"We have the tools. We have the talent!"
Let's celebrate ... and notice what we've learned ... from Kimmelgate ... because the Stay-Puft Marshmellow man is coming.
I love this little scene. The Ghostbusters have just shot Gozer with their particle streams and she has vanished into thin air.
They have just done something fantastic. And when we do something fantastic … it’s good to celebrate … and to recognize what it took to get it done.
“We have the tools … We have the talent!” Winston crows.
And then Peter Venkman adds:
“It’s Miller time!”
And … everyone who has seen the movie also knows … they called that putt too soon. Because Gozer is not dead … just waiting to take a different form.
The Stay-Puft Marshmellow man is on his way.
There’s a moment when we’ve had some initial success … just a moment … when we can not only celebrate but learn from it.
Those moments are brief — the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man is always on his way -- and they are important.
On September 18, Disney/ABC announced that it was suspending Jimmy Kimmel indefinitely.
Four days later, they announced the suspension was lifted.
One day later, Kimmel returned to the air.
Clearly something happened. We made it happen.
We have the tools. We have the talent!
And we should look at both of those. Learn what worked … and how … and why.
But first a little about power.
For this part, I’m indebted to a chain of people. Primarily to musician and activist Andre Henry, who introduced me to the work of Gene Sharp, and actually introduced me to Srdja Popovic (who wrote Blueprint for Revolution … subject of this summer’s book exploration).
First, think.
Who has the power in this country right now?
Whatever answer just popped into your head is probably right … there are different types of power and many different people and institutions wield them.
And … if you want to know who has the greatest power … look (collectively) in the mirror.
We tend to think of power flowing downward from leaders and “powerful people” … but all of that power requires consent … our consent.
Gene Sharp, an American political scientist, theorist and activist known primiarly for his work on nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience writes this (if you know Andre, you’ve heard this before):
“By themselves, rulers cannot collect taxes, enforce repressive laws and regulations, keep trains running on time, prepare national budgets, direct traffic, manage ports, print money, repair roads, keep markets supplied with food, make steel, build rockets, train the police and army, issue postage stamps or even milk a cow. People provide these services to the ruler through a variety of organizations and institutions. If people would stop providing these skills, the ruler could not rule.”
Put another way for Monty Python fans…
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords (or insert other system of anointing authority) is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses!
Power requires consent.
There are limits to the exercise of authority and we have the power to decide what those limits are.
Now … there are various things that can impact our decisions.
Sanction, coercion and funding are three ways people try to manipulate how we acknowledge authority.
We saw someone with formal authority — the president — use coercion and the threat of sanction and the fear of a lucrative merger not being approved as a way to influence the consent of the Disney corporation to accede to its demands.
That’s on brand.
Those who have positions of formal authority — like presidents and corporate CEOs — need us to think of power flowing downward … because that means they have it and we don’t. And they can do things like threaten a company and get them to take a comedian off the air.
We are better served by realizing that power flows upward by our consent. We got a taste of that last week.
Sharp writes
“If teachers don’t teach, schools don’t run. If people don’t repair the roads, they become unusable.”
The image Sharp uses is an upside down triangle. Sharp says,
“Unjust authority on its own is naturally unstable and needs pillars of support to keep it upright — workers to keep the system chugging along so the powerful can keep their status.”
What holds up the triangle – oppression – are what sharp calls “pillars of support.”
I’ve written recently about the limits of resistance.
Although there are certainly times for resistance, it is usually a model that presumes a traditional view of power. Power is flowing downward and crushing people and we resist it.
Sharp .. and what we just did around Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension show a different … and more effective way … targeting pillars of support.
A regime’s power is propped up by key institutions and groups, and if these “pillars of support” are weakened or removed, the regime will collapse.
What are some of the pillars that support a dictatorial leader?
The military and police
The bureaucracy and civil servants
Economic institutions and businesses
Religious institutions
The media
What others can you name?
If these “pillars of support” are weakened or removed, the regime will collapse
Sharp identified several sources of power that the pillars provide to a regime. Things like:
Authority — the perceived legitimacy of the ruler (if influential people and institutions recognize the leader’s authority, more people are likely to do the same)
Human resources — bringing large groups who will obey and cooperate to the leader
Skills and knowledge — people with the expertise to help the leader carry out the regime’s functions
Material resources — finances, supplies, transportation … the stuff a leader needs to function.
Sanctions — the ability to punish and reward people.
Disney/ABC is one of the pillars that supports the current administration. They provide authority for his regime when they act out of fear of how he uses his power. They are affirming “he is the president and we have to do what he says.”
But Disney/ABC is a company that is run by a CEO and board of directors that are driven by one concern and one concern only — stock value … particularly short-term stock value. (If you don’t think this is true … ask former Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish … ousted less than a year ago after that company’s lost nearly half its value.)
And so Disney/ABC caves to Trump … so we ask … what are the pillars that support Disney?
Reputation — Disney has a brand more than a century old. It is a brand that is synonymous for many people with America and families. Disney depends on a reputation of being a force for good.
Actors and the creative community — At least for now (hello, AI!), Disney needs human creative people to produce high quality products for sale
Subscription base, ad revenue, and real and perceived present and future profitability — customers who are willing consistently to buy its products.
What turned around the Kimmel suspension so quickly was not mass marches (more on that in a later post) … it was strategically attacking each one of these pillars. In short order, large groups of people organized to
… cast Disney/ABC as anti-first amendment, McCarthyite and generally anti-American … putting their brand at risk.
…mobilize actors and the creative community to not only criticize Disney/ABC but to say they will not work for them until Kimmel is reinstated.
…a mass boycott of their product
All these combined to hit Disney/ABC in the one place that matters … their bottom line.
During the period of Kimmel’s, Disney’s stock dropped by around 3.3 % according to shareholder letters and media reports.
In dollar/market-cap terms, that decline corresponded to a loss of nearly $4 billion in market value over those days.
We have the tools.
We have the talent.
It’s Miller time!
And … the Stay-Puft Marshmellow man is coming.
Now is the time to look at what worked … and Empire adapts, so we have to be ready for that, too.
Where else could we put these tools and talents to work?
Srjda Popovic last week suggested that instead of trying to get southern state legislators who are in the backpocket of the NRA to pass waiting periods and background checks for guns — which they are probably never going to do — to recognize that just 2.5% of gun retailers account for more than 50% of gun sales in the U.S.
Using this model, what would it look like to figure out how to pull down the pillars that support Rural King (RK Guns), Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s, Dunham’s Sports, and Adventure Outdoors.
ICE has intentionally located detention centers in small towns that become economically dependent on the jobs they provide. The town itself becomes a pillar of support.
So maybe a strategy would be to go to a (relatively) progressive corporation like Costco and see if they would be willing to promise to bring a distribution center with higher paying jobs to the town if we were able to successfully shut down the detention center.
I don’t know if that would work … but it’s an example of strategic thinking that recognizes where the power really lies … with us.
Revolutions start small.
Small victories are critical. They are times for celebration and evaluation.
Remember the upside down triangle.
Brainstorm pillars of support (you might need to make separate upside-down triangles for them with their own pillars of support). Be as specific as possible.
Inventory the tools and talent we have to bring to bear on pulling down those pillars.
Strategize, organize and implement.
We can do this … We just did!
We have the tools. We have the talent.
We should feel really good about ourselves. It’s Miller Time!
And …
The Stay-Puft Marshmellow man is still out there.