The emaciated bellies of the working/starving class groaned in unison. As the sound tore through the empty evening a thought emerged and wouldn't yield. Soon an idea grew and refused to be stifled. Collectively they plotted against the old guard...united they stood, a nation of misrepresented and utterly ignored citizens. A plan was hatched to put things right, and in the eyes of these abused and broken, this would be the revolution their country so desperately desired. Soon they gathered in the city squares determined to obstruct various injustices in an attempt to make their case heard. Naturally camera crews would be dispatched to infiltrate the swarm and get a sniff of the "real story".
Reporters from every major network would eventually descend upon the growing protest in search of a ratings boost. But just who do you think they'll drag out of the crowd to represent the thousands gathered against the machine? Surely no one who would be taken seriously by the story hungry media monster. Don't for a second assume the newly appointed spokesman will be articulate or even warmly quotable. No sir, the seasoned mass media drones will no doubt drag some half stoned unwashed "freak" out in front of the nation to stumble through a host of bizarre questions perfectly designed to make the gathered masses look like fools. The game is afoot. Prepare to mock the potentially dangerous situation into comedic obscurity and send the slaves back into the mines.
Soon the rumor mill begins churning out a chaotic curmudgeon of misinformation. Weeks of Early Show pokes and prods will reduce what started as a noble attempt to shift the balance of power to an unintelligible infantile "fit". The protesters will be given fair warning now to vacate. Slowly the rest of the nation, buying into the propaganda, (as it is in our nature to believe whatever the television tell us to believe) will turn on the protesters and the police will employ riot dispersal tactics. Teargas canisters and mace bombs fly into crowded streets. It begins to become clear now to the beer swilling recliner bound retiree glued to the television that non-violent protesters exercising their rights are a force to be reckoned with.
Each day will begin the same in cities across the nation. A request to disperse followed by a warning. Before long innocent men women and children singing songs of freedom and embracing a new ideology are assaulted on all sides. Newscasters paint a picture of rebellious youth turned misguided mob mentality running wild in YOUR fair city streets. While threats of violence and the fear of legal reprisal send some quickly to their homes many others will stand their ground and wind up behind bars for their "seditious" acts. Warped statistics will speed across television screens: 200 arrested, 12 officers assaulted.
The morning papers flooded with misinformation hit the stands swaying more and more onlooker opinions before the ink has had a chance to dry.
"Peaceful Protesters Resort to Violence!"
"Madness in The Streets!"
"Drugs Play Large Part in Death of Protest"
The onlookers stop now only to stare at the twisted wreckage of protesters tangled in the gears of the propaganda machine. Ongoing, but less frequent coverage of the growing confusion will paint a picture of failure. Clever editing plays its part in proliferating authoritative claims, further banishing the actual message into an abysmal mass media fog.
There are media outlets who in an attempt to clear the air will want to speak to those who spearheaded this campaign. A small amount of ink will be allocated to the truth. But by this time the national opinion is set in stone. The damage is done. A few hundred like minded souls will pull off similar but drastically smaller demonstrations and those of us who get the meaning will be wary of any media attention.
This pattern of counter intelligence is no new tactic. Create confusion and turn the people against each other to disrupt the flow of accurate information. When the hippies got the upper hand on the country Nixon and his successors worked tirelessly to destroy any chance of ever again losing over to the unwashed masses. And in the new millennium it seems the villainous plot is ever thickening. But be warned, while the cameras turn away in utter dismissal, the unseen revolution grows by leaps and bounds.
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