A TOOLBOX FROM THE PEOPLE Vf HO BROUGHT YOU THE YES m, BILLHIHAIRES FOR BUSH, ETC. rsimmioivi; BEAUTIFUL TROUBLE A TOOLBOX FOB REVOLUTION BEAUTIFUL TROUHLE A TOOLBOX FOB REVOLUTION lio Y» WITH DAVE OSWALD MITCHELL OR Books New York • London All essays © 2012 Beautiful Trouble by various authors is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http:/ /beautifultrouble.org. Published by OR Books, New York and London Visit our website at www.orbooks.com First printing 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except brief passages for review purposes. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data: A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. British Library Cataloging in Publication Data: A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Art direction and cover design by Cristian Fleming Cover illustration by Andy Menconi Book design by The Public Society www.thepublicsociety.com Printed by BookMobile, USA, and CPI, UK. The printed edition of this book comes on Forest Stewardship Council-certified, 30% recycled paper. The printer, BookMobile, is 100% wind-powered. paperback ISBN: 978-1-935928-57-7 ebook ISBN: 978-1-935928-58-4 BEAUTIFUL TROUBLE TEAM Co-editor & wrangler-in-chief / Andrew Boyd Co-editor / Dave Oswald Mitchell Master of logistics / Zack Malitz Photo editor / Margaret Campbell Web maker & project agitator / Phillip Smith Art Director / Cristian Fleming Designer / Stephanie Lukito Consultant-in-chief / Nadine Bloch Wordhorse / Joshua Kahn Russell Fellow traveler / Maxine Schoefer-Wulf PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS Agit-Pop/The Other 98%, The Yes Men/Yes Labs, CODEPINK, SmartMeme, The Ruckus Society, Beyond the Choir, The Center for Artistic Activism, Waging Nonviolence, Alliance of Community Trainers and Nonviolence International. CONTRIBUTORS Rae Abileah, Ryan Acuff, Celia Alario, Phil Aroneanu, Peter Barnes, Jesse Barron, Andy Bichlbaum, Nadine Bloch, Kathryn Blume, L.M. Bogad, Josh Bolotsky, Mike Bonanno, Andrew Boyd, Kevin Buckland, Margaret Campbell, Doyle Canning, Samantha Corbin, Yutaka Dirks, Stephen Duncombe, Mark Engler, Simon Enoch, Jodie Evans, John Ewing, Brian Fairbanks, Bryan Farrell, Janice Fine, Lisa Fithian, Cristian Fleming, Elisabeth Ginsberg, Stan Goff, Arun Gupta, Silas Harrebye, Judith Helfand, Daniel Hunter, Sarah Jaffe, John Jordan, Dinytri Kleiner, Sally Kohn, Steve Lambert, Anna Lee, Stephen Lerner, Zack Malitz, Nancy Mancias, Duncan Meisel, Matt Meyer, Dave Oswald Mitchell, Tracey Mitchell, George Monbiot, Brad Newsham, Gaby Pacheco, Mark Read, Patrick Reinsborough, Simon Roel, Joshua Kahn Russell, Leonidas Martin Saura, Levana Saxon, Maxine Schoefer-Wulf, Nathan Schneider, Kristen Ess Schurr, John Sellers, Rajni Shah, Brooke Singer, Matt Skomarovsky, Andrew Slack, Phillip Smith, Jonathan Matthew Smucker, Starhawk, Eric Stoner, Jeremy Varon, Virginia Vitzthum, Harsha Walia, Jeffery Webber and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. The role of the artist in the social structure follows the need of the changing times: In time of social stasis: to activate In time of germination: to invent fertile new forms In time of revolution: to extend the possibilities of peace and liberty In time of violence: to make peace In time of despair: to give hope In time of silence: to sing out — -Judith Malina, “The Work of an Anarchist Theater” VI A.B. To my mentors in the struggle, both far away — George Orwell, Abbie Hoffman, Subcomandante Marcos — and close at hand — Bob Rivera, Dennis Livingston, Janice Fine, Mike Prokosch, Chuck Collins, John Sellers & the RTS/B4B crew. D.O.M. For the silent leaders behind every victory “who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward, who do what has to be done, again and again” (Marge Piercy). CONTENTS INTRODUCTION / Boyd & Mitchell (g) TACTICS Advanced leafleting / Lambert & Boyd 10 Artistic vigil / Boyd 12 Banner hang / Bloch 14 Blockade / Russell 18 Creative disruption / M oncias Creative petition delivery / M eisel 24 Debt strike / Jaffe ScSkomarovsky Detournement/Culture jamming / M alitz 32 Direct action / Russell 26 Distributed action / Aroneonu 40 Electoral guerrilla theater / Bogad 44 Eviction blockade / Acuff 46 Flash mob / D. Mitchell & Boyd 48 Forum theater / Saxon 50 General strike / Lerner 52 Guerrilla projection / Corbin & Read 54 Hoax / Bonanno 56 Human banner / Newsham Identity correction / Bichlbou m 62 Image theater / Soxon 64 Infiltration / Bichlboum Invisible theater / T. Mitchell Mass street action / Sellers & Boyd Media-jacking / Reinsborough, Canning & Russell Nonviolent search and seizure / Hunter 78 Occupation / Russell & Gupto 82 Prefigurative intervention / Boyd 86 Public filibuster / Hunter 88 Strategic nonviolence / Starhawk & ACT Trek / Bloch Write your own TACTIC / You PRINCIPLES Anger works best when you have the moral high ground / Russell Anyone can act / Bichlbaum Balance art and message / Buckland, Boyd & Bloch Beware the tyranny of structurelessness / Bolotsky 104 Brand or be branded / Fleming 106 Bring the issue home / Abileah & Evans Challenge patriarchy as you organize / Walia Choose tactics that support your strategy / Fine 114 Choose your target wisely / Dirks 116 Consensus is a means, not an end / Walia 118 Consider your audience / Kohn 120 Debtors of the world, unite! / Kleiner 122 Delegate / Bolotsky & Boyd 124 Do the media’s work for them / Bichlbaum 126 Don’t dress like a protester / Boyd 128 Don’t just brainstorm, artstorm! / Saxon 130 Don’t mistake your group for society / Bichlbaum 132 Enable, don’t command / Blume 134 Escalate strategically / Smucker Everyone has balls/ovaries of steel / Bichlbaum If protest is made illegal, make daily life a protest / Bloch 140 Kill them with kindness / Boyd 142 Know your cultural terrain / Duncombe Lead with sympathetic characters / Canning & Reinsborough 148 Maintain nonviolent discipline / Schneider 150 Make new folks welcome / Smucker 152 Make the invisible visible / Bloch Make your actions both concrete and communicative / Russell No one wants to watch a drum circle / Lambert 158 Pace yourself / T. Mitchell Play to the audience that isn’t there / Bichlbaum & Boyd 162 Praxis makes perfect / Russell Put movies in the hands of movements / Helfand & Lee 166 Put your target in a decision dilemma / Boyd & Russell 168 Reframe/ Canning & Reinsborough 170 Seek common ground / Smucker 172 Shift the spectrum of allies / Russell Show, don’t tell / Canning, Reinsborough & Buckland Simple rules can have grand results / Boyd 178 Stay on message / Alario Take leadership from the most impacted / Russell 182 Take risks, but take care / Russell 184 Team up with experts / Singer Think narratively / Canning & Reinsborough 188 This ain’t the Sistine Chapel / Bloch 190 Turn the tables / Read Use others’ prejudices against them / Bloch 194 Use the Jedi mind trick / Corbin 196 Use the law, don’t be afraid of it / Bichelboum & Bonanno 198 Use the power of ritual / Boyd Use your radical fringe to slide the Overton window / Bolotsky We are all leaders / Smucker 204 Write your own PRINCIPLE / You THEORIES Action logic / Boyd & Russell Alienation effect / Bogad Anti-oppression / Fithian & D. Mitchell 216 Capitalism / Webber 218 Commodity fetishism / Molitz The commons / Barnes Cultural hegemony / Duncombe 226 Debt revolt / Kleiner 228 Environmental justice / Campbell 230 Ethical spectacle / Duncombe Expressive and instrumental actions / Smucker, Russel & Malitz 234 Floating signifier / Smucker, Boyd & D. Mitchell 236 Hamoq & hamas / M onbiot 238 Hashtag politics / M eisel 240 Intellectuals and power / Malitz 242 Memes / Reinsborough & Canning 244 Narrative power analysis / Reinsborough & Canning 246 Pedagogy of the Oppressed / Saxon & Vitzthum 248 Pillars of support / Stoner 250 Points of intervention / Reinsborough & Canning 254 Political identity paradox / Smucker 256 The propaganda model / Enoch 260 Revolutionary nonviolence / Meyer 262 The shock doctrine / Engler 264 The social cure / Farrell 266 Society of the spectacle / D. Mitchell 268 The tactics of everyday life / Goff Temporary Autonomous Zone [TAZ] / Jordan Theater of the Oppressed / Saxon 274 Write your own THEORY / You CASE STUDIES 278 99% bat signal / Read Barbie Liberation Organization / Bonanno 286 Battle in Seattle / Sellers Bidder 70 / Bichlbaum & M eisel The Big Donor Show / Harrebye Billionaires for Bush / Varon, Boyd & Fairbanks 300 Citizens’ Posse / Sellers Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army / Jordan Colbert roasts Bush / Ginsberg 312 The Couple in the Cage / Ginsberg 316 Daycare center sit-in / Boyd Dow Chemical apologizes for Bhopal / Bonanno Harry Potter Alliance / Slack 326 Justice for Janitors / Fithian 330 Lysistrata project / Blume 334 Mining the museum / Ginsberg Modern-Day Slavery Museum / CIW 342 The Nihilist Democratic Party / Roel & Ginsberg 346 Public Option Annie / Boyd 350 Reclaim the Streets / Jordan 354 The salt march / Bloch Santa Claus Army / Ginsberg 360 Small gifts / Shah 364 Stolen Beauty boycott campaign / Schurr 368 Streets into gardens / Read 372 Taco Bell boycott / Dirks Tar sands action / M eisel & Russell Teddy-bear catapult / D. Mitchell 384 Trail of Dreams / Pacheco Virtual Streetcorners / Ewing Whose tea party? / Boyd Wisconsin Capitol Occupation / M eisel 400 Yomango / Saura 404 Write your own CASE STUDY / You © PRACTITIONERS 407 Molitz, Schoefer-Wulf & Borron 434 RESOURCES CONTRIBUTOR BIOS PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 456 INDEX INTRODUCTION By Andrew Boyd & Dave Oswald Mitchell “The clowns are organizing. They are organizing. Over and out. ” — Overheard on UK police radio during action by Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army, July 2004 (seep. 304) “Human salvation,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. argued, “lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted,” and recent historical events are proving him as prescient as ever. As the recent wave of global revolt has swept through Iceland, Bahrain, Egypt, Spain, Greece, Chile, the United States and elsewhere, the tools at activists’ disposal, the terrain of strug- gle and the victories that suddenly seem possible are quickly evolving. The realization is rippling through the ranks that, if deployed thoughtfully, our pranks, stunts, flash mobs and encampments can bring about real shifts in the balance of power. In short, large numbers of people have seen that creative action gets the goods — and have begun to act accord- ingly. Art, it turns out, really does enrich activism, making it more compelling and sustainable. This blending of art and politics is nothing new. Tactical pranks go back at least as far as the Trojan Horse. Jesus of Naza- reth, overturning the tables of the money changers, mastered the craft of political theater 2,000 years before Greenpeace. Fools, clowns and carnivals have always played a subversive role, while art, culture and creative protest tactics have for centuries served as fuel and foundation for successful social movements. It’s hard to imagine the labor movements of the 1930s without murals and creative street actions, the U.S. civil rights movement without song, or the youth upheavals of the late 1960s without guerrilla theater, Situationist slogans or giant puppets floating above a rally. Today’s culture jammers and political pranksters, however, shaped by the politics and technologies of the new millen- nium, have taken activist artistry to a whole new level. The current political moment of looming ecological catastrophe, deepening inequality, austerity and unemployment, and grow- ing corporate control of government and media offers no choice but to fight back. At the same time, the explosion of social media and many-to-many communication technologies has put powerful new tools at our disposal. We’re building rhizomatic movements marked by creativity, humor, networked intelligence, technological sophistication, a profoundly partic- ipatory ethic and the courage to risk it all for a livable future. This new wave of creative activism first drew mainstream attention in 1999 at Battle in Seattle, but it didn’t start there. In the 1980s and ’90s, groups like ACT-UP, Women’s Action Coalition and the Lesbian Avengers inspired a new style of high-concept shock politics that both empowered partici- pants and shook up public complacency. In 1994, the Zapatistas, often described as the first post-modern revolutionary move- ment, awakened the political imaginations of activists around the world, replacing the dry manifesto and the sectarian vanguard with fable, poetry, theater and a democratic movement of movements against global capitalism. The U.S. labor move- ment, hit hard by globalization, began to seek out new allies, including Earth First!, which was pioneering new technologies of radical direct action in the forests of northern California. The Reclaim the Streets model of militant carnivals radiated out from London, and the “organized coincidences” of Critical Mass bicycle rides provided a working model of celebratory, self-organizing, swarm-like protest. Even the legendary Burning Man festival, while not explicitly political, introduced thousands of artists and activists to the lived experience of participatory culture, radical self-organization and a gift economy. The Burning Man slogans “No spectators!” and “You are the enter- tainment!” were just as evident on the streets of Seattle as they are in the Nevada desert each summer. Through the last decade, though we’ve lost ground on climate, civil liberties, labor rights and so many other fronts, we’ve also seen an incredible flourishing of creativity and tac- tical innovation in our movements, both in the streets and online. Whether it was the Yes Men prank-announcing the end of the WTO (and everyone believing it!), or the Billionaires 2 for Bush parading their “Million Billionaire March” past the Republican National Convention, or MoveOn staging a mil- lions-strong virtual march on Washington to protest the Iraq War, our movements were forging new tools and a new sensibility that got us through those dark times. Every year, new terms had to be invented just to track our own evolution: flash mobs, virtual sit-ins, denial-of-service attacks, media pranks, distributed actions, viral campaigns, subvertisements, culture jamming, etc. As a participant in many of these movements, Andrew Boyd, this project’s instigator and co-editor, had been kicking around the idea for Beautiful Trouble for almost a decade before he teamed up with web maker Phillip Smith and editor Dave Oswald Mitchell to make it happen. Little did we know what kind of a year 2011 would turn out to be. By the time our expanding team of collaborators was hammering out our first proof-of-concept modules, Egyptian revolutionaries were phoning in pizza orders to the students and workers occupying the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin. A few months later, as we were gearing up for our big finishing push, Occupy Wall Street went global. Suddenly, half the people we were trying to wrangle modules out of were working double overtime for the revolution. The excuses for why these writer/ activists were missing their deadlines were priceless (and often airtight, since we could simply confirm them by checking the day’s news!): Sorry, I had to shut down Wall Street with a blockade- carnival while distracting the cops with 99,000 donuts. Or: I’ll get that rewrite to you as soon as me and my 12,000 closest friends finish surrounding the White House to save the climate as we know it. Or: Hold on, I have to sneak a virtuoso guitarist into the most heavily guarded spot on earth that day (the APEC summit in Honolulu) to serenade Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao with a battle cry from the 99%. Or: Shit, I know I said I’d write up that guerrilla projection tactic thing you wanted, but I can’t because, get this, I’m DOING ONE RIGHT NOW see: CASE: 99% bat signal. Some- how, though, we managed to keep moving the project forward through the thick of the American Autumn. Beautiful Trouble lays out the core tactics, principles and theoret- ical concepts that drive creative activism, providing analytical tools for changemakers to learn from their own successes and 3 failures. In the modules that follow, we map the DNA of these hybrid art/action methods, tease out the design principles that make them tick and the theoretical concepts that inform them, and then show how all of these work together in a series of instructive case studies. Creative activism offers no one-size-hts-all solutions, and neither do we. Beautiful Trouble is less a cookbook than a pat- tern language , 1 seeking not to dictate strict courses of action but instead offer a matrix of flexible, interlinked modules that practitioners can pick and choose among, applying them in unique ways varying with each situation they may face. The material is organized into five different categories of content: Tactics Specific forms of creative action, such as a flash mob or an occupation. Principles Hard-won insights that can guide or inform creative action design. Theories Big-picture concepts and ideas that help us understand how the world works and how we might go about changing it. Case studies Capsule stories of successful and instructive creative actions, useful for illustrating how principles, tactics and theories can be successfully applied in practice. Practitioners Brief write-ups of some of the people and groups that inspire us to be better changemakers. 1 The originator of the concept of a pattern language, architect Christopher Alexander, introduc- es the concept thus: the elements of this language are entities called patterns. Each pattern de- scribes a problem which occurs over and over again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that you can use this solution a million times over, without ever doing it the same way twice." Alexander first introduced the concept of pattern languages in his 1977 book A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction, in which he sought to develop "a network of patterns that call upon one another” each providing ‘‘a perennial solu- tion to a recurring problem within a building context.” Pattern languages have since been devel- oped for other fields as varied as computer science, media and communications, and group process work. Though we do not follow the explicit form of a pattern language here, we were inspired by its modular interlocking format, its organically expandable structure and by the democrat- ic nature of the form, which provides tools for people to adapt to their own unique circumstances. 4 Each of these modules is linked to related modules, creating a nexus of key concepts that could, theoretically, expand endlessly. As the form took hold and the number of participating organizations and contributing writers grew, what began as a how-to book of prankster activism gradually expanded into a Greenpeace-esque direct action manual and from there grew further to address issues of mass organizing and emancipa- tory pedagogy and practice. While we’ve sought to cast as wide a net as possible, drawing in over seventy experienced artist-activists and ten grassroots organizations to distill their wisdom, we are painfully aware of the geographical, thematic and cultural limitations of the collection of modules as it currently stands. We’ve included in the book blank templates for each content type, and the capacity to submit or suggest modules on the website, in the hopes that readers will be inspired to identify, and fill in, some of these gaps. We encourage readers to explore our website, beautifultrouble. org, which is more than simply an appendage to the book, but in fact stands as perhaps the fullest expression of the project. In an easily navigable form, the website includes all the book’s content as well as material that, due to constraints of both space and time, we were unable to include in this print edition. With the participation of readers, the body of patterns that constitute Beautiful Trouble could continue to evolve and expand, attracting new contributors and keeping abreast of emerging social movements and their tactical innovations. Millions around the world have awoken notjust to the need to take action to reverse deepening inequality and ecological devastation, but to our own creative power to do so. You have in your hands a distillation of ideas gleaned from those on the front lines of creative activism. But these ideas are nothing until they’re acted upon. We look forward to seeing what you do with them. January 2012 5