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principle: turn the tables

Posted: November 20 2014

Sometimes the most compelling way to expose an injustice is to flip it around and visit it upon the powerful.


Remember the great scene from “Erin Brockovich” where the hero brings a glass of contaminated water to a meeting with the companies her clients have accused of contaminating their drinking water. “You claim this water is perfectly safe to drink?” she says. “Okay, drink this,” and she places the glass of water before them. When they refuse, the injustice of the situation is laid bare for all to see. She has “turned the tables.”
People have an innate sense of fairness, but don’t always see the injustices happening around them. By taking an existing unjust situation and dramatically flipping it back upon its source, you can highlight the inherent asymmetry and activate people’s sense of fairness. Turning the tables like this can be an effective means of garnering public support as well as undercutting the moral authority of your target. Click HERE to read more about the principle of turning the tables!
Also, Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for the Revolution, is a fantastic activist resource. Check it out!