Anonymous Guest 10 Mar 2015

I attended your event at Eastside Memorial High School in Austin yeadretsy afternoon, your speech and the Q and A were terrific! Thanks so much for making time in your busy schedule to make a public appearance, everyone in the audience (which seemed to be 80% teachers) was invigorated by your words. I'd like to expand on one topic you touched on during the Q and A: you advocated demonstrations as a way to get media attention, and referenced the widespread press coverage of the group of parents and students who protested the talking pineapple test question in front of Pearson's headquarters. The talking pineapple protest garnered so much attention partly because the pineapple story was comically ludicrous. Protests that include some element of humor, surprise, or shock value have the best hope of getting media attention. This is something important to keep in mind when planning a protest showing up with signs and a bullhorn usually isn't enough to get the press interested, there needs to be a comical or shocking hook. (Michael Moore is among the successful activists who advocate using humor to protest injustices.) Budding activists should watch the Yes Men documentaries or visit yeslab.org to see ideas for using humor, shock, or surprise to gain attention for your cause. The other side has billions of dollars to bankroll movies, astroturf groups, and lobbyists. We need to counter with hard work and ingenuity.