Subject: (Evans) The power of publicity.....
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 1999 125222 -0600 (CST)
From: "Roy L. Beavers" <rbeavers@llion.org>
To: emfguru <rbeavers@llion.org>
--------------------------------------------------
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 27 Mar 1999 16:20:59 -0500
From: "John D. Evans"
To: "Roy L. Beavers"
Subject: Re: (Crosswhite) Fwd: (Elena) Roanoke Tower Update (fwd)
At 05:04 PM 3/24/99 -0600, you wrote:
>.......A lot of enthusiasm here, as well as some good ideas.....guru....
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 13:54:18 EST
>From: SCrosswhit@aol.com
>To: Light540@aol.com
>Cc: Rbeavers@llion.org
>Subject: Fwd: (Elena) Roanoke Tower Update (fwd)
>
>Elena,
>
> I agree with the "guru" - maximize publicity! Put some babies in
> front of a cell antenna and paint skull X crossbones on them -
> anything - be drastic.
Dear Roy and EMF-Listers,
I agree with the above sentiments; that is, PUBLICITY is what will put us
over the top. And Yes, BE DRASTIC!
Back in the 1950's, I was a member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce
(Jaycees). Early one March, we decided to have a Traffic Safety Campaign
for one week. This was in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, a small
city. Average traffic accidents at the time were fourteen per week or two
per day -- that is, any accident that consisted of at least $100.00
property damage, or involved injury or death. The Fredericton Jaycees
decided to try to eliminate accidents, if possible, for one week -- a
difficult job in March. We were able to cut down the weekly toll for the
city from fourteen to three!
How did we do it? WITH PUBLICITY -- some of it quite bizarre. I was in
charge of "special effects."
1. We obtained a coffin and placed it on a large pedestal at the main
city intersection. Over the casket was a huge sign: "WIN THIS BEAUTIFUL
PRIZE! Follow these easy rules -- drive while drunk; jaywalk; speed; etc."
2. A wrecked car was towed to in front of City Hall, where we placed a
life-sized dummy in the front seat slouched over the broken steering wheel,
dripping blood (red paint).
3. Several merchants allowed us to decorate their display windows. One
very effective one was a pile of 123 pairs of footwear -- men's shoes,
women's shoes, babies' booties, ballet slippers, work boots, rubber boots,
tennis shoes, etc., all piled on newspaper headlines that spelled out
various serious accidents. Over the whole scene was this message: "These
shoes were left empty last year because of traffic accidents in New
Brunswick." Another window was in three sections, each one showing, in
life-sized cartoons, an accident about to happen. For example, a car
careening through a red light with the driver hanging out the window
holding a bottle with XXX on it. In front of the car there is a little
girl skipping rope, coming off the curb without looking. Each of the
cartoon faces was left empty (a hole in the background medium) so that
onlookers could look through and see themselves reflected in another scene
showing the results. For example, one might see him/herself in a hospital
bed, all trussed up, or in jail, behind bars, or reflected on a tombstone
with RIP under his/her face.
4. We had a number of meetings in school auditoriums, where we put forth
our message. One of our gimmicks at public gatherings would be to have
someone count out 123 people in the audience, then ask those chosen to
stand up. Those seated would then be asked to wave to all the standees,
and the standees were asked to wave to all those seated. After everyone
was laughing and giggling, we would announce that those standing
represented the 123 people who had been killed in New Brunswick traffic
accidents last year. A very sobering exercise!
5. The police cooperated by using loudspeakers at busy intersections,
calling out such messages as: "You in the pink Cadillac, you just made a
right turn on a red light without stopping!" OR, "You in the brown
overcoat, you are jaywalking!"
6. All the local media -- newspapers, radio stations, TV stations were
alerted. They gave us excellent coverage. Our campaign was even brought
up on the floor of the NB Legislature where a Member remarked that our
campaign was in poor taste. Another Member responded by indicating that
traffic accidents that kill and/or maim are not in good taste, and the
Legislature gave the Jaycees their blessing.
7. One thing we wanted to do was to reinforce the public when we had an
accident-free day. I made an appointment to see the Area Commanding
Officer of the local Military complex. I asked him to help us out with our
traffic safety campaign. He offered to do what he could, so I suggested
that for each accident-free day the Army would put a rocket up over the
city at 7:00 PM that evening. The public would be alerted to watch for the
rocket by the newscasters on radio and TV and in the newspapers. "Great
idea," he said. And he referred me down the line to a young 2nd Lieutenant
who was a bit of a pyromaniac. The lieutenant would phone me at home every
evening at 6:00 PM to see whether he could shoot off his rocket. BUT, he
did not fire only one rocket, he would fill the sky with them! WOW, what a
way to punctuate an accident-free day. He was able to light the sky over
Fredericton for five out of seven days! [One of my concepts is that to get
a job done, always go to the top brass first for a go-ahead.]
As a result of our campaign, the Fredericton Jaycees won the Alfred
Campbell Memorial Prize for the best traffic safety campaign in Canada.
So, what am I saying here? We EMF-Listers need to use every means possible
to publicize our concerns. If we stick to factual information and express
our own feelings, we cannot get into trouble. For example, we could
produce a video showing a nice, homey scene -- normal colors. Then we
could show a picture of, say, Bill Curry watching his new "EM Eye" field
strength and radiation survey meter go off scale. At the same time, we
could be viewing the scene he is surveying with his meter, and illustrate
the difference between the nice, homey scene and the "off the scale" scene
by having the atmosphere in the latter scene change to a deep blue, thus
representing, visually, EMFguru's "blue world." In other words, we could
show by the depth of the color blue, just how saturated a particular
environment is. As well, we should be using graphs, bar charts, pie
charts, or whatever we can, to illustrate our concerns.
We should be interviewing persons who believe they have been affected by
EMFs, and getting their stories on video tape or film. Charts and maps
need to be drawn up, in color, to illustrate how certain problems are
clustered around certain installations (towers, radar facilities, power
lines, airports, etc.) We need to get printed figures off paper into
graphic presentations -- presentations that affect people -- ideas that
grab at their imagination!
Cindy Sage of Sage Associates [sage@silcom.com] has made a wonderful start
with their visual presentations entitled "Occupational Epidemiological
Studies 1979-1996" and "Residential Epidemiological Studies 1979-1996."
They are easily understood color-coded graphs showing various risk factors,
etc. Perhaps there are even more up-to-date charts. E-mail Cindy to see
if she will sell you a set. Those already available are excellent in
helping you to make a presentation to non-believers, and they are well
worth whatever Sage Associates ask for them. We should be studying every
epidemiological study we can lay our hands on and translating any cold,
printed facts and figures into color graphs, charts, films, videos, etc.
We will never to be able to "prove" that EMFs are dangerous; all we can do,
by presenting highly graphic evidence, is that EMFs are "more likely than
not" to be dangerous.
In my own case, I receive compensation from Veterans Affairs Canada for
having had metastatic malignant melanoma. It was determined that during my
service in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Wireless/Radar Mechanic that
I was subjected to considerable radar radiation. What was recognized, was
not a "cause" for the melanoma, but it was agreed to by the Veterans Review
and Appeal Board that the onset of the illness was "related to, at least in
part, to my wartime service." The best any of us can do is to show that
certain illnesses are more likely than not related to our exposure to
certain radiations. The way to do that is to inundate our legislators with
all kinds of really graphic information -- the more affective and moving
the better. I wish I had a movie of when I was in the RCAF where, to show
off, I used to hold a light bulb in my mouth and walk past an operating
radar transmitter. The light bulb would light up in my mouth! What a
great visual graphic that would be today.
When we refer to cigarettes as "coffin nails" we are being very graphic.
and what more graphic story can one have than this: A master carpenter who
used to work for our business, way back in the 1940's, had to go to Toronto
for an operation to have his vocal chords removed. After recovery, he
visited us in our store. He was using one of those buzzer things that
those without vocal chords use to communicate by holding the device on
their throat while mouthing words. In a guttural growl I heard him say, "A
dozen other patients who were in hospital at the same time, having similar
operations, ALL had been heavy smokers." How long did it take before
tobacco companies were forced to admit that serious illnesses "were related
to" smoking?
Let us keep up the pressure on the EMF polluters by presenting the public
with GRAPHIC, STARTLING presentations showing what we believe to be the
dangers of EMR and EMFs. We are on the right track! I am 75 now, so I
toss the torch to all you younger folk.
Sincerely,
John
**************************************************************
* John D. Evans, PhD, Retired Professor/Counsellor
* 8 Monroe Court
* Wellington, ON K0K 3L0
* Canada
*
* E-mail: jdevans@sympatico.ca
* Phone: 613-399-5089
*
* The heart of education is in the education of the heart
***************************************************************
Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.feb.se/EMF-L/EMF-L.html