Dancing GWB out of the White House

John Perry Barlow wants small flash mobs to break out into dance at random intervals in Manhattan during the RNC. Nice idea!

No doubt Karl Rove & Co. are praying for some telegenic violence at the Republican National Convention. Without the violence, why would anyone bother to watch? But a second Seattle would help feed the fear that is Team Bush’s only real hope of victory.

So I find this proposal from John Perry Barlow — proposing street theater of a somewhat Dadaist character — very encouraging.

As between John’s idea of having well-dressed people break into dance at random times and places and Rev. Billy’s stunt of having them instead recite the First Amendment, I’m on Rev. Billy’s side, but perhaps that’s because I have no rythym. Either one beats standard-issue demonstrating, hands down.

That leaves the problem of what to do about the people who come to town planning to break windows. On that, I’m fresh out of ideas.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com

One thought on “Dancing GWB out of the White House”

  1. Rebranding political protest

    John Perry Barlow suggests a fresh approach to protesting at the RNC: Dancing in the streets, revolution with a smile Barlow's argument is simple: A dour, peaceful protest will just be ignored. A surly, nasty protest will spark ridicule and

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