Revolutionary tactics - a message that needs to be read

Copied from US Uncut... I think Brendan has some very good ideas here.

i've been watching the beginnings of this movement take root in chicago, and it's got me really excited to see people coming together and attempting to change the way the world works.

the left in america is currently incredibly marginalized, almost to the point where it isn't entirely sure of its own existence. that said, it is certainly undeniable that in the past few months it is beginning to figure out what it might believe in - and that it's not afraid to act on it!

essentially, what you guys are trying to accomplish is the germination of ideas. it should go without saying that the more successful the germination, the more energy the movement will gather. i've given a lot of thought to the germination of ideas, and i thought that i might share a little bit:

if the goal is to influence public opinion, you've got to take into consideration where the people are that you're trying to reach - and what are you trying to relate to them? if you guys were to start a campaign where you put slogans and concepts into the public space (on walls, on trains, written with chalk; spray paint; handing out flyers - i know you guys do a bit of this; dropping stuff in red eye boxes; starting your own publication etc,) then the recipient has no choice but to interact with your message.

take graffiti for example...and i realize that this line gets a bit blurry because its not legal, but legality isn't the discussion at this point in time, the discussion is of the dissemination of ideas. imagine yourself walking down the street and passing some graffiti - you have no choice but to interact with the artist's message. this is one of the only instances that i can think of where the standard social contract between messenger and recipient is reversed. take, for example - a rally; a concert; an art opening; a lecture; a movie. all of these things listed require that the recipient of the information willingly enters a situation in which they know they will be participating.

when you put concepts into the public space, you present passersby with a situation in which they have no choice over the fact that the information you're wanting them to take into consideration enters their system. it is the exact same method used by companies involved in advertising campaigns. the only downside is that they have the law on their side.

we're up against a lot - we're going to need some serious creativity, but moreover we're going to have to consider using methods that are very effective - time is running pretty short! corporate tax evasion is merely one facet of a world gone wrong, and human beings are spiraling toward extinction. if we're not willing to put concepts into the public space, the ideas will only be received by those willing (and conscious enough) to receive them. this results with informed people informing people who are more or less already as informed as themselves.

get the message out there! 
with visions of the future,

brendan

April 7, 2011 | brendan