Five months we worked tirelessly to pass a law in our city to outlaw vaccine mandates, passports and third party sharing of our private medical information. We are the first community in the country to pass a prophylactic law enshrining our freedom.
How did we do it? What worked? What didn’t?
Step 1: Get out from behind the computer and join an organization
Step 2: Dedicate your time to your group because time is the one thing you can’t buy
Step 3: Persistence
It seems simple but when you have a group in place that meets weekly, the larger group can splinter into smaller teams focused on interests and coordinating schedules; Zoom is also an option for some teams. Natural friendships form and the people who wander into our new established meetings are met with excitement and overwhelming hospitality. Work is work, but it become less tedious when it’s enjoyable and we do our best to keep it lively. Individuals with sound systems, flags, flatbed trailers, portable heaters, and other supplies naturally step up to allow the use of their personal or business materials to promote our message. No skill is unused because everyone has a place who wants to be there.
Local activation is key and resonating with stepping out from behind the screen includes guerrilla signage at major intersections. People have nothing to look at and something new draws the eye, something homemade holds the attention. Making bandit signs in a public setting forces curiosity and promotes the group overall, especially when some of the team brings along their children and they’re drawing American Flags on posters. People want to know what you’re doing and a door to a larger conversation is opened when their inquisitiveness finally overtakes their apprehension. Sometimes we run into friends and family on the corner while posting signs, or making them but always we hand out a business card with the website. If there’s a card in your pocket, it needs to find a home with a stranger.
Do not give up. The council or board has three options; Yes, No, Table it for later. We all want yes, but every time they vote or discuss your item, they’re revealing of themselves how they really feel. Stalling is great way to erode support, but when and unstoppable force meets an unmovable object we must adapt. Speaking to your leaders is a great way to promote your message and having a team behind you emboldens you as well as those around you. As a group, email the elected officials you’re working on over the course of the weeks, bombard them. Tell EVERYONE on EVERY PLATFORM to do this too because they never have received so much communication at once. City leaders will try to limit speaking, or go online, but as a participant, you can speak on EVERY agenda item they have and so can everyone else. Do not leave any item unspoken because all this becomes public record and recorded along with their responses. Eventually, the leadership will dread your participation but will need to vote on your item and you will have to have a plan in place.
If they don’t vote your way, replace, remove, or recall the ones who did not support your bill/ordinance/law. Your signs can call out specific politicians being careful not to threaten violence, but fired, absolutely. We tried to keep it classy by not deliberately altering a politicians name but adding to it, for instance, “Sleepy” Joe was not off limits but Bah-ba-b-Biden was. Identify your districts and calculate how many signatures you’ll need to remove or recall a resistant board member. This is a marathon not a sprint. Not even a a mountain can stop a tidal wave that’s miles high. Always remember that some of the strongest material on earth can be cut with water if focused with pressure. Water cannons have also been used to wash away dissident for decades, now it’s time for the swell of the populace to engulf our feckless city leaders.
