Creating stories in a world where fear of retaliation is real

Cross-published on https://digbysblog.net/2025/05/07/creating-stories-in-a-world-where-fear-of-retaliation-is-real/

I just saw Thunderbolts*, the new Marvel movie written by Eric Pearson and
Joanna Calo . I recommend that people see it. It’s exciting, funny and shows how many of us non-super heroes are feeling these days. It also shows how we can fight the darkness, in a world where the bad guys don’t fold when you stand up to them, they punch back, again and again until you feel your efforts are useless.

I wrote a piece at Spocko’s Brain for some of the groups I’m working with behind the scenes. I don’t like to do the “You know what you should do…” because it comes off as condescending and consultant-splaining. So I wrote a second piece, Creating stories that get people to take action, to show I have worked with others before, we created stories around our actions for the media, they were wildly effective, and I want to help others do the same now.

I use science fiction in general, Star Trek specifically, to provide as an underlying theme for my activism and writing. It’s a way to show the broader issues, possible actions to take and how to prepare for the reactions. Right now I’d like to use some Star Trek stories to talk about problems with artificial intelligence

But sometimes, when things get specific, the metaphors or analogies break down. “ACKSHULLY, M5 wasn’t a pure artificial intelligence because it’s based on the engrams of a human, Dr. Daystrom.”

I think showing people the metaphors I use are important, but then what? My question is always, what should people DO with that understanding? I think it’s because I’m an activist and I want something to change. I’m not creating “content” just for clicks. I’m doing it to reach someone to change their behavior.

Sometimes I want people to stop doing a horrible thing. If they don’t, I want to cost them money, because in America losing money, or not making as much money as you did before, will drive people to change their behavior.

I know this from direct experience when I and a handful of friends and organizations like the EFF , fought and won. a copyright case against Disney (Spocko Takes on The Mouse, – CBS Jan 9, 2007, , I’ve shown how to use it with institutional investors, against News Corp and Glenn Beck. Groups I taught at Daily Kos used my methods against the distributors of Rush Limbaugh,

What I’ve also learned is that if you succeed, and cost them money, they come after you. I’ve taught others to prepare for that, because their retaliation is real.

Lately I’ve been suggesting that activists learn who, and what stops Trump, Musk and DOGE from their destruction of the federal government.

Powerful people act when they realize that Trump or Musk, or DOGE is costing them money and will keep costing them money, unless they can convince someone in power to change their behavior. They ALSO should be thinking about WHAT will happen next if they do change someone’s behavior (people in corporations need to be educated about the best next steps, like rehiring people who were fired, and NOT turning the computer system over to a contractor who says they will use AI to “fix” the system that DOGE broke. )

We can use the people in corporations, with their goal of making money and not LOSING money, to help us prevent deaths. For a current example, I think it’s terrible that Air Traffic Controllers have been fired by DOGE. I think people dying in plane and helicopter crashes is a BAD thing.

Right now activists can suggest that pilot’s flight attendant unions refuse to fly until fired Air Traffic Controllers are rehired, their numbers are INCREASED, and not just more white males.

I’d get Captain Wendy Morse, First Vice President of the Air Line Pilots Association Int’l (ALPA), to talk about safety like she did at their 50th board of Directors meeting quoting NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy at the 68th Annual ALPA Air Safety Forum in D.C.

“The NTSB is with you, we’re not going back on safety. Together it’s the only way, the only way we remain the gold standard for safety.”

Activists could be looking at the corporations that make the air traffic control equipment and suggest they explain how Elon Musk’s interference with the FAA is deadly, and will be terrible for business.

The companies that provide fiber for upgrades airline communications, like Verizon, could explain at a quarterly conference call that Musk’s attempt to insert the unvetted, unreliable Starlink into the system is a National Security risk (not to mention a cash grab for Musk and Starlink.) And more IMPORTANTLY for them, their quarterly profits will be down for the next 3 years if they don’t get the contract for upgraded fiber.

Musk’s insertion of SpaceX and GrokAI engineers into the system is to get data to train his shitty AI. Who will lose enough money to care to stop this? I’m thinking the airlines, like UNITED, should NOT be counting on the people who blow up rockets, to write the software to keep the flights running safely and on time. If the airlines don’t want to do it to protect the humans flying, they should do it to protect their YEAR over YEAR profits.

The computer experts know that just getting the flight control system data is NOT a innocuous thing, but they aren’t all over the media explaining why.

Why do I want the corporations to tell these stories? Because their audiences have power for force a behavior change. But they are afraid to do it publicly. Because of fear of retaliation. Why would a multibillion dollar industry be afraid? Look at how Bezos and Amazon was told to shut up about the cost of tariffs. Law firms, universities, federal agencies are all afraid of speaking up.

What the powerful won’t tell you is that they NEED the protests against DOGE and Musk to be the face of how it will hurt them. Right now they are existing in a world of extortion and political pay offs. The media need the faces of the people being harmed to tell a story.

A plane crash makes the local and national news, talking about reduction of quarterly profits because of Musk and DOGE’s interference, doesn’t. But when their stock price drops because of plane crashes, the CEO and big investors make “THE calls.” to the people who can stop the interference.

The media needs whistleblowers to reveal to the general public what is happening inside, because public corporations won’t talk about it because of their Investor Relations rule about guidance.

Right now Elon Musk and people like Russ Vought (Architect of Project 2025 & current director of the Office of Management and Budget) are applying their warped view of the world to the Federal government. They are firing people and shutting down programs that are beneficial to millions of Americans. We in the left AND the center see that as a bad things. But to Vought and the DOGE boys, it’s a GOOD thing! They are the heroes! They say on RW media that “the bureaucracies hate the American people”.

Sometimes powerful people do make the call to someone in the administration and the money restarts. Rachel Maddow reports “Headstart has restarted! Pushback works!” But we are learning the money doesn’t REALLY restart. Or DOGE finds a new way to cripple the agencies mission.

SMASH The Coup!

I’ve reached the, ” I’m repeating myself, ” point of my writing. Sorry. But as my friend, Anat Shenker-Osorio says, “Repetition is your friend. Also, repetition is your friend.”
I envision someone reading this, saying, “Duh, stop telling US what to do, YOU should go out and do it!” Okay, below is what I and some friends have been doing, I’m sharing this because I know other smart people are also doing work like this AND I want to encourage them and get others to help us. I’ve been working with a couple of groups to counter Musk & DOGE. One is S.M.A.S.H, Separate Musk And State Halt the coup.

Right now I’m hoping to learn who the big investors are who are calling Lutnick and Bessent, and learn what they are saying to them, so that they will get heat from Trump on Truth Social.

I’d let the Murdock owned Wall Street Journal, break another story about why Trump is failing, so that they get called “the failing WSJ” and are kicked out of the White House press briefings, not the AP and Reuters.

Right now, if I wanted to reveal stories about the harm DOGE is doing, I’d figure out a way to put big corporations and their lobbyists in the picture. Show the media what they are saying behind the scenes. Let THEM take the heat from Trump, not some poor Air Traffic Controller on trauma leave.

When creating stories about the harm that DOGE is doing, we need to prepare for a world of fear of retaliation that even the most powerful experience. But I believe others will stand with us, because bottom line, saving lives is good for business.

I am not a bot! This was 100% written by a human author, with no assistance from generative AI