For those groups involved in advocacy and community change, the following
describes some ways how the power structure and those opposed to our
efforts for information equality block and stifle change. the authors
call it the control game.
kelly
URL: http://www.enviroweb.org/issues/system/activism/control_game.html
THE CONTROL GAME
By E I N
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT OR PUBLIC RELATIONS: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Originally Published 5/94, converted to HTML 7/97.
A REFERENCE GUIDE FOR RECOGNIZING POLITICAL/SOCIAL CONTROL TACTICS BY
POWER BROKERS, LARGE CORPORATIONS, PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRMS, AND
GOVERNMENT ENTITIES.
Environmental Information Network (EIN), Inc.TM
P.O. Box 280087, Lakewood, CO 80228-0087 -- [log in to unmask]
Paula Elofson-Gardine, Executive Director/Susan Hurst, Publications
Director
Tactic 1 -- Make it impossible for people to be involved: These
typical control tactics set things up so that it's difficult and
inconvenient for interested parties such as the affected public to
participate.
Examples:
* Meetings are scheduled at inappropriate locations or times; i.e.,
during regular working hours, highway rush hours, dinner times, or
deliberately conflicting times with similar interest meetings.
Strict meeting "guidelines" and use of question cards discourages
real dialogue and keeps attendees under control.
Variations:
* Schedule lengthy one-way presentations that will not allow give
and take exchange. This precludes the public (including the press)
from asking questions or clarifications.
* Conveners may insist that all questions be held until the end, by
which time people are tired, the meeting area must be vacated, and
the press has had to leave to meet deadlines.
* Allow the public limited time, and a limited number of questions
that must pertain to their predetermined set of allowable topics;
while the conveners drag out their answers, essentially
filibustering away the rest of the time for the meeting -- and
coincidentally time for open discussion of issues and answers that
many attendees showed up for.
* Staff may be trained to be nice, while having been trained to
handle the public by using subtle harassment or baiting
techniques, which also discourages public involvement.
These tactics are used to fulfill requirements for public outreach in
order to legitimize the process. If attendance is sparse it will be
blamed on public apathy, rather than a deliberate effort to exclude
public participation. Reject this pretense for public involvement.
Short circuit this tactic by standing up as a group and announcing an
immediate press conference that will give the press the real story
from the citizens outside of the meeting room or across the street
from the building, then get up and leave as a group. If this is not
immediately possible, let the conveners know that your group will hold
its own meeting, protest, and/or press conference the next morning and
will continue to inform the media of their non-cooperation on these
issues.
Tactic 2 -- Divide and Conquer: This is a well-established tactic that
effectively places similar interest groups at odds against each other,
when they would otherwise be a formidable force for bureaucratic
responsiveness and accountability. This tactic uses existing tensions
and divisions between organizations. Name this tactic as soon as you
recognize it to short circuit its effectiveness. Make sure that
everyone understands what interests they share in common, and why it
is in their best interest to continue to work together. A few favorite
tactics are described below.
Examples:
* Divide a large issue into many small ones. This forces people
and/or organizations to fight many small battles, dispersing their
energies. Small groups working in isolation of each other may not
be as effective as coordinating efforts to maximize through solid
communication and networking.
* Provide enough resources to cover only part of the problem. This
can include preparing only a few copies of handouts or important
documents so that self-imposed constraints prevent them from being
able to provide x, y, or z service -- while it is obvious that
there is plenty of budgetary allowance for gratuities, amenities,
or items that fulfill their bias or agenda.
* Appoint a committee using key members of the public -- including
appointees with views similar to the convener, funder, or
directing agency to maintain their control of the committee. Their
involvement is then publicly highlighted -- whether or not they
attend or participate. Their names will be used strategically
(sometimes in absentia), or photos are used to imply consent,
agreement, or consensus with the committee -- although they may
object or disagree with the viewpoint or findings of the
committee. Citizens (token) used in this manner may or may not be
aware of their names or pictures being used to artificially lend
credibility to the committee or findings in question. In some
cases, they may be unaware that they are considered to be a member
of the committee.
* Many separate tables are used in large banquet or meeting rooms to
break a meeting up into small discussion groups. This effectively
keeps valuable information that would otherwise be revealed in the
general discussion from being heard by the larger group, which
would have enhanced communal brainstorming and questioning of the
process or problem at hand. These small group discussions may then
be summarized and reported back to the larger group. Carefully
placed shills or committee members may serve as group leaders to
control group feedback. This suppresses any controversial
discussions that don't fit the convener's agenda, and inhibits
networking or brainstorming on the issue.
* Seating arranged in "audience fashion" delegates you to a passive
role in these meetings. Short-circuit this by playing Musical
Chairs. Insist that the tables and/or chairs be moved (circle or
horseshoe shape) so that everyone can be an active participant
with the conveners or presenters. Put yourselves at the same level
and/or table with the power brokers so there is no distance to
allow them to feel comfortably in control (no shield). Convert
their agenda to your agenda.
* Public relations campaigns (blitzes) into the community will seek
out homeowners associations, service groups, schools, and so on,
to present biased, incomplete, or misleading information to
sidestep opposition to mould and win over public opinion about key
issues.
Variations:
* Conduct private (behind closed-door or impromptu) meetings with
civic groups, government, or public officials (i.e. city council,
county commissioners, etc.) of similar political or philosophical
leanings -- without informing citizens or organizations with
opposing viewpoints of these meetings.
* Wrong information regarding time and location is provided -- too
late to be corrected (The scavenger hunt). This ensures that their
message will be presented without all sides of an issue being
recognized or openly discussed.
The Government in the Sunshine Act legislation was passed by the U.S.
Congress to discourage clandestine or private meetings of government
bodies or officials for the purposes of excluding general public or
interested parties.
Tactic 3 -- Pack the Meeting: The power brokers will encourage
employees to attend x, y, or z meeting. They may also establish
telephone trees (which we should be doing) to get employees and
supporters to pack a meeting to simulate public support for their
position on an issue, and to set the tone of the meeting.
Variation:
* Comment or question cards are used in place of a communal
microphone for participants to go to, so everyone can hear and
participate in the discussion. Their supporters will stack the
deck of comment cards with time wasters, and may continue filling
out more cards throughout the meeting to defuse opposition
discussion (see tactic 1 -- filibustering).
Short circuit this by meeting with your neighbors, colleagues, or
constituents for a pre-meeting conference to discuss opposition
tactics and strategy that are barriers to getting your views aired.
Come up with your own list of strategy and critical points, then
divide them up among yourselves. Go to the meeting prepared with fact
sheets, questions, and comments that support your views. Brainstorm
with your colleagues, refine the information, then pass it around the
neighborhood, or the target audience for and after the meeting. Call
the tactics as you see them occur in the meeting to defuse them.
Insist on a fair airing of the issues, within everyone's hearing.
Tactic 4 -- Economic Blackmail: When dealing with politically heated
issues, especially "company town" polluters, the first threat may be
that massive layoffs will occur if they have to: change a process,
stop polluting, fix safety problems, clean up contamination, and so
on. This is a Red Herring scare tactic that should be immediately
brought to everyone's attention.
* In 1988, the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Facility (RFP) was faced
with changes that included decommissioning, the contractor
threatened massive layoffs. Economic developers and chambers of
commerce predicted local devastation. To the contrary, the cleanup
has been a huge economical boost for subcontractors and RFP
personnel, who have nearly doubled the numbers of employees that
were needed for full production and chemical recovery of plutonium
pits for nuclear warheads.
* Retraining and educational programs have blossomed at local
colleges. The people to watch are the Developers and Chambers, who
will attempt to create new projects, while "dumbing down the
workforce" by bringing in minimum wage workers for cleanup jobs,
lay off union people, and funnel profits to special interest
chums. Stay united, call that tactic, and make them accountable.
No one likes to be picketed, boycotted, or pictured negatively in the
press -- these citizen tactics are relatively easy to implement.
Tactic 5 -- Give the appearance of action without doing anything: When
faced with an obvious need for change, bureaucrats may try to give the
appearance of taking action without actually doing anything. These
tactics may sound like this:
* "We have decided to appoint an advisory, special, sub-committee,
or commission to study or handle the problem. We want (or need)
members of our group to volunteer assistance because we do not
have money for staff."
* "Your knowledge, input, or time is so valuable (and so on), we
would like you to help us with x, y, or z to work out solutions"
(but they will fail to assimilate your information, suggestions,
or concerns).
* "We would like to help you by doing x, y, or z for you" -- but the
reciprocal help never appears (carrot on the stick).
* "We plan to issue a policy or statement regarding that problem
next week, month, year..., so that everyone will know what to do
in the future..." Beware of bureaucrats stealing your
uncompensated time to tie you up, keeping you out of circulation
in the community. Volunteerism can be abused, becoming a time
quicksand.
Don't accept inconsequential actions, excuses, and "donothingitis".
Set a reasonable amount of time for genuine action, and then tell
everyone that you expect action by that date.
Think twice before joining "study committees or advisory groups" that
are not policy-changing bodies that have no real power to do anything
about the issue or problem in question, are funded and directed by
your adversary, or by those that represent the other side of your
issue. There may not be an accurate record of what has happened from
the beginning, during, or at the end of these efforts. Refusal to
allow the recording of meetings, or have an accurate paper trail to
document important meetings and proceedings is a serious red flag of
cover-ups and problems.
Tactic 6 -- Give them a Red Herring, or Get them to Chase the Wrong
Bunny: This is an issue or information offered to belittle, patronize,
or confound and derail your efforts. When a bureaucrat tries to change
the subject from what you are concerned about to what they want you to
focus on, they are using a "Bait and Switch" routine.
Examples:
* "I don't know what you're talking about; You don't know your
facts; That issue is not important; Why are you interested in that
issue?; You have not done enough research; You aren't an expert;
Your issue is beside the point, irrational, emotional, or not
practical; Why don't you check into, or work on x, y, or z,
instead?"
* Engaging attendees in detailed explanations or debates that are
intended to sidetrack the issue of concern, hoping that in the
heat of debate, you will: Give up, get tired, go home, and forget
the key issue.
Be aware of time wasters that will eat up meeting time, and are
designed to wear you down. When confronted with this tactic, don't get
side tracked. You don't have to be an expert to ask questions, ask for
information, or to have legitimate concerns.
Write notes throughout the meeting -- this will help keep you on
track. Stick to the issues you want to discuss, while making a special
note to follow up, or address the other person's issue later, if they
genuinely desire to do so.
Tactic 7 -- Refuse to give out information, or make it impossible to
get it: Bureaucrats plan that this tactic will discourage you, so that
you will give up and go away. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
format may have to be invoked to get cooperation. You must know what
information you need, what agency to request it from, and what to look
for. The "Key and Lock" buzzwords and descriptions must be included,
or the very information you seek may be withheld from you.
Examples:
* Bureaucracies protecting damaging information may try to charge
exorbitant fees for information to be searched, copied, and sent
to you. Request fee waivers based upon public interest needs and
public right-to-know laws.
* The requestor may be flooded with huge amounts of useless
information that is out of order and out of date. This is called a
data dump in legal circles. This is a common tactic used by legal
rivals on cases to eat up valuable pre-trial discovery time. It
takes a critical eye, speed reading, and some research or
historical knowledge to be able to weed through the useless
information to find what you want.
To deal with the system effectively, you need the facts. If you have
the facts, the system has to deal with you more openly.
Democracy depends on people having the information needed to allow
meaningful input and interaction with the system. The refusal to give
out information may sound like this:
* "We don't have that information; x, y, or z is not in today, and
I'm not authorized to fulfill this request; We can only give out a
summary (They decide what is meaningful, included, excluded, or
redacted); Why do you think that's important?; Justify your
interest, or legitimize your need; We don't think you need that
information."
Recognize these tactical phrases meant to put you off the track of the
information you need to level the playing field with your opponent,
and don't accept lame excuses for non-performance or non-compliance.
_________________________________________________________________
STRATEGIES TO SHORT CIRCUIT THE CONTROL GAME
* AS SOON AS A TACTIC HAS BECOME APPARENT, LABEL IT: When you name
that tactic publicly, it loses its power. You can counter these
tactics with a minimum of wasted effort by keeping the lines of
communication open with your colleagues and other similar interest
organizations.
* BE OBSERVANT OF INTERACTIONS, TACTICS, AND WHO MAY BE CALLING THE
SHOTS BEHIND THE SCENES: Recognize that although individuals make
up the bureaucracy, they should not be the targets of your
efforts. Evaluate where strategic counter-tactics would be the
most effective. Good mottoes to keep in mind. Always go to the
top, and the squeaky wheel gets fixed.
* DO NOT ALLOW BUREAUCRATIC FIGUREHEADS TO LABEL YOU as a
troublemaker, or as someone with emotional or personal problems
(i.e.: "Psychiatrically" linked to a site or set of issues, don't
have a life because you volunteer a lot of your time, are a paid
staffer or knowledgeable citizen, so your opinion doesn't count,
or don't have "x" number of constituents behind you.) to
legitimize side stepping serious issues and/or your concerns. Be
alert to the evaluative patronizing concern look. This is
contrived to give the appearance of questioning your mental or
emotional stability to elicit a reaction. Keep cool and don't give
them the reaction they want from you. Any person might become
dedicated to seeking solutions, and become angry or frustrated
over the distancing treatment bureaucracies and corporations use
to keep the public at arm's length over difficult issues.
* MAKE YOUR ISSUE OR ADVERSARY AN OBJECT OF INTENSE STUDY: Never
stop questioning your previous conclusions about them. Get all the
information you can and keep getting it. Put this information to
productive and meaningful use, then network it around.
* NEVER RELAX AFTER A VICTORY, and don't underestimate the power of
determination.
* RENEW YOUR OWN OUTREACH REGULARLY by having current concerns and
information prepared and ready to distribute at every opportunity.
Use their meetings for opportunities to pass out your own targeted
information. Use several people to see that all attendees end up
with copies of your information. Ask local copiers or businesses
to help duplicate materials.
_________________________________________________________________
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens
can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
-- Margaret Mead, Anthropologist
"Ignorance is compounded by the sins of omission." -- Dr. Edward A.
Martell, Radiochemist
"Reports based on faulty foundations of inconsistent, missing, or
biased data are meaningless, misleading, and worthless. To
deliberately present bad data as if it were meaningful is
scientifically invalid and immoral." -- Environmental Information
Network (EIN), Inc.
EIN -- A think-tank involved in researching and analyzing hazardous
waste and radiotoxic environmental information and issues in order
to disseminate technical information for public education.
Environmental Information Network
P.O. Box 280087
Lakewood, CO 80228-0087
[log in to unmask]
Paula Elofson-Gardine, Executive Director
Susan Hurst, Publications Director
PLEASE NOTE: EIN is a 501(C)(3) non-profit public education and
networking organization that accepts contributions. Permission is
granted for copying or transfer of this publication, so long as
contact information for EIN is kept intact. The EIN logo is a
unique trademark that belongs exclusively to EIN. The EIN logo may
not be copied or isolated from EIN publications for use by other
organizations or individuals, without specific written permission
from the trademark owner, Paula Elofson-Gardine.
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