{"id":8110,"date":"2019-11-08T09:23:42","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T16:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.parkrag.com\/?p=8110"},"modified":"2019-11-08T09:23:42","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T16:23:42","slug":"throwing-rocks-doesnt-change-things-but-activism-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.parkrag.com\/index.php\/2019\/11\/08\/throwing-rocks-doesnt-change-things-but-activism-can\/","title":{"rendered":"Throwing rocks doesn’t change things but activism can"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Where does vandalism against a school official and bullying by local company intersect? No, it’s not Welcoming Schools<\/a>. It’s a lesson in how you elicit change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, Park City School District Superintendent Jill Gildea was a target of vandalism.<\/a> A rock was thrown through her window. It could have been a disgruntled teenager upset over early start times at the high school. However, it was most likely an idiot who was upset at the School District for spending extra money on a house they bought for the Super. The only thing comical about the vandalism is that someone was so upset that the school district was spending money that they threw a rock. Now they have likely caused the school district and Summit County to spend thousands of more dollars in fixing the window, security services, and sheriff patrols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did throwing a rock through a window, terrifying a family, and getting community-wide condemnation achieve anything? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrast that with the uproar over Backcountry.com.<\/a> They were suing any small business that used the word backcountry. The Colorado Sun published multiple stories<\/a> about it. People became enraged. Boycott’s ensued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Backcountry’s CEO responded:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Which approach to change was more successful — throwing a rock or activism?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem with the rock, besides of course demonstrating the worst in human beings, is that whoever threw it has made it harder for those of us who oppose purchasing a house to be used by the Superintendent. Now, those of us who don’t like how our tax dollars are spent are lumped in with the crazies. When I get up and speak in front of the school board and say I don’t like that we spent $800,000 on a fixer-upper that will need another couple hundred grand invested, I’ll be looked upon as a “Rock-thrower.” It will be the new derogatory term that replaces NIMBY. Thanks for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How could it have been handled differently? <\/p>\n\n\n\n