The Fine Art of Persuasion

Klamath Bucket Brigade ^ | Fri, 5 Nov 2004 10:28:02 EST | Joyce Morrison

[Issaquahking]

 

----Original Message----
From:  Joyce Morrison
Sent:  11/4/2004 2:34:45 PM Pacific Standard Time
Subject:  Morrison:  The Fine Art of Persuasion

 

This is the unedited version.  Edit left out where the Attorney General and U.S. Attorney  turned their backs on the corruption.  The FBI took a peek and agreed there was fraud but quietly backed away.  A young man has taken months of gathering facts and figures and has evidence on top of evidence of wrong doing but no one will listen.

Joyce

 

----- Original Message -----

From: J Morrison

 

As I sat in the lovely auditorium of our high school watching outstanding young people perform their fall play, it was difficult to think this building would soon be torn down.

The whole school will be torn down because the school board accepted a $20 million grant to build a new school and total demolition of the present school was one of the conditions. Conditions always come with grants - grants are never free.

The irony is that one architect’s inspection said the schools in the district could be brought up to A standard for less than half a million dollars. The community voted over-whelmingly against building a new school but the school board had $$ in their eyes replacing common sense.

Since the grant will only cover a portion of the cost to build a new school, real estate taxes are expected to sky rocket and for the next 30 years the burden will fall on the residents to pay off the bonds while enrollment continues to decrease.

Many fraudulent activities have been uncovered and it appears the rot runs deep, but neither the Attorney General nor the U.S. Attorney will bother to see why millions of dollars will be spent in what would be called "corruption" in most sectors but for some reason the schools appear to be off limits for investigation.

Terri Kallal was the one lone school board member who stood firm and fought against the insanity and even though she had the support of the community, she lost the battle. This school board member has attended hundreds of meetings receiving no compensation. Recently she attended the "visioning" meeting presented to our county and saw the same manipulation she has seen in her school board meetings.

What Terri has learned is when outsiders come to your community to conduct a meeting, the same tactics of persuasion are used regardless if it deals with education, visioning, watersheds, comprehensive planning, economic development and the tons of meetings held that you don’t even know about.   It is the same game plan.

Terri is a true heroine. Her background as a consultant in the psychiatric field has been helpful in her insight to the persuasive methods used. Below she offers you what she has gleaned from these meetings. Compare the tactics she gives to see if you have been the victim of the "persuaders".

"The Fine Art of Persuasion (using deception when it is advantageous)– by Terri Kallal.

• Persuaders are articulate as they convince a board or individual of the person's  "responsibilities." They make the board member or observer "feel" it is the only intelligent, compassionate, responsible decision. The basic conversation is geared to "feelings." ("I feel that... or rather than give facts "I know that....")
• Professionally dressed, they come as a wolf in sheep’s clothing in a sympathetic polite way as they "back slap" you into believing they have everyone’s best interest at heart.
• There will no doubt be a "change agent" planted on the board who has a key decision making position. Promises of a better job or assignment or rewards await those who help - although these are perks that should be made available to the public.
• For those who appear not to be swallowing their pitch and could be a hindrance to their goals, they know how to make them appear out of touch, paranoid, extreme and even go to the point of accusing them of believing a "conspiracy." They make them feel inferior, uneducated, or out of touch with the issues. They often use an unknown acronym to intimidate those present as it places the persuader in a position of superiority. Persuaders will go to the extreme of leaving a reluctant board member out of a conversation or stand in front of them as a means of intimidation. They might insinuate your comment was unethical but thank you and proceed with business as usual. If they believe you are about to reveal their deceit, they will act disappointed or insulted by your lack of trust in them.

They have now intimidated and used mental manipulations to the point they have built enough support to proceed with their plans.

WHEN THEY GET DOWN TO THE NITTY GRITTY:

• "Facts" are provided which are supposedly "government numbers" or numbers provided by an expert." Their "facts" are often distorted.  Then they begin to weave a tangled web of deception so the path is so circuitous that it is nearly impossible to follow or trace back.
• They make certain those who they have convinced to join them will "cross over the line." Whoever goes along with them becomes part of the wrong doing and they cannot turn back. They have been bought.
• They give out information only tangentially related and act surprised and insulted when questioned that the information was deceiving or inadequate. The information contains "half-truths."
• If the public or dissenting board members bring in documented information that could damage the agenda, they will become angry and call the data "a bunch of lies" even though it came from their office. Those members who "crossed the line" will have no choice but to support the persuaders.
• They call for "Closed Session" under the guise of "personnel" business. If an Open Session is needed to take a vote, they schedule meetings when the press and public find the time difficult to attend.
• They intentionally list board meeting agenda items as vaguely as possible and send no prior information so dissenting board members cannot alert the public of questionable business. They will limit the public to only two or three minutes to speak at the end of the meeting and then go into closed session and drag the meeting out so those hoping to speak will get tired of waiting and leave. If that doesn’t work, they label them as "kooks" and give them annoyed looks.
• A committee of like-minded sympathizers is appointed to "study the issue."
• Persuaders will buy time to push forward their project or agenda while not meeting deadlines they have agreed to meet.
• Drama is a technique often used to promote their cause. In the case of promoting a new school, stop any routine maintenance. Hang buckets in main hallways and bring rusty pipes to meetings and photograph areas of disrepair. Get as much media coverage as possible of the deteriorating buildings. Offer tours to the public and mislead them to believe the enrollment is increasing when numbers indicate it is actually decreasing.
• If all else fails and they feel their agenda is being threatened, they will start rumors. Not just small rumors but outrageous ones so that it causes a lot of talk and if lies are repeated often enough, people believe there must be "some truth." One such rumor was started against a dissenting board member by a school administrator saying "this dissenting board member, who spent time investigating at the school, was installing computer chips in the student’s brains." Some believed this "weird board member" must be doing something or this administrator would not have said it.  
• We are all aware of the warning there are those will call evil good and good evil.  If is up to us to know the difference.

 

Consensus, as well as group mind manipulation and other techniques, are frequently used to altar the convictions of the public and are geared especially to those who sit on boards. Each person who serves his/her community as a board member must always be aware he/she is vulnerable and will be among those "crossing the line" if he/she is not constantly researching the facts, data and information on their own initiative. Do not become the victim of a highly trained facilitator whose intent is to control the way you  think and then persuade you to "follow their lead."

----------------

[Issaquahking]

The left, like rust, never sleeps. It is a battle that depends upon excellent swordsmanship from conservative country. Being a republican is not a prerequisite to being conservative, consider great people like Zell Miller for starters.

J.C. Watts summed it up pretty clearly "Being conservative menas doing the right thing, even when no one is looking". If we all follow that lead, we are on a good start to saving our country.

Getting President Bush re-elected proved to me Americans have critical thinking skills, and know what to do behind the curtain. Let's continue the battle in broad daylight.

[Issaquahking]

For your reading Ping.

[Issaquahking]

ping

[farmfriend]

Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[B4Ranch]

>>Judge Leonard N. Zito acknowledged it was wrong for them to use false Social Security numbers, but said their crimes warranted no punishment because they broke the law to earn a living.

"I see gentlemen who are here illegally strictly for the purpose of working," Zito said, adding it is a "sad day" for the country when prosecutors arrest men for trying to make better lives for themselves and their families.<<

[B4Ranch]

>>Being a republican is not a prerequisite to being conservative<< It used to be. Also being a fiscal conservative was regarded as a step higher than most. They have buried themselves with debt to remain in office.

Is that the solution?

[SierraWasp]

She forgot to mention how they load the whole situation with "STAKEHOLDERS! (aka "claimjumpers!") Such as "groups" with "Commission" in their name even though no one in authority ever "commissioned" them in the first place!

I can certainly vouch for what this lady is describing, having experienced thousands of hours of this "facilitation" up close and personally!!!

This stuff has been going on in my county for over a decade around general planning and land use in a smashing attempt to beat down the people's control of their private property and to further the domination of the public sector over the private sector in general.

Neighboring counties and cities have been under the same orchestrated attacks, as well. The agitation NEVER stops!!!

Now that they've got us "contained" in Schwarzenegger's Sierra-Nevada Conservancy, it'll make their job just that much easier.

[editor-surveyor]

Thanks for the pings.

Good read.

"Now that they've got us 'contained' in Schwarzenegger's Sierra-Nevada Conservancy..."

Well Mr Wasp, it means that the value of our property will rise exponentially in the near future, making it easy to sell out and move on from the Peeples Repugnik of Kalee4neeuh :o)

[blackie]

Property Rights ~ Bump!

[tubebender]

It is going on in Humboldt County right now. We are in the "process" of updating our General Plan. Thankfully a group of developers has teamed with one of the most caustic attorneys here who also represents his family timber and ranching interests. It was a riot to watch the "Persuaders" sweat blood...

[SierraWasp]

"It was a riot to watch the "Persuaders" sweat blood..."

Well now... That's GOOD!!!

[hedgetrimmer]

Thanks for posting this.

We Americans are currently seeing the consensus process operate in most of our government meetings.

They set most arguments, like the pro-FTAA crowd, as a dialectic, which makes it hard for most Americans get a grip on the issue and do what is right for the country.

[farmfriend]

Get your local Grange involved.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!