Just a Little Amnesty

If you desperately wanted a friend to change her assumptions or behavior, you would speak to her in terms that she can relate to, right? You would be careful not to exaggerate and choose words carefully. And getting upset and emotional is definitely to be avoided. You respect this person and know that she will at least give consideration to a solid case.

Amazing how activists, political leaders, and social change-driven organizations lose sight of this simple notion. With Amnesty International’s 308-page 2005 Report one word, “Gulag,” caused thousands, if not millions, to question the group’s credibility. The president, and conservative writers and pundits have successfully turned the spotlight away from legitimate concerns about our (waning?) role as a leader in the fight for human rights. So why did Amnesty include the word? Was it simply a mistake or are they so media savvy that they anticipated the controversy and sacrificed credibility for coverage?

Earlier tonight I was reading an interview with [url=http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2005/05/25/little-kunstler/]James Kunstler[/url], the Michael Moore of the New Urbanist movement (who also happens to resemble one [url=http://www.nndb.com/people/110/000031017/robhalford-med.jpg]Rob Halford[/url]). His new book, The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the 21st Century asserts that “majority of Americans will will likely suffer bouts of violent upheaval and be forced to return to agrarian, small-town lifestyles” in the not-so-distant future. In the interview, he throws down the gauntlet: “In the next 10 years, you will see the beginning of a major collapse of suburbia.” Is this really the best tactic to get normal, suburbia-dwelling Americans to come around to your side, James? It’s almost as if you don’t really want them to.

Austin’s Bettie Naylor, a 78-year-old feminist who has [url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-06-03/xtra_feature.html]fought for gay rights in Texas for three decades[/url] has figured it out. “I no longer feel the need to be an activist all the time. When I started out in this business, I was more prone to point out that (my opponents) were wrong. But now I don’t think that we are going to resolve things that way. Now, what I am trying to do is try to talk to them reasonably.”

June 6th, 2005