Influencing people — a personal success story to inspire you

[prolesunited]

My boss has always been a lifelong Dem, but definitely of a moderate stripe. However, during the course of the past year, I have helped turn him into a raging radical.

I started on a business trip last year. Stuck in a car together for hours, I went on a passionate tirade about the invasion of Iraq, PNAC, Patriot Act, the BFEE, corporate corruption, class warfare. I told him that I was out in the streets protesting. He seemed interested, but I could tell he also thought I was a little "out there."

I would send him articles occasionally. Got him on the Moveon.com mailing list. Brought up things in discussion over the course of the year. Drip, drip, drip...

To put this in perspecitve, keep in mind that this person has a couple of master's degrees and a Ph.D.

I received the following e-mail from him tonight:

The following is the statement I included with my signed petition to CBS - do you think it is a bit weak? 
 
Your use of public airwaves carries a responsibility in that you have been given a public trust to air all sides of an issue.  Yet, using public airwaves, you have denied Americans the right to have access to a variety of viewpoints before making up their mind.  In essence, YOU have made up their mind for them by withholding pertinent information.  Is this how Nazi Germany got it's start - allowing only the "accepted party line" to be heard and discussed?  What's next, burning books?  We learned from rather recent history that first it was books - then it was people.  Are we headed down the same path with pious, self-righteous right wing zealots using thought control to maintain power?  Please reconsider your ill-advised decision.  Remember, this is an election year and President Bush, by fostering this type of deceit is only sowing the seeds of his election defeat.  Then we will work to negate that legislation that has given you such power over the American people.
 
PS  I think that you have created a "monster!"  I AM ON A CRUSADE!!!

What do you think? :evilgrin:

[devilgrrl]

1. I love it!

:7

[Kanary]

2. A Monster, but a GOOD Monster..:)

Good going! Looks like you got someone to THINK.

That's an accomplishment.

Kanary

[Th1onein]

3. Good job!

I think it's wonderful.

[The Mighty Boot]

4. Good work!

I've got a couple I'm bringing around too.

Off topic:
Devilgrrl's Pazuzu flash is effin hilarious!

[radfringe]

5. Good job!

I've been 'drip...drip...driping..." on a bush supporter at my workplace

this is a contractor that comes in every couple of months to calibrate/repair a piece of equipment

just prior to the first wealthy-fare taxcut - I pointed out that the taxcut would do nothing but shift the burden from the federal level to the state/local level - this would result in taxhikes and thereby cancel out any benefits from bush*'s taxcuts

at that time the contractor told me "...the money would be kept local and that's fine with me..."

well, yesterday the contractor came in to work on the equipment and stuck his head into my office - he whined that the state taxes and his local property/school taxes were going up

I asked him why is he complaining - I told him that the bush* taxcuts would do that and that he had told me "...the money would be kept local and that's fine with me..."

he quickly changed to subject to how well the stock markets are doing - I quipped "a great stock market, so what? where are the jobs - a great stock market does no good if there are no jobs being created - people can't invest into the stock market if they have no money."

contractor: but the unemployment rate is going down

me: unemployment rate is going down because alot of people have exhausted their benefits, no longer eligible and therefore not counted in the rates. Doesn't mean that they have found jobs - just means they aren't on the rolls to be counted. Yes, the papers reported that 1,000 jobs were created - and according to my calculations this leaves bush* 2,990,000 jobs short of where our employment was when he took office

he mumbled something about getting back to work.... but later he stopped me in the hallway - asked me what I thought about no WMD's being found in Iraq

I asked him if he really wanted to hear my opinion - Yes, he said

so with a deep breath I patiently explained how bush* inc. cherry picked scraps of intelligence and using spit and glue pieced together their "evidence" - and was now blaming intelligence agencies

he nodded, and dim light seemed to go off - then it flickered out a he said "I still support bush"

I asked why would he support someone that refuses to be a true leader and take responsibility for the failures of his administration. That he has blamed the FBI for 9-11, british intelligence for the niger-yellowcake statement, the intelligence communities for not finding WMDs, and even went so far as to use Clinton as an excuse for invading Iraq - does this sound like a leader that takes responsibility?

no answer...but I think the light flickered again

[prolesunited]

7. It seems like he is soooo ready

to see the light. You still have a few more months to get him to vote for a Dem or simply not cast a ballot for Bush.

I think that slow and steady is the way to go. I think what was most effective is that much of what I predicted, particularly about the false pretenses upon which the Iraqi invasion was based, has proven to be true, just like what you did with the tax cuts.

I think one of the problems is the reluctance of people to admit they were wrong or made a mistake. You can tell he sees the truth, but doesn't want to admit it.

Perhaps you can talk a little bit about propaganda and how so many smart and intelligent people have been duped so that he doesn't feel so alone.

I bet in a few more months, you'll be telling a similar story. Keep up the good work!

[Nlighten1]

6. Sweet.

:yourock:

[bleedingheart]

8. that's great!

[radwriter0555]

9. He's a real American, and you've given him the courage to voice

his knowledge and opinions.

AWESOME!

[prolesunited]

10. I think it is all something

we have the power to do with our friends, family and co-workers. There are so many opportunities in our lives to speak truth to power. Don't pass them up.

I've become so obsessed that I will now find ways to strike up conversations with complete strangers, like grocery store clerks.

Another interesting true story. My boss is a Dean supporter and wore a Dean T-shirt when we went to the San Diego Zoo. San Diego is quite conservative, but people were extremely responsive. We were stopped periodically throughout the day by people who wanted to discuss politics based on his T-shirt.

They weren't necessarily Dean supporters, but they seemed genuinely happy to see someone else who didn't support Bush. In all we talked to seven or eight people or groups, and it wasn't just out-of-towners. One was a zoo employee and another a volunteer.

In the middle of this GOP, military-dominated enclave we talked about the war being based on a lie, corporate rip-offs and giveaways, the Patriot Act, joblessness, etc. One thing that struck and impressed me was the level of knowledge that these people had about these topics. The truth IS out there and people are discovering it.

Drip, drip, drip...

[FrankBooth]

11. I like it!

I briefly dated a woman who is a fundie and loved Dumbya.

Even though I pretty quickly broke it off with her, we've remained friends. At this point she now thinks Bush is the anti-christ, and has also begun to question the psychology of fundamentalism at her church - it has been very satisfying for me, and interesting to watch how truly angry she has become now that she knows she was being manipulated, both by the repugs and her church.

[prolesunited]

12. I have a co-worker who is a Fundie as well

I, too, convinced her that Bush is the anti-Christ.

This site helped a lot:
http://www.endtimesnetwork.com/index.html

It's pretty out their but they use scripture to attack Bush, Aschcroft and the religious right. It does make for some interesting reading.

[Cleita]

13. Fabulous, you give me hope of converting some

moderate Democrats I know. They too think I'm out there, especially about the PNAC stuff. I hope they come around for me too.

[prolesunited]

14. I think what really helped was that many of the things I predicted,

particularly with Iraq, has turned out to be true. We usually know things here several months before they go mainstream. Lay out your predictions and then remind that person when they hit the airwaves.

Good luck and it doesn't hurt to keep trying. :hi: