Revolutionizing for the Masses
Avoiding Unnecessary Controversial and Offensive Comments
Radicalizing Oppressed Communities
"And so you ask, Whiat about the innocent bystanders?' But we are in a time of revolution. If you are a bystander, you are not innocent." - Abbie Hoffman, "Revolution for the Hell of It"
As we fight the system we often feel a ghetto mentality where we try to stay with only our radical kind and avoid the public. Preaching to the choir is like masturbation; sure, it's easy and it feels good, but it ultimately gets you nowhere. Getting out and changing society may be hard, but truth be told, that's the only way we can get anything done!
Look what an important member of society wears; it is almost always a suit, a tie, and a clean appearance and haircut. Having such an appearance yourself may feel like selling out (and it really is), but the average Amerikan has no respect for a pierced and dreaded freak in a patched black sweatshirt or jacket. You want to appear to be highly intelligent and as though you have all the answers but not too snobby; the public likes modest but demands a winner. So find a shirt that seems clean, steal a suit jacket, and testify! See also Public Speaking.
One of the keys to maintaining a good standing with the public is to keep your less important controversial opinions to yourself. If you are backing a particular cause it is of no use to go off topic and possibly lose moderates. It may even be useful to publicly disagree with a setup "radical" in order to prove your moderate status. Move slowly when dealing with the public, another spokesperson can advocate more radical positions in a few years, or maybe even you.
Look for what the general public is complaining about and try to find a way to explain your goals through that lens. For example, people concerned about the closing of a local factory are prime targets for anti-globalization efforts. They can be the white middle class families that will hit Amerikans in the heart. Helping locals by organizing a labor union will get you good exposure to ordinary Americans who are in trouble and have an open mind to alternatives to our current corrupted system.
Oppressed minorities and subcultures are often more easily radicalized than the mainstream worker class. Having a much clearer picture of the inherent injustice of our modern CorpGov system, they also provide us with an undeniable reality that middle and upper class college age radicals lack.
Look for groups that are being adversely affected by the same or similar circumstances that your group is opposing. It is important to investigate for possible conflicts of interest before perusing a relationship.
All social groups have those that stand out as leaders. It is important to know that in nearly all cases these leaders do not speak for the whole population, but they are a good starting point to muster as much support as possible. Places of worship, prominent families, and union leadership are good places to start. If you happen to meet a hip minister or preacher, they are often excellent public speakers as well.
A group often overlooked are seniors, often thrown away by therest of society they often would love to trade some light effort for a bit more of the limelight. If you can recruit a sharp committed retirement age person to your leadership council it will go a long way to making a mostly youth based movement appear respectable enough for those who want to believe. Recruiting a retired cadre means you have people not so worried about making a living who can work on your groups outreach projects while sharing a lifetime worth of experience and history.
It is important that you provide support to your partner organization or group if you expect to get help when you need it. It is worth keeping track of the support you receive when deciding how much you should be sharing in financial and time resources, make sure you are both sharing resources fairly. Publicizing social and activist ties strengthens both of your organizations. As the old saying goes, there is much strength in numbers.
There will almost always be points of conflict or at least disagreement between your groups. It is important to make an agreement possibly even in writing to avoid divisive questions and topics especialy at press confrences and public addresses. Instead of emphasizing the points of disagreement stress where you are in harmony.
It is important to consider the costs of partnering with a very controversial, violent, unpopular group, or even an aimless group, even if they do have similar aims and grievances. Bad coalitions may actually hurt your message with the general WASP public. For example, Martin Luther King's Civil Rights movement was considered more acceptable when compared to the frightening armed blacks following Malcom X, a clear and present danger in the minds of many white Amerikans, giving them an less of an excuse to just ignore the whole civil rights movement. Likewise, publicly allying with the ELF (for example) is probably not a good idea, since they've been branded "terrorists" by CorpGov, but use them as the radical fringe that you can be the acceptable moderate for. We can't please everyone, nor do we want to, it is our job to change them, but remember to look toward your future when forming a coalition.