Wall St. Journal has a story about an activist who “terrorizes” bankers who foreclose. He uses pure Alinsky-style tactics (“If the end doesn’t justify the means, what does?”):
In the 1990s, Mr. Marks leaked details of a banker’s divorce to the press and organized a protest at the school of another banker’s child. He says he would use such tactics again. “We have to terrorize these bankers,” Mr. Marks says.
We are living in a revisited age of people’s republic guerilla tactics. Barbarians at the gate and all that.
Comments
I think that Mr. Marks, while undoubtedly being more righteous, serene, green, and possibly organic might just try a leetle bit of putting the other fellow’s Birkenstock on his foot. Say, I borrow all his money. Then I don’t pay it back. Mr. Marks comes to ask me for the money back. While he is asking me another, parallel-universe Mr. Marks comes and takes him off to ride out of town on a rail, tarred and feathered.
Well if you are on the left it is just being a community activist. If you’re the right and do the same thing you are a right wing extremist.
Those are very very clever tactics. One idea of how you could handle those tactics would be to whack Mr. Marks upside the head with a tire iron I think. I can think of other ideas too if you think they would help.
Step 1
Threaten bank executives and their families
Step 2
Receive preferential mortgage broking agreements, and nearly 7 billion dollars in discounted loan commitments + government fees.
Step 3
Profit!
——–
The article brushed over the fact that NACA loan recipients are compelled to work for NACA without compensation, and also to pay into a NACA slush fund. Also the competitor he mentions as the reason that they refuse to disclose details of their finances is ACORN. NACA and ACORN’s mortgage and counseling services are both financed by the banking industry. These are commercial operations that use extortion to gain an unfair advantage in the mortgage market. Marks has become a very wealthy man from his efforts.
And BTW he didn’t earn his MBA to ‘learn about the enemy’ – his background is in M&A.
hf, I was thinking of the tire iron method just before I got to your comment, although my method also involved a can of mace. I’m kind of a belt & suspenders guy.
Marko is correct. It’s a condition of their loans that they do activism a certain number of days a year. These people and their hives are despicable leeches on the banks of this country. CRA needs to be abolished yesterday.
The president is doing it.
“ACORN bused ‘demonstrators’ to the AIG executive’s home in Connecticut to object to the bonuses which the Obama administration had already approved. Then Obama told the banking executives that he and his administration was the only thing between the executives and the mobs of demonstrators.
Of course this new “thugocracy” which is now running the United States is only acting according to the Chicago Mob rules, pay us protection money or give us control of your business and nothing will happen to you and your family.”
Actually, the means produce the ends.
And, of course the ends must justify the means. If they don’t, what does?
From Jim: Narrowly construed, yes. But the context has always been that there’s no boundaries for means, which is immoral, yes?
Mr. Marks had better pray that the lenders he demonizes never wake up one days and decide, yeah, they’re really as eeeeeeevvilll as Marks claims they are. Because, if they do, Marky-Mark may well end his days in a car trunk out in the Jersey weeds.
Unwritten Alinsky rule: Your tactics will only work as long as the other side is willing to play by them. The day two large guys named “Paulie” and “Sal” show up in your driveway, all bets are off.
How long before people start Alinskying the Alinskyists?
It reminds me when that guy made a documentary about Michael Moore. Mike wasn’t very happy about that.
Does Mr. Mark have any skeletons in his closet? I bet I could find a few just using Google alone. Then start emailing the press, neighbors, associates, etc. Get blogs on my side. Print out fliers and paste them all over his neighborhood. Just make up lies and smears. For example: I hear Mr. Marks beats his wife and dog? Do you want a wife-beater dog-hater as your neighborhood activist?
What goes around, comes around.
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[...] Alinsky lives « Blithe Spirit, the Blog Wall St. Journal has a story about an activist who “terrorizes” bankers who foreclose. He uses pure Alinsky-style tactics (“If the end doesn’t justify the means, what does?”): In the 1990s, Mr. Marks leaked details of a banker’s divorce to the press and organized a protest at the school of another banker’s child. He says he would use such tactics again. “We have to terrorize these bankers,” Mr. Marks says. [...]
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