EXERCISE: RULES FOR RADICALS
Saul Alinsky
Which of these rules resonate with you?
Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have
Never go outside the expertise of your people.
- It results in fear and retreat. It’s important to feel secure.
Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of your enemy.
- Increase their insecurity,anxiety and uncertainty.
Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.
- There is no defence.
Make the enemy live up to its own rules.
A good tactic is one your people enjoy.
- They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more.
A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
- Don’t become old news.
Keep the pressure on. Never let up.
- Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the side with something new.
The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.
- Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences.
Maintain pressure.
- Develop tactics and operations that will keep up the pressure and result in reactions from the opposition.
If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.
- Violence from the other side can win the public to your side.
The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.
- Make sure you have a solution to offer. Otherwise, the enemy scores.
Pick a target, freeze it, personalise it, and polarise it.
- Cut off the support network and isolate the target. Go after PEOPLE not institutions. People hurt faster than institutions.
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