Was it Influence or Coercion on April 12, 2014?
- The Battle of Binkerville
By
Dr. Donald Wayne Hendon
DonaldHendon.com
I usually write Fractured Fairy Tales for
StupidFrogs.org. Today, I’m writing about something
so serious it should not be satirized.
My wife and I live in Mesquite, Nevada, right next
to Bunkerville, the home of Cliven Bundy. On April
12 we left our house around 8 a.m. to go to the
Clark County Fair in Logandale. We saw an electronic
warning sign about vehicles entering and leaving the
freeway, and then we were frightened when we saw
about 30 white big-ass vans parked on the side of
the road. We didn’t know what to
think! We saw the white vans again when we returned
to Mesquite in the late afternoon. Later on, we
discovered they were part of the Bureau of Land
Management-Cliven Bundy confrontation.
We attended the Bundy BBQ the next weekend. Lots of
people. I don’t know if the crowd was bigger at the
BBQ or at the April 12 confrontation. I talked to
many people at the BBQ. Most of them thought that
the presence of so many Bundy supporters on April 12
made the BLM back down and not confiscate Bundy’s
cattle. That must have been part of it—but only
part! In fact, Bundy and his supporters
used many of my 365 influence weapons which are
contained in several of my books, including
365 Powerful Ways to Influence,
Guerrilla Deal-Making, and The Way of
the Warrior in Business. (You can see them
on Amazon.com.) Here are the 8 tactics Bundy and his
backers used—twice as many as the BLM used:
Assertive tactic 57 in my list of 365 influence
weapons: Negotiate where you have the most
power—your place.
Assertive 59: Size of your negotiating team—be
bigger than their team.
Assertive 69: Make the other side realize you’re
very committed to your goals.
Assertive 70: Be brave, not scared.
Assertive 51: Confront the other side—call their
bluff.
Assertive 51; Confront the other side again by
telling them through the media, “Why are you using
dirty tricks on me, and when will you stop?”
Defensive 25: Adopt a fortress mentality—secure your
secrets and assets.
Defensive 35: I won’t go against my ethics.
I don’t think Bundy and his supporters used my
Assertive weapon 77—threaten the other side with
actual physical violence. And I don’t think the BLM
used this tactic, either—thank goodness! If they
had, things could have gotten very, very bad!
In contrast, the BLM used only 4 of my 365 tactics:
Assertive 91: Intimidate the other side by your
credentials.
Assertive 86: Intimidate the other side by lawful,
legitimate power. It didn’t work, and I feel that’s
probably why the BLM eventually backed down.
Assertive 64: Take it first, then talk about it.
(The BLM tried to use this tactic, but
Bundy’s supporters made sure it failed miserably.)
Dirty trick 51: Scare the hell out of the other
side—make him fear you. (It also failed miserably.
Bundy and his supporters weren’t intimidated.)
Thank goodness the BLM didn’t use my dirty trick
53—actual violence, brute force.
Both sides used my Assertive tactics 111 (dares and
the game of chicken) and 112 (threaten doomsday).
I think the Battle of Bunkerville is far from over.
So watch out. The BLM will probably use my assertive
tactic 102—flexible persistence (the squeaky
wheel)), as well as assertive tactic 103—nibble
away…wear out the other side, outlast him. They also
may now be using my dirty trick 56—lie about
withdrawing—the BLM is still there, hiding behind
intermediaries.
And the BLM may very well have an ace up its
sleeve—let’s see if they will use my Assertive
tactic 117 (never waste a crisis). I’ve heard that
Attorney General Eric Holder uses this tactic quite
often. And if Holder has read my books, he’ll
probably cover things up by using my Assertive
tactic 31—when you do things right, people won’t be
sure you did anything at all. In other
words, Holder and the BLM will use my defensive
tactic 21—appear as harmless at TV’s detective
Columbo—then zap the other side at the
end, perhaps by using my dirty trick 19—a frivolous
lawsuit to harass the other side. Before a lawsuit
happens, though, Holder and the BLM will probably
continue to use my defensive tactic 53—creative
vagueness.
What will Bundy and his supporters do? I think he’ll
continue to use my defensive tactics 2 (ask for
sympathy) and 3 (use people’s sense of ethics,
justice, and morality). In other words, he probably
will give a few more interviews, but will be more
careful about what he says. I think Bundy
should have used my defensive tactic 10
(complete, total silence) at the end instead of
giving out so many interviews. His interviews
indicated to me that he was subconsciously using my
defensive tactic 67—take an ego trip, acting like a
VIP or big dog.
What advice do I have for Bundy? Use 3 of my
defensive tactics:
Find allies and use them (76).
Find prestigious allies and use them
(77).
And 79 (get good publicity from the news media).
Bundy may have trouble using tactic 79, though,
since so much of the news media seems to have a
liberal slant. A survey by Indiana University
professors reported that only 7 percent of
journalists identify themselves as Republicans. It
was released this month.
Above all, Mr. Bundy, don’t lose your momentum—don’t
give in to unreasonable demands (defensive tactic
89). And don’t use dirty tricks 25 (act untouchable
by claiming “I’m entitled to special privileges”),
26 (act holier-than-thou / phony sanctimony), and 27
(act smug).
And it’s not over yet! As of today, there are still
around 100 people at the entrance to Bundy’s ranch.
Many of them are living in their RVs. I pass by the
site every time I go to nearby Las Vegas—about once
a week. As I drive by, I think to myself, “The
Battle of Bunker Hill started the American
Revolution. I wonder if the Battle of Bunkerville
was the start of the Second American
Revolution.”
Copyright (c) 2014
Dr. Donald Wayne Hendon is a
consultant, speaker, trainer, and author of 14
books, including The Way of the Warrior in
Business, Guerrilla Deal-Making
(with Jay Conrad Levinson) and 365 Powerful
Ways to Influence. Jay Levinson recently
passed away. He specifically chose Don to be his
final co-author—the person most qualified to
carry the torch of guerrilla marketing into the 21st
century. Deal-Making contains the 100
most powerful tactics from 365 Powerful Ways—along
with 400 winning countermeasures. There are 121
aggressive tactics, 92 defensive ones, 24
cooperative ones, and 16 submissive ones to get what
you want from other people. Plus 81 dirty tricks to
watch out for and 31 tactics to prepare you for your
interaction with them. Download Chapter 1, free of
charge, at
www.DonaldHendon.com. Play Don’s free online
Negotiation Poker game by going to
GuerrillaDon.com. Apps will soon be available.