NJO: "Benjamin Wetmore: A mentor of mine; a genius",
said James O'Keefe in an interview in September 2009. So let's take a look at some of the wisdom of this certifiably
mentorial influence on James' life.
Today, from January 2010, "The Structure of Video Activism".
Speech:
The Structure of Video Activism
Ben Wetmore
1. figure out your values, and figure out what you want changed in the world
-easier said than done
-write out your values, write out your demands, it becomes a good action-list
-always a danger of mission creep
-many people get scared when things get dicey: anything controversial yields
to the common man's temerity and anxiety. It's when people are afraid that it's
most compelling, when you force them to take a side, when you make them physically
uncomfortable, you force them to reset those careful mental equations they've
constructed to live in a society with so many contradictions. Always force the
common man to wipe the chalkboard clean and start anew.
-this keeps you focused.
-the dan Flynn rule that all channels about entertainment eventually become
the E! television network. The desire for ratings, attention and popularity
will always, inevitably, over time turn you into playboy/hustler magazine unless
you have a solid foundation as to what your identity is, and so write out your
principles and stick to them.
Practical example: neocons we were working with only wanted to do stuff about
terrorism, they wanted to do all sorts of fabulous ridiculous and crazy things
that I liked, but only on their topic, and they then became hostile to anything
that wasn't advancing that agenda. The lack of an agenda will always eventually
yield to a minority's serious agenda in time.
Practical application: write a mission statement and don't be afraid to be
specific, then write out your demands. CM articles
2. pick a good and worthwhile target
-dont waste your time on bureaucrats/teachers/low-level people, strike the shepherd
and the sheep will scatter. Find the lever, find the man behind the curtain.
-pick one that's well known, someone worth dethroning. Don't waste your time
with low-level pukes who are just pawns of the king.
-pick the target, personalize it, polarize it and perpetually hit harder.
-explain to people the way in which the target hurts them, the way in which
they hurt real people. This takes creativity but fundamentally isn't difficult.
-don't be afraid to attack people the media tells you is on our side, some of
the best satire is focused on people who never get attacked: i.e. the banks.
Practical example: SGA vs. Ladner;
Practical application: name the target and set the goal; you want Mayor Smith
fired.
3. learn about the target, find out as much information as possible
-need an information network of sorts, need to be among the people
-you can't just start making accusations or just going off half-cocked
-good research skills usually involves a lot of reading and a lot of listening
-reconstruct a resume, look up lawsuits, make public records requests
-publish everything you find on a basic blog at blogger, don't hide your dirt,
the left does this with all their targeted congressional targets; the wash post
called me for dirt on ladner, and I told them I published it all, I didn't have
much to add; most journalists never publish the good stuff they find, they leverage
it for more access or use it to boost their prestige; most reporters are entirely
awful human beings.
Practical example: james accidentally going to a pregnancy center asking
for a racist donation for an abortion.
Practical application: make a menu of all the questions you want to have answered,
and make a separate list of all the known places of potential information
on your target.
4. identify and exploit their weakness
-with public figures, its the most common complaint everyone knows
-provide documentation to confirm the conventional wisdom: is he an alcoholic?
is he a womanizer? is he a gambler? feed into their preconceived expectations.
-hypocrisy always sells; use their values against them; internalize the values
and language of your ideological opponents, it breeds an amazing amount of confusion.
-read psychology/advertising/marketing and counterinsurgency books: influence
by cialdini is the best.
-gossip is often half-true
Practical example: PP racism; dog abortion; LTPC ("you're the most progressive
people here")
Practical application: understand your opponents and anticipate their reactions
5. structure the jokes and criticism
-make sure to get feedback, make sure your stuff is actually funny; major risk:
inside jokes that aren't funny to anyone.
-most jokes are relatively simple and direct
-pop culture references are easy and people latch onto them like white on rice
-always use a prop: the prop focuses their attention: make the prop funny in
itself (we spent hours talking just about props); always use a costume, but
make it relevant, chicken costume/bailout story.
Past props:
bailout - big checks
ltpc - gays
Chicken costume - all stunts
Gay marriage - assless chaps
ACORN - pimp costume
-new type of humor: awkward moments, a la the office; LTPC: Anton's comment
"well maybe you can learn"
Practical example: the gay marriage video doesn't have enough jokes
Practical application: write out the jokes about your subject that are actually
funny to normal people, and make sure those jokes are easily understandable,
don't hide the ball and don't depend on inside information.
6. find the natural allies and assess what they can do for you
-most of the time it's just word of mouth/marketing
-but it can also be additional people and volunteers
-they can also waste your time, so avoid the bitches: everyone has an opinion
and none of them are useful.
Practical example: SFLA is sitting on dog abortion; SFLA staffers also needlessly
delayed the PP-racism project on almost endless theological debates/disputes,
some groups and some people will never be converted, just as you can't stop
to kick every barking dog, you can't stop to engage and win over every dissenting
group whose support is conditioned on them agreeing entirely with you, most
of the time their assistance is only word of mouth anyway.
Practical application: write out the people who can help you, and what they
can realistically provide. Don't ask them for more than that, and don't involve
them more than that. It's a time-suck.
7. figure out your endgame
-a firing isn't enough, you want permanent systemic change; you don't want same
shit different day.
-best example: Rome's solution to Carthage; Carthage delondo est.
-howard dean didn't run to win, he ran to build a movement, and he did a fabulous
job. People laughed at Soros 'wasting' 500 mil. in 2004, but he used it to build
a movement and institutions that changed the world. His goal was not the Presidency
as much as it was the entire nation, that's an endgame.
-most people fail to dream big enough here, have big demands so that the compromises
are still amazing
Practical example: Ladner's gone and his replacements are still there, there
was never a period of denazification; ACORN will likely get refunded or just
change names; don't get depressed about this but keep perspective and find
a way to set your goals in such a way that makes their recovery impossible.
Practical application: have a few written major goals, the things that would
change the world if things were different. Have major unrealistic goals, because
realizing them is much more realistic than you think.
8. strike where they're weakest, don't let up at all
-remain formless and be immune from criticism, don't lie cheat or steal because
they'll find out and it'll make you a magnet for criticism; look at the insane
ways they criticize james, imagine if he had done something stupid-- it would
have been fatal to the project.
-dont fall for the trap that it's honorable to leave them alone when they're
down, when they're down, kick twice as hard
-use as many creative ways possible to 'expand the conflict' so that they're
fighting on all fronts; most people have zero ability to counter humor and art,
for example
-don't fight 'fair', fair is for losers, winners win.
-keep a hard heart, and remember that they kill babies for sport, don't feel
bad for them.
-it's like half-treating a virus, it'll adapt and grow stronger and attack again;
or a killer in a thriller movie, Jason is never really dead.
-always be the punisher, never forget and never forgive short of full conversions:
Michael schiavo will always be a free man for having killed Terri, but who is
lodging weekly disbarment motions against Judge Greer? Answer: no one.
Practical example: the GOP has almost given up on ACORN. People are weak
and often give up. I found reasons to hate Ladner on such a strong visceral
level that I never gave him the benefit of the doubt. AU/rape cover-up; Ladner/scholarship
revocation, find someone to blame for your angst, and remember Eric Hoffer's
observation about people's motivations about mass movements.
Practical application: when you have something hot, never let up. Create a
fanatical desire within yourself to prevail. Identify your own catalytic passions
and hold onto them, never let go. Be angry, but stay smart.
9. plan for the long-haul, keep expanding the conflict to other people until
they give in
-even if you step away from the fight for a week or year, come back to it and
keep the pressure on
-these people are weaker than you think, but they also have better lasting power
even though that seems contradictory -- over time you will win, but it will
seem like forever.
-over time people will believe whatever sincere critique you offer
-someone will ALWAYS say this STUPID line, "but, if you attack them, you
only make them stronger." which is code for "I'm scared, so let's
not do anything and lose, because I'm weak." - this is almost always a
mistake. if you have nothing to do, attack. if you have something lame to do,
attack. attack their weak points every chance you get. not only does this make
you aggressive, but it tests you and refines your work. As well, you never know
what great things will come from action. Action, action action!
Practical example: it took five years for Ladner to get removed; no one expected
ACORN to get defunded - the support for the Iraq war, in summer of 2006 there
was still a great deal of public support, but the public critique wore them
down and evaporated support.
Practical application: Always take action. Call me when you get depressed
or discouraged, we'll go for a drink and I'll cheer you up. The cost of this
is that I expect the same arrangement.
10. market your idea and not yourself
-vanity will easily become so consuming that you lose sight of what made you
interesting, keep focused on the project, on the work, on what matters
-vanity is very appealing
-use attractive women
-don't get caught up with controlling the media message, provide the content
and keep it going
-when you become the issue, you're no longer effective. Remain formless.
-glory comes at the cost of effectiveness, or as Reagan said or was quoted as
saying, "there's no limit to what you can accomplish if you don't care
who gets the credit."
Practical example: Lila/racism PP investigation; laura bush undercover op.
Practical application: Keep people around you who support you but who will
give you serious feedback, and critical feedback, and actively solicit negative
opinions and don't dismiss them. Imbue yourself with a culture of self-improvement.
