Basic:
1. Be safe
2. Stay open
3. It's all theater
4. Have fun
Basic visibility tips
"Generally, a smile goes a long way, and it's pretty clear that an open, positive outlook is the best way to grow and knit our community together"
—Fraeda
Visibility is a chance for us to connect with our community. It reminds us that when we want to talk with our neighbors, we don't need to hire an expert, pay a fee, get permits, or ask "permission" to do it. In this sense, our visibility actions are to reclaim important cultural landscape in our community that has been lost over time to the corporate media.
There is a myth that progressive values are "fringe" values. The corporate media will do all possible to reinforce this lie. And that's what makes the novelty of our visibility actions so powerful — our stunts do a "leap frog" — they powerfully thrust our issues directly into the public consciousness, minus the phony pundit filter of lies and spin. It is direct and simple. It is free. Anyone can do it, and here is how you can do it.
First, We are serious, responsible people doing serious, responsible work. The need for awareness and caution and good sense can not be overstated. For instance, if you are handing out materials to cars or are otherwise near the road, make sure that you obey the traffic laws and do everything you can to keep yourself and motorists safe. It leverages our visibility efforts to be accurately perceived 'good citizens'. This means that is is not only safety itself, but the "appearance" of safety that's important. Be mindful of what our actions look like to those around us.
Get centered before you go out. Take the time to clear yourself of any "us verses them" attitude. Stay open, whomever you encounter. We are all members of the same community — all of us — the people passing by, and also authorities we may come in contact with. It's okay that we disagree on some big issues, but we ARE a community, working together to resolve big problems.
So it's best that you work at internalizing this notion of community and have that sense of community clearly show when we are out doing visibility work — in our eye contact, in our body language, and in our words and actions.
This is NOT to say that we are passive lumps, or that we should meekly absorb unending verbal abuse. But a studied and practiced response to provocation is crucial. The street corner, overpass or car window is no place to respond from temper.
"It's all theater!"
Everything you do when you have your visibility materials displayed is part of the theater. That means everything! Mostly this works FOR us, and only occasionally does it work against us. It works against us when we slip up, get distracted, and fail to stay attentive to what observers are seeing. When this happens we could very well be putting out some really BAD theater. If we slack our awareness and things slide out of joint, in just a very few moments it is possible to negate much of the positive visibility and community we have just spent hours developing.
Often a passerby will catch only the briefest glimpse of our visibility action. This can still be a positive "takeaway" even if all they got was the basic theme or slogan coupled to a positive observation that the people holding the signs seemed to be nice people having fun. It is very useful and powerful for the public to associate positive, energetic people with the campaign. So smile, wave at cars, get excited when people honk etc. And of course, the opposite can also be true. Never let bad theater be visible to the public. If things aren't going well, or if you are tired and out of sorts, well... take a break. People can tell.
For these actions to be sustainable, they have to be fun for the folks you have called out to stand with you. This is vital, invigorating, and effective work, but don't overdo it. Two to 2-1/2 hours is plenty. It's generally better to do actions somewhat more frequently, but for shorter periods of time, rather than in marathon sessions.
Try to leave it so people will want to come back and do it again. That is not going to happen if folks head home after a visibility action with the start of a budding martyr complex out of sheer exhaustion. To help avoid this problem it's good to have a social get-together built into the planing for immediately after the action.
This is the time to share and laugh and eat and hug each other. This is a long road we are walking here, and we need to take care of each other along the way.
A note of inclusiveness: If you decide to have food after your visibility action, pick the spot carefully. Make sure it is somewhere people of ALL economic means feel comfortable. Restaurant prices don't hit everyone's pocketbook the same way.
Dealing with the negative
Negative stuff happens. Our message pushes people hard, and that's the idea. But you have to realize, most people don't wake up on a given morning looking around for some big change in their life. People just don't think in those terms and we may as well accept it. People don't really like change.
That's a hard reality for activists to deal with, but it's a necessary understanding. And it's an insight that helps immeasurably when you find yourself in a conflict situation during visibility work. These do happen, and you should acknowledge them as such. And if you are serious about your visibility work over the long haul, you had better tune yourself up for it. Because there's no denying: This is a fight we are involved in. But it is not going to help you, the situation, or the world, to inflame the upset further during a face-to-face.
Try to keep the interaction upbeat and respectful to the extent possible.
Watch the reaction of those around you and pay special attention to your own body language. This is theater, this is theater! But at the same time, keep in mind that a big part of our message is that we are done with passive victimhood.
And this is important.
Ugly right-wing attacks and crude badgering have kept "our side" quiet and timid for 25 years or more. We keep trying to be "nice", because, well, that's, generally, who we are. But unfortunately, bullies most often read attempts at civility as weakness. 12 Warning Signs of Fascism
Well, for us, let's just say here and now that we are through with being victimized and bullied!
Write this down: The sun has set on the day we meekly "take it" from loudmouthed oafs. We are not going to be shouted down or bullied out of our own neighborhoods by intimidation or appeasement. We have decided that we will finally stand our ground.
And just what do you suppose, but this most curious thing happened: It was when we stopped backing up in fear that we actually stopped being afraid! Now go figure.
Better yet, we are now going forward as a model for our neighbors: We have shown that it is okay to stand up boldly! We have demonstrated and modeled that it's a good thing to stand true in the face of intimidation.
The bullies out there are learning from us that the free ride is over for their vicious behavior. We are no longer afraid and we are finally going to have our say.
This country isn't going our way and we can see that. But we know in our hearts that we are on a path to turn this mess around. We certainly understand the seriousness of the situation, but consider this a pledge upon our graves, we WILL turn this mess around.
But in our one-to-ones, out on our visibility actions, we have learned that shouted and angry comebacks aren't very productive. In fact, once we get to yelling on a street corner, we come off looking just as bad as "Bubba" to anyone watching. And folks, not to keep harping on it, but this makes for really, really, bad theater. And we need to avoid that at all costs. Okay, so, what to do?
"Well, not to say that it will work every time, but laughter is often the best response"
Yes! Laughter is a fine response that has many times proved to be great psychological jujitsu, and here's how it works.
You're out on a visibility and Bubba appears in patriotic fervor, ready for battle. As you regard his predictable little flecks of spittle, you assess for a bit —and then, well... you play him. But you play him carefully, and you play him by plan. That means you don't feed him with argument, you don't give him what he wants. You don't give him what he expects, — instead, throughout his opening salvo, you look at him with the best neutral expression you can muster. You wait a bit for the slightest pause, and then you smile, you give your head a sad little shake, and then laugh right out loud, right in his face -- but not too loud, and not too forcefully, and not too long.
"Remember, you don't want to beat up on Bubba personally. Your task is to neutralize his harmful positions."
Oh, yes! It's amazing to watch the reaction. Bubba is all puffed up expecting his anger to be returned, but you refuse to buy in. Instead, his position has just been thoroughly discounted by everyone watching, and this without a word coming from you.
Most likely at this point he is going to up the ante, trying desperately for an angry response. But all he gets back is that same somewhat bemused expression of sympathy. We can say, "ouch!" for the poor guy as your gaze passes over him — and then through him, and you seem to find something interesting off beyond his right shoulder... He is no longer in your universe, he no longer has your attention. He just isn't interesting enough to keep you engaged.
Usually by now he's looking a bit wobbly. He's casting about, confused. And if it's working right, what observers see is him standing there, holding a bag full of garbage, slack-jawed, and nowhere to go.
We have often seen this technique deflate even the most vicious attacks.
It takes some practice, and you have to stay loose and flexible, but it's actually a fun exercise once you see it as such. And my, oh my, it's fun to watch, too!
But remember, this poor guy most likely is not a bad person or an actual enemy. So don't lay it on thicker than necessary. Also, if it sounds forced, it sounds phony.
For the interaction to be considered a success, this next part is vital.
At this point you must mark out some obvious face-saving exit for the retreating party. Here comes the real payoff in this interaction. It's at this concluding point that you stretch as hard as you can to find some common ground to share as you part company. That way, Bubba is going to walk away thinking. Just be sure it is clear to you, to Bubba, and to any observers that you are no longer a victim. It's Theater! Theater! Theater!
These difficult scenes are rare. By far, mostly what we get out there is a lot of positive reinforcement from the honks and the waves and the conversations. But it would be best to discard any notion that your efforts are going to show immediate, visible results. It just doesn't work that way.
Good seed in fertile ground is probably a better image to hold in mind. Open your heart to your neighbors and then keep at it. Just keep at it. Just keep at it.
Your effort IS registering in the public. And even those folks who are glowering at us today? ... Well, it's good for them to see us, too! Next month they might very well be standing next to you holding a banner. And that's how it works.
Specific:
1. Logo
status signage
2.
Music makes a big difference
3.
Banners and visibility props
4.
Some MVP visibility actions
Specific visibility tips, actions and props
Logo status signage- When doing visibility for a specific cause or candidate, you want all or nearly all your signs to be the same. In this way the combination of colors and images can take on "logo status" in people's minds. When they see the same sign image repeated over and over again, they will not have to actually read it, rather the mind will recognize it instantaneously. When you deploy 40 or 50 signs all together, it makes your action unified and does a lot to leverage your visibility and impact.
This means that you have an essential but thankless task as the visibility organizer, to gently educate people to leave their individual sign placards at home for the day.
Music gets people's attention and also gives observers a "positive energy" association to take away from the visibility event. It also works wonders to keep the energy level high for those doing the visibility action. When possible, "live" music is very good. It's an extra layer of theater and draws lots of extra attention and interest from passers by. And besides, it's fun!
Banners can be used on street corners as well as on overpasses. An easy and inexpensive way to make highly visible and very durable banners is to cut a blue plastic tarp to size and then staple on letters made of Tyvek "house wrap" paper, readily available at building supply stores. Other important visibility props are T-shirts, buttons, yard signs, bumper stickers, signs in car windows and "window chalk", and car topper signs.
MVP visibility actions There are many possibilities for visibility actions. There are 3 that we do most often here at the MVP.
1. "Street corner" visibility This action is made up of various combinations of banners, signs, loudspeaker music with dancing, recorded political speech, use of flood lights after dark, and other props. We engage motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians, sometimes with leafleting. We have found that it is best to have a minimum of 7 people doing this type of visibility. This is the number that provides a critical mass of energy making for the best effect. Of course, street corner visibility can be done with fewer participants, but the energy level, for both the public and the participants, suffers in direct proportion to the numbers.
2. Freeway and pedestrian overpass bannering. This is for maximum eyeballs with a minimal message. It is best for citywide events that the entire message content can be carried in just a few words. (It doesn't matter how many cars are going by if the "wordy" message is unreadable at 65 mph!)
And once again, the more people up on the overpass, the better the "theater" will be, increasing the overall visibility effect. Using state transportation department traffic reports from the Internet, we know that this method puts our message out to tens, or even hundreds of thousands of people in very short order.
Here is what a typical bannering action looks like, from beginning to end.
We have put together a visual tutorial on how to make these banners. We go through complete detailed instructions, tools required, materials, etc. How We Make Freeway Banners has the info you need to be out on the overpass by this weekend!
The big issue with overpass visibility actions is safety, safety, safety. Probably the number one safety concern is wind. But think about it: this is common sense, really. If ever there is a question that the wind is too strong, you MUST ground all banners immediately. Don't mess around with this. It just isn't worth the risk. The laws physical nature are apolitical and unforgiving.
Another example is the issue of emergency vehicles passing. When the flashing lights are headed our way, we want to cause no distraction. Do all you can to immediately become as inconspicuous as possible. Most of this is core-value responsibility stuff and common sense to keep us all safe.
3. The third major type of visibility action is the sound car. The sound car is decked out with toppers and bumper stickers. We have the big speakers on top of the car for music and a microphone to one of our skilled orators sitting in the front seat. Our experience is that a woman's voice just plain works better. And also that the simpler the message, the better. Use a prepared script you have practiced thoroughly. It must sound natural to be convincing. Do not "ad lib". We have found the preparation is necessary for clarity and for the good theater we are striving for.
A three-car caravan works best. And there should be 3-4 or more excited, happy, energetic people in each car, waving, singing, hanging out the windows with signs, all having a great time and showing it. Sound car visibility actions work great like this, and the public smiles and responds very well. However, it does NOT work to have a single car driving around solo with only one or two people in it! (This usually comes across as the "lone nut making a nuisance of himself", and people resent being disturbed by the noise, etc...) Remember, "it's all theater!"
Please let us know about YOUR visibility work experiences. We are all making this up as we go along. And that's fine. That's why it's working!
Here are some more pictures of the Majority Visibility Project in action around the country. And some specifically of our bannering in the Seattle area.
Majority Visibility Project - Seattle
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