Saul Alinsky methods

Tweet

Brack Obama and Hillary Clinton are both influenced by Saul Alinsky and I would like to share my memories of the Alinsky Method. As a teenager in High School, a racially diverse High School, I witness the race riots of the 60's and how communities tried to deal with the aftermath. In the 60's my home town went through 3-4 days of rioting and several years of trying to solve the underling problems. One of the main issues was school intergration. There was a local minister who was trained in organizing a neighborhood for change. At a public meeting this minister was to speak and it was the first time his group was in action. As people spoke and gave their ideas people listened and asked questions. When it was his turn he entered the auditorium with his supporters. The first thing I noticed was his supporters spread out and 3-4 stood at each exit door not preventing anyone from leaving but not moving when they tried to leave. People had to push their way past them to get out. The minister wanted busing and anyone who objected or raised a question you could hear rumbling from the crowd. The minister standard answer was that the community was prejudice and the blacks need to have equality. Any suggestion was for another plan was greeted with sneers and grumbling from some in the crowd. You could see that the white people were being intimidated. They would keep looking at the exits and then turn back to the speaker. The mood in the auditorium was changing and the whites were not asking questions or offering new comments. As we were walking out and were out side one person made the comment that it reminded him of the news reals of Hitler giving his early speeches except the people who disagreed were not beat up here. The minister raising his voice to people and when giving his remarks, the men standing by the exits had a chilling effect on the discussion and the free flow of ideas and suggestions. In the end the one that got the most coverage was the busing issue. One has to ask to what extent are Senators Obama and Clinton influenced by this man and what will their tactics be? Will they use fear and intimidation to pass their programs?