Activist PR

To be perfectly honest many, if not most activists are their own worst enemy. The battle we’re in at the moment is one for hearts and minds and the people who are attempting to increase their power over us know this - it's why their PR is better than ours.

I’m as short on information as everyone else but including Tame Iti in this round up is a smart move on their behalf. As far as the average white person is concerned he’s a scary looking freak who’s one of the country’s best know Maori radicals, he’s perfect for a setup.

Especially on TV it’s all about getting the superficialities right. Activists need to have tremendous discipline to make sure they play the game right in front of the media. It’s not for nothing that politicians get media training and it’s no surprise that their image doesn’t match their reality – the image is the thing that get’s them into power so that’s where most of their effort goes. I’m not asking activists to sell out like a politician of course, but I do think we need to be a hell of a lot smarter.

When I presented to my local council about Genetic Engineering, I focused a lot on the superficial aspects of the presentation. I got a haircut, I dressed up, I talked a lot about the economy and generally tried as much to look like one of them. I imagine some people would consider this to be selling out but what it really is, is removing impediments that stop conservative people from paying attention to the words coming out of our mouth.

If I could suggest anything it's to behave politely, look tidy and if you can’t remove the anger from your system and get to the level where you can share a joke with the reporter don’t talk to them. If you’re on TV especially you want to be able to smile and laugh off the police behavior. “Oh I think the cops have been watching too many Die Hard movies” said with a humorous tone will do more for our cause and more to make them appear paranoid then any amount of reasoned argument. Especially if it’s said by a good looking person.

As I said, it’s about discipline, the first activist to do anything unusual in front of a camera is going to get played ad infinitum on the box and will merely serve to reinforce the clichéd image of activists that the media has worked so hard to build up.

I think a lot of activists need to acknowledge the anger that comes out at times like this too. Feeling angry about this is entirely natural but if you get so angry you start saying the sort of stuff that is running through the comments at the moment you need to stop and take a deep breath. Here’s a comment that I did like:

"I admire anyone who is prepared to take a stand. What I don't admire is stupidity. Talk of the "enemy" and the "filth" is exactly the same melodramatic nonsense Neo-Nazis and criminals use to justify their antics. One who believes they can change the world by force is a fascist.

These sentiments are the kind of post-pubescent, purile fantasies I used to have. I have found better ways to influence people, occasionally I’ve taken it out on property. I try to avoid taking out my problems against other people. Simply because it doesn't work, and what goes around comes around….

The real enemy is within…"

Later the same person made this comment:

"Many laws and rules are unjust. However, it depends entirely on what and who you are dealing with. If you treat an individual with disrespect, would that person be likely to warm to your message and treat you well?"

So who is our enemy here? The people behind this definitely see us as their enemy, I don’t doubt that, but how high up do you have to go find those people? Certainly the cops on the street and the bureaucrats working for the state or for corporations - even journalists - are people we should be befriending (with care of course). In fact the people who are being used against us are the ones we should especially be befriending – it will make it very hard for them to do their job if they know us as real people.

As for the solidarity issue, if anyone has been unjustly treated they get my total support but if some of these people are stupid enough to do what the police say they are doing then we need to at least consider cutting them free. First of all resorting to arms won’t achieve anything. Resorting to arms is how this country was settled – if fighting didn’t work for the minority then it won’t work now. Secondly it’s stupid PR. The powers that be love it when people like this turn up, people always support their leadership when they feel threatened - even the most unpopular president in US history, George Bush, got huge support after 9-11.

In fact, if these people didn’t exist the government would have to invent them.