Spectrum of Allies

In most social-change situations there is a struggle between those who want the change and those who don’t. On the one hand, there are people who are active supporters of the change – not just people who believe in the change but people who are taking actions to make it a reality. On the other hand, there are people who are active opposers, people who actively take actions to prevent the change.

In activist work, we often are focussed on those two groups – yet most people are somewhere between. Societies (towns, provinces, etc.) include a range of groups that can be put on a spectrum from closest to the point of view of your group, to farthest away. This spectrum of allies illustrates this point. The goal of the spectrum of allies is to identify different people – or specific groups of people – in each category, then design actions and tactics to move them one wedge to the left.

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Repetoires of Contention

Every social activist group has a bag of tricks that they draw upon to use in their protests and actions. They may include but are not limited by:
    • creation of special-purpose associations and coalitions
    • public meetings
    • solemn processions
    • vigils
    • rallies
    • demonstrations
    • sit-ins
    • petition drives
    • statements to and in public media
    • boycotts
    • strikes
    • pamphleteering
According to renowned sociologist Charles Tilly, who invented the term repertoires of contention, not only does this repertoire provide an array of possible tactics, it also limits activists, as “people generally turn to familiar routines and innovate within them, even when in principle some unfamiliar form of action would serve their interests much better.”

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Open Source Method

Corporations have a formula or model of organizing themselves that has been the standard for decades, if not centuries. A corporation files its articles of incorporation with the state and then forms a board of directors who oversee a pre-organized structure. The corporation creates departments and divisions with appropriate executives and managers and then seeks to hire qualified people to plug into various positions with pre-arranged duties and responsibilities.

Some people are more inclined and have greater goals that require an organization. There is always a danger with dissident organizations that they will become infiltrated and coopted by agents. Almost all non-profit organizations are underfunded and struggle to raise donations so they are very vulnerable to nefarious actors providing funds and inserting themselves inside the organization to compromise and control it. If non-profits grow larger it might be a good idea to split into two groups as a strategy to remain effective and avoid infiltration.

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Exit Strategies

Things could go very sideways in the coming months. An enemy who brutally murders in cold blood is an enemy to be wary of, and so far the vaccines have killed thousands and the vaccine injuries are now in the millions.

Reports of detention centers being built concurrently with the emerging vaccine passports and a media campaign against the Freedom Movement doesn’t bode well for our community. We must be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. Having said that, the following are several exit strategies that we all need to consider.

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