Comments on: Plane Stupid Turns Nasty, Gets Some Anger http://thesietch.org/mysietch/keith/2008/03/19/plane-stupid-turns-nasty-gets-some-anger/ Exposing Environmental Hypocrites Everywhere! Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:42:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.2.5 By: keith http://thesietch.org/mysietch/keith/2008/03/19/plane-stupid-turns-nasty-gets-some-anger/#comment-316 keith Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:39:09 +0000 http://thesietch.org/mysietch/keith/2008/03/19/plane-stupid-turns-nasty-gets-some-anger/#comment-316 Hi Russ I agree that there is most definitely a place for direct action, as opposed to symbolic non-direct action. I also don't believe scolding the public will get very far - there is almost always a negative reaction - they need to be taught a different way of living, just like the corporations "teach" people to consume; and it does work with many people. Corporations have successfully been doing it for a couple of centuries. I am genuinely shocked at the number of committed people who have decided to take the corporate shilling (or the NGO shilling, it's really the same thing in most cases) rather than carry on with a radical mindset. Just because something doesn't work first time, doesn't mean that a rethink is not worthwhile - throwing in the towel and going mainstream is a huge loss, personally and potentially for all of us. I won't name names, even though I could. Cheers Keith Hi Russ

I agree that there is most definitely a place for direct action, as opposed to symbolic non-direct action. I also don’t believe scolding the public will get very far - there is almost always a negative reaction - they need to be taught a different way of living, just like the corporations “teach” people to consume; and it does work with many people. Corporations have successfully been doing it for a couple of centuries.

I am genuinely shocked at the number of committed people who have decided to take the corporate shilling (or the NGO shilling, it’s really the same thing in most cases) rather than carry on with a radical mindset. Just because something doesn’t work first time, doesn’t mean that a rethink is not worthwhile - throwing in the towel and going mainstream is a huge loss, personally and potentially for all of us. I won’t name names, even though I could.

Cheers

Keith

]]> By: Russ http://thesietch.org/mysietch/keith/2008/03/19/plane-stupid-turns-nasty-gets-some-anger/#comment-315 Russ Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:08:10 +0000 http://thesietch.org/mysietch/keith/2008/03/19/plane-stupid-turns-nasty-gets-some-anger/#comment-315 I agree completely that it is first and foremost the consumer who is at fault, and therefore should be challenged. (In any modern democracy, the people are overwhelmingly responsible for ANYTHING that happens.) But I wonder about the matter of strategy and tactics. Attacking things at the source, where there's a finite number of highly public (and therefore vulnerable to publicity) targets, seems a more promising line of action than being a public scold, where few are likely to take it personally, and few have any significant personal responsibility anyway. I say, yes, we should "scold" the public, but still expect the most results from direct action. Also, there's the matter of recruiting cadres, and keeping them committed. I imagine a direct action brings in more new members, and a greater proportion of them as activists, than public education advertising and doing the media rounds. All of that is hard, important work, but some people very much wish to go further, get out there and get physical. I know I wish I could, but I'm currently living somewhere (NJ) where the last such direct action was by SHAC, some years ago, and they were pretty much broken up here (and animal rights isn't really my issue anyway, though I sympathize with it to an extent). I agree completely that it is first and foremost the consumer who is at fault, and therefore should be challenged. (In any modern democracy, the people are overwhelmingly responsible for ANYTHING that happens.)
But I wonder about the matter of strategy and tactics. Attacking things at the source, where there’s a finite number of highly public (and therefore vulnerable to publicity) targets, seems a more promising line of action than being a public scold, where few are likely to take it personally, and few have any significant personal responsibility anyway.
I say, yes, we should “scold” the public, but still expect the most results from direct action.
Also, there’s the matter of recruiting cadres, and keeping them committed. I imagine a direct action brings in more new members, and a greater proportion of them as activists, than public education advertising and doing the media rounds. All of that is hard, important work, but some people very much wish to go further, get out there and get physical. I know I wish I could, but I’m currently living somewhere (NJ) where the last such direct action was by SHAC, some years ago, and they were pretty much broken up here (and animal rights isn’t really my issue anyway, though I sympathize with it to an extent).

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