Recipes for Disaster: an anarchist cookbook

Be Interesting A sound bite, whether it's on videotape or in print, is just that: a very small forkful of information. Your message won't make it into print if it's weighted down with grandiose generalities and meaningless statistics. Choose two or three points and stick with them, and present your points without shouting, crying, or swearing. At the same time, don't feel that you need to fill in the shades of gray?the victim of police brutality you are championing may indeed have been a bigamist or have passed a bad check, but it's not your job to point that out: the point you want to make is that he was unarmed and not committing a crime at the time he was shot. The biotechnology company you are targeting may indeed fund community playgrounds, and the CEO may be a really nice guy, but that's beside the point if they are putting fish genes in the tomatoes. You want to tell a story that could be written on a 3 "X5" index card; let the reporter dig up her own dirt.

Be Boring On the other hand, there are times when you don't want any press at all If you look as though you've got something to hide, if you act hostile, if you put your hand over the camera lens or give a reporter the finger, you're only going to whet her appetite. Say you are at a convergence and an SUV full of camera people and on-air reporters pulls up. This is the moment when the press liaison puts on her other guise as someone so colorless and dull that the reporters lose interest and leave of their own accord. She should show her Mainstream Media willingness to answer questions, but give the most benign and long-winded answers she 364 can, sort of anti-sound bites. Slow the process down?if the reporters ask for access, the

press liaison (who clearly identifies herself as such and not a leader) says that your group does not have a press policy yet and would have to decide that at a consensus meeting which won't be held until the evening, but that she would be happy to answer questions in the meantime. Treat inflammatory questions Ughtly and answer them with a friendly helpfulness. "Why yes, I know that some of the people here do identify as anarchists. Do you know the historical roots of the term 'anarchism'? Well, ..." If need be, answer the question you wish the reporter asked, not the one he or she actually asked. Q: What are you people doing here? A: Our concern is with the spread of corporate globalization, which is destroying the environment and decimating Third World economies. Q: Are you terrorists? A: We are trying to spread our message through a series of puppet performances and music shows. In particular we support the efforts of indigenous people to control access to water and native medicinal plants, Q: Who is the leader of your group? A: Our philosophy is based on the principles of consensus and non-hierarchical organizing. Q: Why won't you let me come in and film your camp? A: We are here to express our concern with the spread of corporate globalization, which is destroying the etc., etc. Remember you've got more to lose than the reporter does?all she has to do is make you angry and she's got a story, but it's not the story you want out there. Be boring.

Indymedia: Most sites have an open wdre where anyone can post stuff; many have calendars as well. Get to know members of the local Indymedia collective {or become one yourself), and let them know what your group is up to.

Email: Rewrite your press release so it's a little less dry, and send it out to everyone you can think of with the heading Please Forward And Post Widely. Don't abuse your friends or your listservs, but take advantage of the technology whenever you can.

Links: Get your story on a website, or put up your oviTi website, and get as many other sites to link to it as you can.

Don't O\^erlook the Obi^ious

Mainstream Media 365

Mental Health

If you are experiencing a breakdown at this moment, skip to the section entitled "Crisis."

It is important to break the silence surrounding the struggles many of us face with the states of being commonly characterized as mania, depression, schizophrenia, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. We need to establish networks of support and guidance for those who are suffering in these ways and are understandably distmstfiil of the psychiatric industry.

There are no correct or incorrect ways to develop a healing process. My experience, like yours, validates itself. I do not claim to be an authority on these matters, nor do I believe in institutional diagnostic treatment for mental and emotional problems. I have lived and am living through what I write about, and I offer the strategies that have helped facilitate my healing. Compare everything here to your own experience and see what resonates with you.