underwent forced rotation of sex partners (including allegations that some male leaders rotated women between collectives in order to sleep with them) and in some cases engaged in sexual orgies.<ref> [[Cathlyn Platt Wilkerson|Cathy Wilkerson]], ''Flying Close to the Sun: My Life and Times as a Weatherman'', Seven Stories Press (2007), hardcover, 422 pages, {{ISBN|978-1-58322-771-8}}, pp. 266–282.</ref><ref>Staughton Lynd, ''From Here to There: The Staughton Lynd Reader'', PM Press (2010), paperback, 305 pages, p. 110.</ref>{{sfn|Varon|2004|pp=57–60}}{{sfn|Eckstein|2016|pp=76–77}} This formation continued during 1969 and 1970 until the group went underground and a more relaxed lifestyle was adopted as the group blended into the [[counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture]].<ref>[[Cathlyn Platt Wilkerson|Cathy Wilkerson]], ''Flying Close to the Sun: My Life and Times as a Weatherman'', pp. 352–353, Seven Stories Press (2007), hardcover, 422 pages, {{ISBN|978-1-58322-771-8}}</ref>

Life in the collectives could be particularly hard for women, who made up about half the members. Their political awakening had included a growing awareness of sexism, yet they often found that men took the lead in political activities and discussion, with women often engaging in domestic work, as well as finding themselves confined to second-tier leadership roles. Certain feminist political beliefs had to be disavowed or muted and the women had to prove, regardless of prior activist credentials, that they were as capable as men in engaging in political action as part of "women's cadres", which were felt to be driven by coerced machismo and failed to promote genuine solidarity amongst the women. While the Weathermen's sexual politics did allow women to assert desire and explore relationships with each other, it also made them vulnerable to sexual exploitation.{{sfn|Varon|2004|pp=59–60}}