"SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION"
CUEE’s well-funded attempt to get Valdostans to abandon their school system demonstrates how economic elites use their power today. Here is CUEE’s own local, homegrown recipe on how to do that. Feel free to share it with others.
Step 1) Instead of forcing people to do something, have your attorneys (or attorney friends) use the law, “incorporate” your efforts, and say that you are a community “non-profit organization.” This both limits your personal liability and gives the public the impression that you are trying to “help” the community, that you are something like a “homeless shelter” or the “YMCA.” It doesn’t really matter if you ever become a non-profit officially or not (CUEE has not). The point is to appear as one.
Step 2) Once you are incorporated, carefully handpick a small number of locally respected and compliant folks to join and endorse your cause, especially people that look different from you. You see, most of us feel important when “important people” include us in things and this move makes it seem you want to be inclusive. It’s also better to always get others to do your bidding for you. Once aboard, get these folks to sell your idea to the masses. If they turn out to be non-complaint, or if they ask too many tough questions, simply stop inviting them to your meetings and replace them with a new group of agreeable people. At the same time, be sure to always politely and quietly exclude anyone who asks to be a part of your effort, especially those that may ask too many questions about your motives or plans.
Step 3) When you embark on your effort, say that you are simply interesting in “looking at an issue” and then commission “a study” on it. This gives the public the appearance that you are really being objective and are open minded, that you don’t have a pre-defined goal. If it is discovered that your “study’ is seriously flawed or if it shows something you don’t want it to reveal, downplay or simply dismiss it. If you are asked about it, say it was simply a “first look” at the issue, that it was a “pilot study” of sorts.
Step 4) This one is really important. In addition to using corporate law, use the electoral process to your advantage as well. Again, relying on those around you with legal expertise, find and exploit any loopholes, strange, or outdated statutes in the law to get what you want. For example, if the law says a county school system has to absorb a city school system if that city system abandons its charter, and citizens in that county don’t have a say in the matter, exploit that statute. This may do a couple of important things. First, it may shift attention from you to the people who get to “vote” on the matter, as if they are the problem. However, keep in mind this tactic can backfire and may actually unite some folks against you. Second, saying that you “just want to put the matter to a vote” makes you appear to be “democratic.” In fact, you can say that you are simply wanting “the people to decide” the matter through our sacred voting process. Never mind the fact that you are excluding other folks affected by that vote, a point you want to minimize as much as possible.
Keep in mind that in order to “use” the electoral process you’ll have to set up a “referendum” committee to get the issue on the local ballot. This again will take some money and legal expertise. However, this will also allow you to “legally” raise thousands upon thousands of confidential dollars from other elites to fund your agenda (you know, for the stuff you’ll need, office space, staff, advertising, etc.). Once it’s formed and money starts coming in, you can even use some of those funds to hire temporary workers. Use them to collect the signatures you’ll need to get your issue on the ballot in your next election. Workers won’t be hard to find especially in a time where lots of folks are hurting financially and need work.
Step 5) Once you are incorporated with your “referendum” committee in place, begin to symbolically “include” others, even a few of those that may challenge you. Say you want to “dialogue with the community.” However, be sure to do this in a way you control (the time, place, location, rules of engagement), something like a “public forum” you host. Then show up at the event, be friendly, nod, and smile as folks share their concerns, evidence, and objections. Appear as if you are listening and seriously weighing what people have to say. Be sure to thank them for “caring enough to come out” to the forum. After you do a few of these events (never in places where you are outnumbered by poor people or people that don’t look like you), wrap them up and thank “the public” for their valuable “input.” Tell them their comments will be “seriously considered” as you move forward and that you appreciate their “participation.” In short, act as if you are going to weigh all the evidence and don’t already have your mind made up.
Step 6) Now that you have your corporation, “study,” committee of allies, a political fundraising arm, and “a vote” in place, and after you have “listened” to and “dialogued” with “the community,” BOMBARD the voting community with an expensive and extensive advertising campaign (flyers, websites, email, radio, billboards, etc.). In that campaign tell voters how to vote. Catchy, heart touching slogans and phrases always works best, something like “vote yes for our children” is great because who wants to vote “no” for children? Also, be sure to use whatever images or celebrities that might appeal to those you are “targeting.” If you can, use someone who looks or sounds famous (even if they are not). Use people’s heroes to get them to vote your way, somebody like a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. because who can disagree with Dr. King? Ignore any and all outcries about the integrity of your tactics and quietly shift to someone less sacred if folks are offended by your approach.
Step 7) With everything in motion, at this point sit back and hope your tactics will get a majority of folks to vote your way. Remember, be patient. If you fail this time, you have plenty of dollars, power, and time to come at it again down the road, especially when the community gets tired or is distracted with other, more pressing issues (like finding and keeping jobs, making ends meet, getting healthcare, etc.).
Noting these steps, I should say that there are a few rules rich folks do have to abide by if they are going to be successful. Here are a few of those.
Rule 1) You must be adaptable and change your message and language as necessary, especially when you meet serious opposition. For instance, when people challenge the idea of “consolidation” simply change the word to “unification,” unification sounds better and the idea of unity is a hard one to argue against. Furthermore, always and repeatedly say you are about things like “fairness,” “equality,” “the children,” and “our future.” What good-hearted person can be against those things?
Rule 2) Never, never, never, never tell folks where you are getting your money, how much money you have, how you are paying for everything, and who gets paid what. If you are legally required to share that information, wait to that last possible minute to do so. Also, never tell people where you live in relation to poor people and the people most affected by your agenda. Never tell anyone how much you make a year, how much you are worth, or where your kids go to school. Never disclose how much property you own or the names of the powerful people you have close ties to or play golf with. To do so might raise suspicion about your motives and ultimate agenda.
Rule 3) If asked why you now care about “your” issue, one you ignored for decades, remain silent and play ignorant. If people ask if you, or those around you, benefited from that issue (like how many of Valdosta’s elite built and marketed suburb after suburb and those “good county schools” to whites for years) change the subject immediately. Simply answer with catch phrases and slogans. Explain that you are simply worried about “the community” and “the children” because “they are the future.” Never admit to or take any responsibility of any kind.
Rule 4) Last but certainly not least, through it all you must always remain calm, pleasant, and “in control.” This means you must never become emotional or lose your temper publicly. Also, never, never, never apologize for anything or admit to any mistakes or questionable actions. This shows weakness. Just remember to always be polite, rational, “civilized,” and appear sensible as you carry out your plans.
So there it is, a peek into the world and way of CUEE and its creators. As a model that is both “legal” and “civilized,” CUEE’s approach demonstrates that the best way to get folks to do one’s will is to “sell” it to them instead of forcing it upon them. That way they think they are utterly involved and “participating” in the decision making process. That way they will consent to the outcome. That way, and because it is “legal,” they are apt to think it is morally upright. Regardless of the fact that none of these are necessarily true, it is also an approach you can expect to see again and again in the future regardless of the voting outcome of November 8th.
Sincerely,
Mark Patrick George
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