I think this applies to Crypto-activism as well as gun activism. > A FIVE-MINUTE HANDBOOK FOR GUN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS > Copyright © 2000 by [EMAIL PROTECTED] All rights reserved. > ______________________________ > > Reproduction and distribution is encouraged and permitted > so long as this copyright notice is attached. > ______________________________ > >I've been a gun rights activist for nearly 10 years. > >I wasted a lot of time for the first 5 years because >no one gave me the rule book you are now reading. > >Maybe that's because no one had written it. This is the stuff >I wish I had known starting on day one. > >If you've just arrived at this party, the next 5 minutes you >spend reading this might save you 5 years of otherwise >wasted time and energy. > >If you've been in the gun rights game for a while, this handbook >will be the fastest refresher course you've ever taken. > >This past year I've received a lot of mail from jittery gun owners >who are finally waking up to what's happening to our right to keep >and bear arms (RKBA). > >This handbook is mostly for them. > >If the rules I list below scare off a few folks, so be it. I want >to tell it like it really is -- to give a quick snapshot of the tips, >tricks and tactics that actually work in RKBA activism. > >The bad news is that this is not a complete list of the rules. > >The good news is that there will never be a complete list of rules. > >The rules listed below are based on my own experience from working >thousands of hours with down and dirty RKBA activist pros. I am deeply >grateful to all of them. They know who they are. > >Some of these rules have been followed for so long by old-time >activists that they have forgotten what the original rules were. > >It's time to list them again. > >And sneak in a couple of new ones. > >So read them and weep, or read them and rejoice. > ______________________________ > >NO ONE IS AS INTERESTED AS YOU ARE. Nowadays everyone's >attention span and time are limited. Be grateful if you get >anyone's attention on our issue, even for a few seconds. Some >wannabe activists come in like a lion, then disappear faster >than sh*t through a short dog. Take whatever you get from any >volunteer. Praise and thank them. Don't be disappointed when >they drift away. They will. But some come back. Keep the >light on for them. > >THE NRA STINKS. So does GOA, SAF, JPFO, and any or all of the >rest of the gun rights organizations. At the same time, all of these >organizations are the best thing since sliced bread. We won't keep >our rights without them. It's normal to love them and hate them at >the same time. Be sure your complaints about them go to the person >who can do something about your problem. Never give up your >membership -- it's much easier to fix things from the inside. >Avoid griping in public -- our opponents love it when we do. >Always handle our dirty laundry behind closed doors. Always. > >THERE IS NO MAGIC BULLET. There is no single answer, rule, or solution. >Never has been, and never will be. None of us will write the single >brilliant letter to the editor or internet message that will miraculously >turn everything around. Keep steadily busy. Do as much as you can, >whenever you can. Anything you do counts, but some things count >more than others. Find out what counts. Then do it. > >THERE IS NO FINAL VICTORY. Preserving RKBA is an ongoing PROCESS. >We are winning and losing battles during this process, but the war >will never be over. Becoming active to keep your gun rights is a >lot like cleaning your house: it's thankless and boring work, but >necessary. Like dirt, the antigun crowd will just keep coming back. >Forever. Your activism will keep us winning more than losing. >Our opponents count on wearing us down. They love it when one of us >(not you, of course) gets discouraged and drops out. When you fully >understand and accept the reality that RKBA is a never-ending struggle, >you're automatically in the top 5 percent of all RKBA defenders. >Congratulations. > >RKBA ACTIVISM IS BORING. It's especially boring when you are doing >things that really make a difference. Most of us want drama. We want >to be entertained. Phone bank calling, precinct walking, going >to RKBA grassroots seminars -- suddenly, even a trip to the dentist >for a root canal will start to look better. Sorry, but there is no >workaround on this aspect. Freedom is not free. It's a pain in the >ass. Get used to it, get over it, and get to work. > >USE THE POWER OF FEAR AND GUILT. Gun owners are susceptible >to these emotions. Awaken sleeping RKBA activists by tapping >these powerful emotions. Fear and guilt will move mountains -- >and fill the collection plate, and recruit new members. If gun >owners won't become active for themselves, ask them to do it >for their families. For their children. For their country. And -- >this tactic works! -- ask them to do it for YOU. > >WATCH OUT FOR MISDIRECTED, TIME-WASTING EFFORTS. >E-mail to elected people is pretty much worthless -- unless >the official already personally knows you. Internet polls are >useless. Online polls make some folks think they are actually >doing something. They are not. It's a false sense of accomplishment. >It's like bringing a doctor to a dead man. Focus on the stuff that >works. If you're going to hunt ducks, go where the ducks are. > >POLITICIANS ONLY CARE ABOUT VOTES AND MONEY. In-person visits, >phone calls, and snail-mailed, handwritten letters to elected folks >help -- because politicians know that if you take this much trouble, >you and your family and friends will also vote. > >HOT TIP: Make yourself known to politicians for >issues other than gun rights. Don't present yourself >as a single-issue person. Praise and help politicians >on THEIR pet projects. Then, when a new gun control >law comes up, your opinion will seem especially credible. >Otherwise, you will soon be stereotyped and discounted >as a single-issue voter. > >ANOTHER HOT TIP: Politicians have to explain why they >vote Yes or No on proposed laws. Sometimes they really >need your help in composing explanations to their >constituents. If you want your elected official to vote >No on a seemingly popular new gun control law, she might >be more willing to vote your way if you give her a >"back door" -- a good, common sense explanation that >she can give to all of her constituents. > >GET THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN OFFICE IN THE FIRST PLACE. If we have >the right people in power, antigun laws will not be passed. Period. >The laws are what matter. This concept is so simple that many >folks can't see it, just like they can't "see" the air they breathe. >The anti-rights crowd can hold all the gun control seminars and >news conferences they want, but nothing will happen unless they >can pass more laws. This fact tells you about the how, what, where, >when, why, and with whom you should be spending your time, energy, >and money. Politicians pass laws. Therefore, you must get involved in >politics to protect your gun rights. There is just no way to get around >this. Sorry. I don't like politics either. Bummer! > >STOP THE SABER RATTLING -- NOW! Avoid those shrill folks who sound >threatening or talk about doomsday. It's a waste of your time. These >noisy folks remind me of a couple in a failing marriage who only talk >about a getting a divorce instead of talking about their real problems. >If they don't solve their problems, separation or divorce becomes the >inevitable outcome. Some people get pumped up on silly fantasy >scenarios. I do not. > >ARM YOURSELF WITH ACCURATE INFORMATION. Paradoxically, >bad information or disinformation is a plague in the so-called >Information Age. When you write or talk about firearms issues, >use only the facts, the truth, and the provable. Verify any quotes >that you use. Back up your generalizations with powerful and >specific examples. Get on the internet, and get your like-minded >friends online. Join several of the hundreds of net communities >that will keep you informed instantly and completely about our >special issues. Information is power! > >IGNORE MEDIA SPIN AND THE NEWS WAVES. It's far too easy >to go bonkers reacting to the latest media-driven crisis. Don't >let the media push your buttons. The RKBA grassroots pros I know >do not overreact to crises. In fact, most of the ultra-pros that I >know do not react at all to media hysteria. Bashing the media about >their bias is not productive. Some gun owners use media bias as an >excuse to do nothing -- because the situation seems so overwhelming >and hopeless. Truth is, if you are a busy activist -- already steadily >doing stuff that matters -- you will find the media reacting to YOU. >Be friendly and polite with them -- not hostile. Become a reliable >source of information for them. And just keep on being ACTIVE. > >JUST SHOW UP. It's been said that 80 percent of success is >showing up. Being there. Showing up to vote. Showing up at an >RKBA seminar. At your assemblyman's office. At a city council >meeting. My father's favorite motto: "Your actions speak so loud >that I can't hear a word you're saying." Your "silent" activism can >be a model for others. What will your 3 hunting buddies think when >they find out you spent an afternoon handing out brochures >door-to-door for a pro-gun politician? > >DON'T MESS WITH TRUE BELIEVERS. In the time you spend trying >to convert one hard core antigun person to our side, you could >have gone out and motivated and organized 20 people who already >think like you do. Go with the flow. It's easier on your nerves, >and much more effective. Personally, I have converted several >anti-rights true believers, but never again! Lots of NRA members >are not registered voters. A lot of gun owners aren't NRA members. >Even more folks have no idea of their elected officials' positions >on gun issues. Where is your time most effectively spent? Think >about this before you spend an hour writing a clever response >to a silly message you found somewhere on the internet. > >SIMPLICITY STILL MATTERS. The old rule, Keep It Super Simple >(KISS), is as important as it ever was. It applies to internet >postings, planning, speeches -- everything. And keep it short. >And keep it sweet: don't ever ridicule or insult anyone. Did you >notice that I did NOT say, "Keep It Simple, STUPID?" > >YOU ARE ALL ALONE. Well, not quite alone. You do have some help. >The NRA has a staff of several hundred. There is no way humanly >possible that "the NRA" can put out all the brush fires started >by the anti-rights crowd. Pro-gun national organizations >give direction and information -- but they cannot save your >rights. Only YOU can save YOUR rights. You are 100 percent >responsible. When you fully accept this reality, you are >automatically in the top one percent of all RKBA activists. > >THE HIDDEN BONUS OF GUN RIGHTS ACTIVISM. The more involved >you get with firearms freedom, the more you will realize that >your single issue actually complements and protects other human >rights issues. Personally, I am deeply offended by many aspects of >today's culture. When I focus my activism on RKBA, I can often >sense I am making a measurable difference. All rights -- like all >humans -- are connected. > >WHEN IN DOUBT, JUST DO SOMETHING. Sometimes we don't know >what will work. Sometimes the rule is that there are no rules. >I once wrote an essay I thought was mediocre at best. Five years >later, I'm still receiving mail about it. Don't hesitate to try >something new and innovative -- get it out on the table! Often >your finest essay or brilliant letter will not be acknowledged, >or you will just get a form letter response. But that letter to >the editor that you dashed off in a few minutes appears in >tomorrow's newspaper! Go figure. Better yet, try not to figure. >Trust yourself, trust your instincts -- and just do something. > >I'll see you in the trenches. > ______________________________ > >Copyright © 2000 by [EMAIL PROTECTED] >All rights reserved. Reproduction or distribution >is permitted with this copyright notice attached. --- | Terrorists - The Boogiemen for a new Millennium. | |"The moral PGP Diffie taught Zimmermann unites all| Disclaimer: | | mankind free in one-key-steganography-privacy!" | Ignore the man | | | behind the keyboard.| | http://www.ctrl-alt-del.com/~alan/ |[EMAIL PROTECTED]|
