There's more to organize than just the protest.
After viewing everyone's responses about current problems facing us today, we need to organize this information into categories before we can determine what should be acted on and how.
In preparation for a midterm quiz, we should be able to organize the issues we've learned about so far, the tactics used for each, and the method or style of artwork particular to that tactic
Homework: Read and BLOG a response (no more emails, please) on the "Riles" chapter from Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals
CEC#3
Join us for any or all of these events. To receive CEC credit, respond on the blog with your analysis and include any of your own personal experiences and ideas that are relevant.
THURSDAY 3.1 @ 3:45-5:15pm in H-Wing Auditorium
Roundtable #1: Student Debt + No Jobs + Growing Inequality = Occupy Student Debt.
Learn how the Occupy Movement is organizing against rising tuition, growing college student debt, and anti-union attacks on faculty/staff wages and working conditions.
THURSDAY 3.1 @ 7:00-9:00pm in ASB 136
Roundtable #2: What Is “Occupy Everything” & Where Did it Start?
Learn what’s going on and why YOU should be concerned. Sponsored by Maroon at Midnight: Interesting Things with Heather & Danielle on WRPR, Political Forum, NORML, and College Democrats. Organized by Danielle Corcione.
FRIDAY 3.2 @ 3:45-5:15pm in H-Wing Auditorium
Roundtable #3: Occupy NJ: The Higher Education Crisis
Learn how the second richest state in the U.S. is making college unaffordable for students while seeking to drive down faculty/staff wages and working conditions, contributing to national growing inequality.
WEDNESDAY 3.14 @ 3:15-5:00pm in H-Wing Auditorium
Roundtable #4: Occupy Wall Street as a Growing Social Movement
Learn about the history, lessons, accomplishments and growing activities of the Occupy Movement to organize for social change in the U.S., New Jersey, and at Ramapo.
CEC#3 Occupy NJ: The Higher Education Crisis.
ReplyDeleteThe program started off with some video clips from the news about the movement and a general overview of what the issue is. There was one video showing a demonstration where a student recited a collection notice from Sallie Mae and then burning it in protest, I thought this was a really striking image and I was surprised I hadn't seen it before. Another comment I found interesting was about how the issue is ignored by professors because their salaries are paid by student debt. I don't know how true that is, but it takes a different light on a demographic that's almost always portrayed as a victim of the state.
From the presentation I learned that apparently Ramapo has the 4th highest tuition in the state, which I guess is inversely proportional to the amount of state funding that we don't receive. Since tuition hikes rise consistently every year, I'm having a hard time figuring out a reason why, even if the inflation decreases and funding returns, colleges would lower their prices. We've proven to them that we're willing to pay no matter the cost just like our gas prices but maybe that's too simple of a comparison.
There was a student giving a talk who proposed changing the system in our favor by having private corporations provide grants to students with the government offering those corporations tax breaks and other incentives. Other strategies involved having a more equitable tax on corporations who could account for trillions in revenue and another brought up cutting defense budgets. This same student also had an interesting guerrilla marketing strategy involving a backpack made out of garbage bags labeled with information about student debt. At first I thought it could use a little tweaking as far as presentation but using what he did makes it an option for anyone to make and participate. Someone in the audience remarked about wearing it to graduation which I thought would be the prime spot to make that kind of message and have a presence in front of everyone who has a stake in the outcome of the movement and maybe local media.
Overall I thought it was a great presentation and I hope it catches on here at Ramapo. I couldn't say though how effective it will be as a whole with a governor who's all about absolute fiscal conservatism.
Rule 1 and four remind me of military tactics and it is interesting how many of the violent tactics in war can be re purposed non-violently and vice versa. The tenth rule about pressuring opposition and the action is as important as the react that is caused by an earlier action which etc reminds me of the earlier reading about London and how action leads to reaction and only through that will man as a species reach perfection or “morality”, if I remember correctly
ReplyDeleteMar 5: Rules for Radicals
ReplyDeleteSaul Alinsky mentions at the beginning of this reading, "how the Have-nots can take power away from the Haves". I immediately thought about the Occupy movement. This is comparable to the 99% < 1%. The ninety-nine percent is attempting to use the ability it has to overcome the in equality with the one percent. The have-nots or 99% do not have money, but their only resource is a lot of people. An organizer needs to gather a support system to make an effective change.
Alinsky discusses several rules throughout the reading. Rule number two states: "Never go outside the experience of your people". This rule only makes sense that you would not use tactics which your supporters are not confident with using. When supporters are comfortable with the tactics, they will enjoy the experience and be willing to take risks. Rules four and five are similar. These rules reminded me of the NIKE protest that we discussed in class. When you hold someone to their own rules, it is easy to find them at their own fault. Alinsky continues to give examples of these rules throughout the reading. For instance, rule ten talks about being consistant and giving steady pressure to heal the wound. It is important to follow through with a campaign otherwise the enemy will wait for it to disappear. Rule thirteen states: "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it & polarize it". Here, Alinsky writes about the difficulty of finding the target. This is because no one wants to take responsibility. When accused, everyone pushs the blame to someone else. This means it is essential to be specific, find the cause, isolate it, and address the issue.
After reading this, it is apparent that protests must be organized. They need to be well thought through before they are executed so all the flaws are ironed out. Also, Alinsky emphasized the effectiveness in numbers. The higher the quantity, the greater visual impact. As was evident in the reading, time is the difference between success and failure. Being focused on these tactics will improve the final results. I would recommend that all organizers should read this and apply it to any event.
After completing the Alinsky reading, I felt that a lot of his tactics were very relevant to the movements and protests we have studied so far in class. I thought that rule number 6 "a good tactic is one that your people enjoy" reminded me of the Barbie Liberation Organization. The BLO was an example of a very organized form of rebellion. And, because they were dealing with toys there was a comical element in the protest and they poked fun while drawing attention to the issue they felt strongly about, which was gender roles. The action probably would not have been as affective if the members behind it did not find a way to make it both entertaining and informative It also related to the reading because Alinksy believed that organization was a key aspect of executing a protest. The BLO event was so perfectly organized that it was able to become successful and get the media's attention.
ReplyDeleteAlso, rule number 7 "a tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag" reminded me of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The movement originated from such a strong idea and addressed a very major issue in the US. It illustrated the intensity of our economic crisis and finally showed how so many Americans are fed-up with the increasingly large gap between the rich and poor. However, the movement ended up fizzling out. After months the protesters were kicked out of Zucotti park and a major dent was put in the movement. Leading up to that point many riots and acts of police brutality consumed the scene and people became distracted from the movement's original point and others were unaware of what the protest was even about. Therefore, it lost it's initial organization.
I believe that a lot of Alinsky's tactics can be used to analyze the success or failure of almost any protest or act of rebellion. His piece showed just how much effort must be put into a protest and how organization is necessary throughout the entire process, from planning to executing fully.
Alinsky covered a lot of topics in Rules for Radicals. The main points of this chapter that stand out in my mind are the rules he stated in the beginning of the chapter and how he used them throughout the chapter. For example he kept mentioning the blacks and whites from Chicago who boycotted a lot of events regarding racism. I guess he referenced that occurance so many times because it relates to all of his rules quite well. He mentioned the 100 year war in Europe relating to rule # 7, a tactic dragged out too long becomes a drag.
ReplyDeleteHe did a good job relating each of the rules to a specific time where it was used in society. A lot of examples he used were closely related to the occupy wall street movement. The "haves" being the people who have everything they need but as he said, the only people who fight over money are usually the "Haves" people who have all of the money. Since they are not used to living without that secure barrier of power and all that money.
When i was finished reading this chapter, i feel like any radical movement can be achieved through the right method of protesting. For example he always kept mentioning that protesting is not illegal in most cases, it just requires a good dedicated crowd with the same ambitions.
To me this chapter read a lot like Sun Tzu's Art of War for the modern protester. The most striking aspect of his examples was how simple his tactics could be. It's unreal how effective farting in a symphony or masses of chewing gum litter could change social policies in an area.
ReplyDeleteMy whole thought process while reading was toward how well his rules would translate into today and while the Occupy movement did raise a lot of awareness, it's more disruption than organization toward a goal. There was also no "freeze" on a specific target and I feel like the tactics dragged on long enough to lose commitment and headlines. One thing I noticed was how sites like Reddit stopped their constant monitoring of the situation unless their was a big police scandal. And a big mistake they made was compartmentalizing the movement into a sub-forum, out of the eyes of the front page.
Alinsky's Rules for Radicals was published in '71, and Guantanamo Bay began to become a detention camp just the year previous. That said, I think the stakes for dissent and the kind of corporate terrorizing he exemplifies has been raised since the union protests of the earlier century. Especially in the post-9/11 world. Companies have entire branches dedicated to legal teams to prevent situations and the federal government/police agencies have proven to support their interests over ours. The media is also not on our side. Even social media, which proved to be invaluable in the middle east, is easily censored here.
Bradley Manning is only just now being charged with a crime years later, Julian Assange is being extradited to another country for political reasons and an English college student is being charged in an American court over a website owned and operated in the U.K. Things seem pretty bleak.
-Chris
While reading Alinskys portion on tactics from his book Rules for Radicals I kept think of protests that I have learned through out my life in school adn else where. For example one of the protests that I have recently learned was documented in the movie the "Walkout" which was shown in one of my classes from last semester. The protest was about the treatment that Latino students were recieving in their schools. They saw that things were not equal unlike inother schools of mostly the white majority. They began to protest first with petions but it was not getting enough noise to the school board inretunr they made alot with hosting a walkout for two days. The first was a huge success where the students from different schools would walkout during class and picket infront of the school to the media and towns. However, the next one was not well planned because the school board was ready for them with police force and it ended in physical force and arresting students. The media had captured all this however they had changed the story when it came time to air and they acted as if nothing has happened. This gave the school board the upper hand because they new what was too come adn they still had the power. The last resort was having the leaders arrested for enough time to get them noticed by the media and society. Instead of only the students protestign their families and communities finally joined in on the campaign. The leaders cared very much about what the students had to say adn would only allow them to do what they were able to just as Alinsky said when having your people do what they are only capable of doing, and beign students they had alot at stack if they crossed the line.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading I was comparing the tactics Alinsky had listed to the this protest, as well as many others. I was trying to see what parts had connected to his tactics adn what did not. Also what maybe they could have done differently inorder to secure the safety of the peope involved or was their sacrifice inevitable.
Sarah Monarch
Alinsky's rules are very organized and universal. They do not only give guidelines on how to present and carry out a protest or rebellion, but educate and encourage the downfall of the enemy. Alinsky uses his own examples of rebelling (for example, the case with the Chicago school board and Eastman Kodak in Rochester) to demonstrate how to affect the opposition and manipulate them to lead to their demise. I understand the uproar caused by this book because Alinsky provides exactly what a reader would need to oppose, ridicule, attack, and manipulate their opponent. I was shocked to find that a large part of being a radical and rebelling, in this case, is to really get into the oppositions head, use their own rules against them, annoy, and anger them to the point where their responses and actions result in your advantage. Although they are brash, I believe that we can use Alinsky's rules in our class's experience. Some rules make it necessary for the rebel to develop questions that they needs to ask prior to starting a protest. Who is your audience? What are you trying to gain? Who are your followers? How do you put pressure on the opposition? How can the opposition's rules be used against them?
ReplyDelete-Crissy Falkenberg
DeleteThe Alinsky reading focuses on teaching tactics in order to empower people to think through every aspect of their protest. With the correct organization any movement, small or large can be successful, it is about changing your enemy’s perception. Tactics is not a manual; it is a reference because every situation differs. Key factors such as timing, leadership/organization, and approach to situations can change the outcome of a movement. The fourth rule, “making the enemy live up to their own rules”, reminded me of the Nike email because Jonah Peretti used the words in Nike’s policy as a weapon against the company. I agree that it leads into the fifth rule, “ridicule is a powerful weapon.” By using the enemy’s own standards as a weapon, it leaves them feeling angry and embarrassed. It is effective because “the real action is in the enemy’s reaction.” The tactic of freezing your enemy by holding up their services, is legal and leaves the enemy powerless. What would the banks do if a thousand people showed up to start a bank account or what would happen if all of the bathrooms in the airport were occupied? It plays off of seeing the enemy’s reaction because you placed them “outside of their experience.”
ReplyDeleteWhile reading rules for radicals one thing that you realize very early in the read is that above everything else Alinskys biggest concept is for success is organization. If you try to do something and not everyone is on the same page you simply can't succeed. In todays world I don't know if people really follow what he says because when you think of things like Occupy Wallstreet you think of things like disorganized or chaos, The never really had a shot of "succeeding" because no one really knew what was going on, there was no clear message. What was refreshing about this reading was that it is not very often that you read something so sophisticated that has such a vicious strategy. When attempting to change something or revolutionize one would think that success would be achieved by stating the best argument and keeping everything as civilized as possible. But when you finish reading this you get the sense that it would not have been so calm. The way that you achieve your goal was by breaking down your opposition mentally and getting under their skin. Rather than doing something drastic and potentially foolish you try to get your opposition to act first our of fear and anger. The role of the organizer was sort of the ringleader of the group, pulling all of the strings without necessarily being on the front lines getting his hands dirty. After reading the article I can totally see why this was seen as a scandalous text, it sounds cliche but i think this book in the wrong hands really could make serious changes whether good or bad, the arguments he makes are well thought and even better backed up.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCEC#3 Occupy NJ: Friday 3/2
ReplyDeleteOne student conducted a survey on higher education. Most students acknowledged that even though the cost of college is a concern, higher education is worth it. However, to receive the full benefit, you need to use the available networking and internships. This student gave a visual representation by attaching two garbage bags to a bookbag. The two bags full of paper represents the burden of student debt.
A proposed solution to the higher education debt crisis involves the government. Those at the highest level of authority are capable of starting a change. Private businesses would give loans and grants to students at a lower payback rate. The government would then give these small business incentives. Instead of giving tax breaks to the rich corporations, who already pay little or no taxes, small businesses would receive them. For instance, GE manages to not pay taxes because of the government loopholes. My reaction is we have let it go too far and unless those with the power of money are held accountable, nothing will change for the better.
The debt crisis does not only affect the students. At this roundtable, the speakers briefly mentioned about the faculty not working under a contract. The state is not negotiating for a new contract, which means while costs continue to go up, salaries remains the same. This is also a current issue that has not been resolved. Ultimately, colleges will dissolve if action is not taken by each audience.