What are YOU doing?

[That One Guy]

Some days I want to light the match that sets the whole world ablaze, that puts the torch to the very foundation of every last structure, organization, and preconception of safety that keeps society hobbling along in these troubled times. Some days, I want to be at the front of the rally calling for someone in charge's head on the guillotine for the masses to spit on as the axe falls. Some days, I feel physically ill becasue of the stupidity and carelessness I see all around me. Those are the days when I feel like all the illusions we use to keep ourselves "sane" get stripped away leaving me to stare in the mirror of the world and confront that part of me.

Then I remember what I'm trying to accomplish, and how I'm trying to do it.

First, a little background. As I've said before, I was raised Unitarian Unversalist in upstate New York. The sermons talked about philosophy and social responsibility and never even mention the word "god" in the hymnal.

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine ...

I'm a product of the UU Religious Education program. Before I hit middle school, I was (happily from what I can remember) subjected to things like Free to Be You and Me and other "happy hippy" schools of thought. When I hit middle school, I had sex ed in church for a year, then the year after we went to a different church, mosque, synagogue or temple every other week and talked about the basic principles of the place we were going to visit the next week when we weren't travelling. In high school, they gave us a room and made sure we didn't burn the place down and let us take over the sermon once a year to do with whatever we wanted.

I never really learned blasphemy or religious guilt like gets pounded into so, so many religions early-on - to me, "god" was just another way to try and wrap my head around the infinite universe we inhabit, not some all-powerful old guy in a dress with a bitching ZZTop beard that kept his eye on me like Santa. I got programmed differently, to respect everything even while trying to change it for the better HERE, on earth, where everyone has to actually do things rather than act like the sheep NOW to have the payoff LATER when I can't enjoy it.

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine ...

I have a natural, easy-going good nature that makes everyone - and I DO mean EVERYONE - feel comfortable talking to me about, well, anything at all. I get all the crazies that need to rant or just have someone listen for a change, I get old ladies that need directions asking me for help on the street. I watched my father do this for years - anywhere he went, he would strike up random conversations about whatever struck his or someone else's fancy. I watched and I learned. I can be comfortable around ANY group of people, from hardcore thugs in the "bad" section of town to the fucking Rotarians, and I can make them comfortable around a long-haired anarchist with an arts degree that plays bass in a band - if only for a little while until I leave. I've done volunteer work helping drunks and crazies get to detox (at their request), I've done phone calling for social action groups, I've been to rallies, and I even wasted half an hour in my senior year of high-school trying to explain pacifism to a Marine recruiter because it amused me.

Hell, I probably even have a police file somewhere in the bowels of the Machine that lists everything I've ever done, just because of the environment I was raised in.

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

All the while, I've been studying, reading, examining ... watching everything to see how people react to as many different situations as possible so I could predict how they'd react. Once I felt I had a decent feel for that, I started to work on manipulation.

I looked like a freak and was a total nerd back in high school. I had a mohawk, wore cut-off fatigue shorts even in the heart of winter (admittedly with long-johns), listened to music most of my classmates hadn't heard and would have scoffed at if they DID. All the while I was President of the AV Club for three years running, founded the RPG club, and was a total music nerd. And you know what? Since I knew about people, I never got in a fight, never had anyone spew insults at me, was never excluded from any specific cliques (although I limited my interaction with them, I stayed separate from all the typical high school posturing bullshit). I was a model student, National Honors Society, never even got written up let alone punished for anything.

And it was all part of the plan.

I kept my nose so clean it sparkles. I learned how to avoid the cops, I learned how to avoid the punishments. I made sure that when I NEED to have a clean slate, when I NEED to be able to ditch the current perception and disappear, I can. I have long hair and a goatee, no tattoos, a couple visible pieces of jewelry. In short, lots of identifying marks that I can ditch in half an hour. I only have a handful of possessions that I would care if I had to leave behind, but if I had to, they're gone. Will I be the first one up against the wall? Not if I can help it - by then I'll either already be dead or will have disappeared into the void.

None of the "greyfaces" really know how to deal with someone like me. Someone that looks one way, but acts another - neither of which fit the "preconceived" notions they have. I'm polite to everyone, from bums (even if you don't give them change, look them in the eye and acknowlege they ARE people) to CEOs. When I played jam-band funk I did it with a mohawk and spiked leather collar. When I play hip-hop I look like a metalhead - long hair, goatee, evil glint to the eye. I exploit stereotypes to twist them at every turn. As a non-violent person, I can talk ordinance with Marines - and get compliments on my Russian officer's trenchcoat that leads to a five minute discussion on the merits and detriments of various military winter gear.

I don't push the outer limits, the real "freak zone". I push the INNER boundaries, where preconceptions are rooted, where the world view sits entrenched. I (hope that I) expand peoples' concepts by direct, continuous example. Day after day, month after month, year after year I slowly keep pushing the comfort zones. It's not glamorous, and results can take years, but it DOES get results. Experience is the best teacher, so I'm out there every day, showing people that what they THINK isn't necessarily how things ARE. Every day, rain or shine, I'm trying to slip the notion that what people THINK they know about other people isn't necessarily what or how those people are.

It's not just me though. I'm that plant in the crowd - you know the one. The one that suckers the marks into thinking something they THINK is true (there IS a pea under one of those cups - I SAW IT!) actually ISN'T, despite what their senses tell them. Every time I can, I react the way I want OTHERS to react - consistency and repetition are key. One person reacting one way, one time is meaningless. One person, reacting one way every single time it happens can make a WORLD of difference if you know where and when to exert the influence.

I've spent 30 years - every minute I've been alive that I can remember - learning, watching and doing. How much have I accomplished? What have I done? How much of it all was me just being lucky - being in the right place during the right time of changes? Probably a whole hell of a lot. I like to think that I AM making an impact, though. Changing attitudes and minds is the hardest thing to do long-term. I HAVE done that in the past, and in the present, and I don't plan on stopping any time soon.

Even if I'm just deluding myself into thinking I have and will make a difference, well ... there's always the match and I've always liked watching the fires burn.

This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine ...

[Cramulus]

bravo, dude

I have a natural, easy-going good nature that makes everyone - and I DO mean EVERYONE - feel comfortable talking to me about, well, anything at all.

This is certainly true. After knowing you in the flesh for about six hours I found myself drunk on a stoop pouring my heart out to you about topics which I can't even remember through the drunken fog but they seemed so personal at that moment. You're definitely a good listener, TOG.

and I'm with you on positive social approaches to change. I've only recently discovered my more adversarial-confrontational side (THANK YOU TGRR AND HIMEOBS) but I do think one catches more flies with honey

[Darth Cupcake]

TOG--solid gold.

Also, Cram is totally right. You are a chill dude and you make it easy to talk to you. So Cram is right that you are right, really.

Seriously, that is the sort of model I aspire toward. I'm not too good at it, because IRL I tend to be hostile, sarcastic, snappy, and unsympathetic and empathizing, but so it goes. It's something to work on. You've definitely got the right idea--you can accomplish so much more if you seem trustworthy. By seeming untrustworthy, people are already automatically on their guard around you. By being, well, a smooth operator, you get their defenses down and they will do (or think) things that wouldn't otherwise happen. It's pretty cool to watch, really.

And what's REALLY awesome about that is that sometimes you end up making friends, as you encounter people and subtly change them and it turns out that they are awesome people, rather than just alienating the ignorant masses that you're trying to save from themselves. That's one hell of a perk. Then it just keeps going from there, becoming outward ripples.

[Cain]

I'm the guy playing with matches at the oil refinery.  All its going to take is one spark and everything will go up, so long as it is done right....

I also catch more flies by making it in their interest, as well as mine, to be caught.  Nothing like a mutually beneficial relationship.

[That One Guy]

That whole thing has been brewing in my head for a couple weeks (the first paragraph and the last line especially were the product of waking up around 3:30 am and grabbing a handy pen) and got solidified by the great thread in Principia Discussion that popped up recently.

I'm the guy playing with matches at the oil refinery.  All its going to take is one spark and everything will go up, so long as it is done right....

I also catch more flies by making it in their interest, as well as mine, to be caught.  Nothing like a mutually beneficial relationship.

I'm glad you can get the spark lit Cain - it takes a certain mindset AND skillset to get that done. I've worked on different skills, what I hope is complementary to it - when the time comes to make the bang, the ability to work together with a variety of approaches will be essential. Hopefully we can all work to use everyones strengths in the right way at the right time to tip the scales the way WE want them tipped.

While I hardly expect anyone else to list their methodology or any specific actions (KYFMS after all) I'm definitely curious as to what general approaches other people are taking. The nature of my methods means publicly exposing them will have negligible if any impact on the results, and nothing is illegal about that methodology. It is by no means the ONLY way I operate, but it is the main thrust.

I was really just curious about what others are doing, and I figured I'd lay out some of what I've been doing first to get the ball rolling.