million march! in New York City against nuclear weapons, Defense Secretary Alexander Haig said,! "Let them march all they want, as long as they pay their taxes." !!! Moral arguments and superior plans are essential but greed often ignores them, without threat.! And 'Hope' is another word for Weak-- we 'hope' the powerful will listen to reason and be nice to us.! However,! it rarely works that way.! Win/win strategies, without some threat, often lead to loss.! Even genuinely nice corporate managers are just part of the machine.! Behind all diplomacy must be an effective threat. So take the high road but use studded tires.! You prefer friendly resolution beneficial to all but are ready and willing to slam dunk. !!! Never overtly threaten violence.! It scares away friends and emboldens opponents.! Yet capacity for violence is the unstated bottom line.! Mahatma Gandhi was not executed by the British, because they feared the revenge of the masses.! And note Henry Kissinger's reply to Richard Nixon when Nixon proposed martial law in 1973.! "Mr. President, the American people won't tolerate martial law, and the American people are armed." !!! Attack values and ideas, not humans. It's more effective, too.! When opponents like you, they lose the determination that personal grudge drives.! They can sooner admit defeat.! And they'll actually respect you for knowing the game, even while angry at you for winning.
PREPARING THE THREAT
!!! Assess the situation.! What do they desire, and what do they need?! That's their vulnerability.! Then pick your fight, select your target.! ! !!! Here are examples of your leverage: !!! 1)! You can threaten corporate revenue.! They crave money.! When you touch their wallet you'll touch their heart.! Where do they get their money?! From customers, government, bankers,! investors, mafia, alumni, community donors, foundations, inventory, lawsuits, pensions, real estate, taxes, tourists, and theft. !!! Find out who owns them.! Start by searching nasdaq.com.! Enter their company symbol and look at "detailed institutional holdings."! Prominent owners of nearly all stocks include largest oil companies, drug companies, tobacco and media companies, and! major banks.! Some nonprofit groups buy a couple shares so they can introduce tough shareholder resolutions at annual meetings. !!! Find out who they own: go after weaker subsidiaries. !!! Find out where their markets and customer base are strongest and weakest. !!! Find out where they get their raw materials. !!! 2)! Corporate reputation. Profits! can be challenged with boycotts, demonstrations, divestment, safety. !! 3)! Authority.! Some folks crave authority even more than money.! From presidents to petty bureaucrats, they like to be "deciders." !!! 4)! Personal reputation.! The toughest among them seldom care what the public cares about them, but they care what their golf buddies and children think.! Some of these folks are surprising susceptible to criticism and ridicule.
!!! 5)! Personal employment.! They need to effectively defend the corporate bottom line.!! Remember, though, evicting a dictator or legislator or CEO is powerful only when it sets the stage for implementation of your plans.! Otherwise, it just changes faces, not policies. !!! 6)! Luxury.! Their toys are extensions of their egos.! Their car is their second skin.! Their yacht is paradise. !!! 7)! Liberty.! They own lawyers and even judges.! That's why there are few millionaires in jail.! That's why tobacco is allowed to kill 440,000 Americans yearly, while trillions were spent to not find Osama bin Laden.
DELIVERING THE THREAT
Your threat will have more impact if they hear about what you're planning from a third party rather than from your group directly.! It reveals that something ominous is happening beyond their control, that your group is resolute, and that they'll need to negotiate to prevent serious damage. When to Negotiate: Negotiate only from strength, never as mere petitioners or protesters.! Never believe politicians, corporate flacks or advertisers, even when they are occasionally sincere.! No matter how reasonable or likable, they are mere tranquilizers for corporate domination.! When you doze they will bulldoze.! Negotiate only when beneficial, not just to be nice.! For example, after our anti-highway group had clearly won, City Hall asked us to join a committee to negotiate, giving our group official status.! They were like beggars offering us dirt, but our group, over my objection, accepted their offer.! This revived the debate.! The argument continued 13 years before we won.! The decisive threat, finally, was to waste DOT's budget, forever draining resources from higher priority projects and construction companies. Where to Meet: their turf or your turf or neutral turf.! Official places where they're officials.! If you meet at their offices, get there early and sit in their official chairs.! Better to meet on your turf or neutral grounds.! Get agreements in writing then watch them like hawks. When to declare victory:! Define success.! Know when to declare victory. Win and lose gracefully, to lay groundwork for next challenges. _______________________________________________
How Elites Resist Change !!!Whenever grassroots activists challenge destructive Big Money, or their elected puppets, they face a sequence of resistance which generally goes like this: 1. IGNORE YOU: "This is not worth discussion."!! You have invited them to fix the problem quietly.! They refuse.! So go to the press. 2 "AGREE" BUT NEGLECT: "We care about (animals/good pay/trees/human rights) and you can be sure we'll take care of this matter." Nothing substantial follows.! The greedy will pretend to care about community, nature, peace, jobs, babies or kitties, only to the extent that common people prevent them from stealing.! Turn your back on these corporations and your jobs get exported, your homes get foreclosed, your children are sent to war and forests converted to condos. 3. TELL YOU YOU'VE BEEN RUDE AND ACT HURT: "We think you're being irresponsible, and unfair to us; we work very hard here on difficult questions, and you don't