LESSONS FROM OTHER CONFLICTS (1): SILENCE BEATS SHOUTING

The 29th of May in 1913 was a great day for the composer Igor Stravinsky. Until that time he was a relatively unknown composer. Then, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, his his music for the ballet The Rite of Spring caused a sensation. The avant-garde nature of this music led to an audience reaction that has often been called a 'riot'. Whatever the actual details of what happened at that first performance, one thing is sure: the loud and active response of the audience rapidly made both Stravinsky and his music universally known; and it has been so ever since.

But let's imagine a different scenario. Let's imagine that the audience remained completely silent and began to politely drift out of the theatre shortly after the ballet began; so that well before its end, the musicians and dancers were performing to an empty house. Not only that; but also that no one was interested enough in the ballet, or its performance, to put any report of it in the newspapers, or to talk about it to anyone. Such a lack of response, or reaction, would have left The Rite of Spring in some academic historical musical archive that nobody  would be much interested in ever again.

George M. Cohan (1878-1942) was an American singer, dancer, actor, playwright, composer and producer. When interviewed about the effect of adverse criticism he is alledged to have said: 'I don’t care what you say about me, as long as you say something about me, and as long as you spell my name right'. Many other show business celebrities and prominent politicians have also used a version of this quote when facing hostile reactions to their public actions or statements of their beliefs.

What we learn from people as wide apart as Stravinsky and Cohen is that publicity is the essential need of anyone who depends on being noticed; otherwise, silence and indifference can be a devastating. Hence the best weapon against those who wish to be noticed, listened to and  interactively engaged; is indifferent silence. In RE-EDUCATING THE PRISONERS what was a source of power that the captors had over their prisoners? Or in THE WARNING COMES TRUE what was the source of power that the organizations and employers had over their employees? The answer in both cases was that human beings allowed themselves to be drawn into the discussions and the arguments. The moment that they did that, they conceded the authority of the agenda and the significance of the beliefs and values of those who sought to imposed them on others.

So, Lesson (1) in dealing with the 4Plagues is:

Don't turn up                                                                                                     

 Change to an irrelevant subject

 Leave

-if this doesn't work, or you're forced to remain: try NOTHING CONCEDED