◆ SpookStack

F -*1 -- ~J The political situation may be such that while the town is bitterly opposed to the move- ment, the governor of the state is a potential ally. Large demonstrations may be required to flag his attention. On the other hand in the town may make concessions which the state may not, because of political ambition by the governor or for some other reason. In such a case, it would be better not to get the state and possible state police violence involved. The main point is that what works in one situation may not in another, and massive demon- strations may not always be tactically best thing to do. 3. The support of outsyiders. If there is a "law" in direct action which has held true consistently over the year and geography, it is this: the presence of outsiders can work against the success of the cause. Opponents use outsiders presence as an important propaganda weapon against the campaigners. In the civil rights struggle outsiders help segregationists maintain their belief that local Negroes are not really in the truggle of their own will, and consequently, the status quo can not be so unjust after all. Some civil rights groups, realizing this, have taken great pains to identify themselves as local. In one case in the Upper South leader of a sit-in asked a publicity-conscious organizer to go back to his national office, and issued a statement that they were not connected with his organization. Organizers from outside may sometimes be necessary. When there is no local move- ment, or if the movement is in trouble and lacking important skills in direct action, there is often no choice but tc;2bring in outside help. However, this should be done realizing that there will be some ill effects. If a movement in a town is healthy and has good leadership, it can be a real disservice for leadership to call for "I000 supporters" from a nearby city to come and "help" them. a There are things outsiders can do which minimize the bad effects, such as raising money or picketing their local affiliate of the demon- strators' target. Direct action can also be taken at the state or national capital. One more reason why it is not necessarily helpful to have outside leadership or numbers of demonstrators is that in the .1ast analysis no one can anyone else freedom. Following the Freedom Rides, valuable though they were in many ways, Negroes went back to segregatedpractices in town after town because they had not won the  freedom for themselves. 4. The stages of the struggle. Most direct action campaigns go through several stages. If we label them according to the reactions of the opponent, we have: a! indifference; b! active antagonism; c! disunity; and d! negotiation. The first stage, indifference, has . already passed in many areas because of the national impact of the struggle and due to wide press coverage. Even in towns where no direct action has taken place, there is no longer much indifference and lines have been drawn. The town may be edgy and the power structure may, at the onset of demonstrations , immediately respond with active antagonism. However, if you are working in a town where indifference is the first response, you can use the time gained 13