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February 4, 2007 at 22:36:17
GRASSROOTS, WILDFIRE, SNOWBALLS and HOW TO REACH CRITICAL MASS MOVEMENT by Liza Persson Page 1 of 2 page(s) |
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An avalanche might be coming - but unless we see it in time and ride it right, we might break the neck of the political movement! Obviously something is happening to the movements working for social and political change - some of them have found over-lapping or even similar objectives and have joined forces enough to scare the s--t out of the Puppet Masters (1). Some snippets from the press: US President Orders Military To Begin Jailing All Civilian Protesters To War 
CHANGE
In yet another shocking prelude towards becoming a Total Police State, Russian Intelligence Analysts are reporting today that the American war effort's leaders have issued orders to the United States Military Northern Command authorizing the jailing, and military tribunals, for any American citizen critical of the 'war
Antiwar Groups Rallies around U.S:
Anti-war protests were held around the country on Saturday to call for the end of the U.S. war and occupation in Iraq. United For Peace and Justice estimated 500,000 participants took part in the demonstration in Washington. The police gave no official estimate. Thousands also protested in other cities. Speakers around the U.S.A included senators, presidential candidates, Iraq Veterans, active duty soldiers..... Another anti-war march is scheduled in Washington on March 17 to mark the 4th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.
But is it a beginning or the beginning of the end of this more joint movement?
Reaching Critical MassIt is not about the number of famous actors or activists showing up and speaking out, and it is not even about the number of people showing up per se.
What is significant is the heterogeneity of them and of the media sources covering it. That, in combination with the "How Many" and "Who", is what better tells if a movement has achieved or is close to achieving "critical mass" - a point at which it almost becomes like a snowball rolling downhill, self-perpetuating and, at large, unstoppable.
The Bush administration - the Puppet Masters behind and within it - may have shot themselves in the foot when they included so many groups of people in those that had to pay a price for their decisions. That made it easy for the activists for political change in Washington DC and elsewhere to make a huge amount of people identify with their anger and support them in their efforts: veterans, active-duty soldiers of all ranks, human rights activists, constitutionalists, members of the decreasing middle-class, the down-prioritized victims of Katrina, people in general fed up with being misrepresented, people seeing a connection between their insecure social security and the increased monetary security of a few recycled corporate- political players- it is now their pain, their loss and their struggle too.
That also made a large part of the societal foundation the USA Inc. gets its' financial and human capital from echo the chants of "No more" and "Hell no, we won't go!".
It will be hard to mount the backs and drain the pockets of people who both know the game and feel it is more beneficial to stop playing along than continue to be played.
The more groups represented in a movement, the more spread over the media-spectra of technology and different audiences, taken together with the numbers of people in some way and in public risking something personally to be part of it, is what will ultimately matter the most when it comes to the ability for a movement to gather popular support; defeat individuals fears of personal losses and reprisal;and make political, media and financial actors to either back them or at least cease trying to block them. If profit is what makes some powerful, then if it seems more profitable to support a movement than to obstruct or ignore it - then enough political and financial actors will.
So far the band-wagon to jump on has not been that of political change - the powers driving for change have been too fragmented in their efforts and actions, too silent (and/or silenced) and have come off as representing too little of the power-base that the population represents.
Yes, the people are still - as a whole and if only in unfair competition with money and net-workings in an unfair "game" - a power base due to the need for their human and monetary capital that makes the Puppet Masters powerful and capable(2).
Remember that change is always less powerful than inertia, status quo is always easier to maintain than radical differences. That is a disadvantage all societal activists, as well as all those who make promises on New Years Eve, have to take into account. That makes all efforts to achieve any sort of change uphill ones, and if there are societal powers fighting you - even more so.
How to create a Snow Ball
Although the movement will become more or less self-perpetuating once it reaches a certain point, there are certain actions and achievements that will help it get there as well as get it off to a good start and a goal-oriented journey. It helps to know what it is that makes it self-perpetuating in the first place. Although it can be divided into sub-divisions, the main reason a movement can become an unstoppable force, is that it is perceived as being too risky and costly to try to stop or ignore. And the main reason it also becomes a snow ball, not just rolling put also picking up strength, is because it is perceived as being too profitable or beneficial to NOT support.
It is much like in the stock market - if enough actors, or powerful enough actors, start investing into a certain company then others feel they would be silly not to do the same or at least to bet on an opponent since the aggregated support makes the success of the specific stock more likely.
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BOYCOTT EXXON/MOBILE
We need a united front to fight back seemingly omnipotent forces against efforts to protect the environment, provide social justice, and develop peaceful solutions to global conflicts. A focused boycott of the greediest, socially irresponsible, big oil corporation corrupting our government would send a strong signal that the citizenry is not having it anymore. In the Gandhian traditon, the people united, will not be defeated. BOYCOTT EXXON/MOBILE - CAN YOU HEAR US NOW! by Ramon Puga (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 30 comments) on Monday, Feb 5, 2007 at 9:08:10 PM  (0+)
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