Greenpeace scare tactics

[Vanguard1917]

Greenpeace leader Gerd Leipold admits to employing scare tactics in order to win support for eco-policies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC7bE9jopXE&feature=player_embedded

Is 'emotionalising' issues good or bad for rational discussion?

[RHIZOMES]

The largly petty-bourgeois Green movement has been using emotionalism instead of rational arguments since it's founding.

[Dimentio]

Every sane political movement wanting to accomplish an aim should use scare tactics when suitable (but not too much).

[Zanthorus]

Well I think we need emotions to inform us on our reactions to certain pieces of information and guide us to the right judgement. For example if I see 'UN troops kill another ten thousand and sacrifice children to imperialist war machine' and look at it from a purely unemotional viewpoint then that statement isn't exactly going to rouse me to action is it? It takes an emotional reaction on my part to make me respond.

[Vanguard1917]

But surely there is a distinction between using slightly emotive language for propaganda purposes while maintaining factual accuracy, and knowingly making false factual claims in order to win support (i.e. essentially deception)?

[Jimmie Higgins]

The largly petty-bourgeois Green movement has been using emotionalism instead of rational arguments since it's founding.

This is unquestionably a bad thing in the general sense. I'm not surprised that Greenpeace would do things like that becuase when they go out to talk to people, they are not trying to arm people to take action on their own behalf, they are trying to get some donations so that Greenpeace can fight "for them and the environment".

Radicals need to be as truthful and political (not emotional) as we can at all times (to the working class and our allies - fucking lie to the cops or other authorities all you want). We are trying to encourage the working class to take leadership over society and lies just lead to followers.

Lobby groups or demagogues use lies and hysterical emotional appeals all the time (um... Glen Beck, Lyndon LaRushe, Fred Phelps) because they want a scared group of followers who do what the scare-mongers say since the scare-mongers invariably are the only people to recognize the danger and know what to do about it.

We want working class leaders to develop so we need to arm unions and workers and allies with the truth.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Scare Tactics the tv prank show is good though.