The dissipation of pain, and the transfer of its energy

Richard C Butler

Absorb nothing. Reflect everything.
IN ANY performance based community there are 2 main drivers underlying all behavior – the intense desire to experience pleasure and the intense need to avoid pain.

We are part of performance based culture. The disputes in Tasmania are in the main – created by the differences in what constitutes pleasure for some, and what equals pain for others.

It is also about the profound lack of wisdom and understanding of the Gunns Company and the State Government (as useful an oxymoron at present as ‘army intelligence’ ) and their combined abandonment of those in whose back yards they want to park their chemical plant.

High performance people seek to keep moving past their previous achievements because sooner or later they know they will be caught by their competitors.

Pain for Ian Thorpe (for example) or Tiger Woods – is coming anywhere but first and doing their absolute best. In their eyes being a loser starts with coming second.

Companies are like this – government is like this – and to varying degrees – we are all like this. You can forget the coming 1st and second thing – but those among us deemed healthy enjoy being happy and we dont enjoy being in pain. Seratonin and other reward hormones help this along the way.

However some of us keep driving even when we are number one. When Tiger Woods won his various world titles he went out and reinvented his golf drive/ swing. He did this because although best in the world at the time – he knew it could be improved.

Remaining constant for Tiger Woods created too much fear of being caught up with and threatened his ability to experience elation. So he anticipated – and moved.

That’s what high performance people do.

Many of us (less extreme) don’t move until we feel pain. Whilst the very unhealthy don’t move even when they feel it. Those people get used to accepting personal loss.
Battered wives and other people in abusive relationships often don’t move from the pain because they learn to accept it in their experience – or at least tolerate it.

So now let’ s look at the performance culture in the protest movement in Tasmania.

It’s in pain. No one is happy. I know (as you all know) because I’m about photographing people and anyone who can walk into a small village hall and start weeping freely in front of a camera – is far from happy.

But for all the action and energy that has been expensed and expressed – what real damage has been done to the mill project. Seriously – what has actually been done that has caused a major dent
in the momentum and critical mass ?

Not much.

This isn’t a comment on the quality or quantity of the effort. It isnt an observation of the quality of the people – but using the frame of reference from the above text – where has the pain been transferred ? Well it hasn’t (by and large) been transferred. The unpalatable reality is that it is being absorbed.

What hurts your Premier Lennon is not the quality of argument – but the potential influence of someone like Richard Flannagan. His capacity to cause wide spread pain – by polarising the community. The ‘written voice’ of one can unite many. Especially when he expresses clearly what we all feel and know to be true.

Thats what gets the crabs scuttling across the beach.

But the static created by the rest of us – Lennon can put up with.

The arguments that lead to strategy are wrong, and the execution is probably wrong too.

Why is that ?

Well, if you go back to the pleasure pain principle earlier in this piece – not enough pain is being transferred.

As opponents we all make a heap of noise and action one way or another – but when that is passed – what energy is transferred ?

Here’s an example of what I mean.

It was about 35000 emails that got sent to Mike Smith, CEO of the ANZ Bank – all warning him that IF the Bank supported Gunns they would take their accounts away. Something like that.

Whoopy do. All that excercise did was further reinforce Getup as a lobby group, and provide ANZ Corporate Affairs Strategists with valuable insights as to how they might manage both the funding and
the response.

No pain was caused. Energy was expended. People felt good and spoke about what they did. But nothing changed. (Except Getup did rather well).

IF we were SERIOUS – Tasmanians against the mill who banked with ANZ would have withdrawn their money from that Bank for having the discussion with the corporation to date. No discussion – JUST
ACTION.

Cause intense pain to the shareholders, cause intense pain to the bank management. Bring about actions of consequence – then go tell them that when they make the decision to stop the chatter with the monkeys at the corporation – THEN and only THEN will the accounts be re-instated. THIS causes PAIN.

But it takes a preparedness to do that, and not succumb to the $120 or so dollars I hear they are paying to keep customers when they ring and say they will stay.

And THOSE of us who have accounts with other banks – write to the ANZ and tell them how much you can bring over to the ANZ IF THEY STOPPED talking to the corporation.

THIS BRINGS IN A PROMISE OF PLEASURE.

It’s the same with those politicians who currently are inactive, or ‘passive active’ and are sitting about watching Lennon ‘seal pup’ himself into the political wilderness. Elections arent won – they are lost.

Hence the Libs and the others both state and federal (in the main with apology to Kim Booth who is doing a great job) arent prepared to do much – they don’t – in their eyes – need to.

The fact is in Tasmania that the LIbs are passive, and the Greens have replaced the Libs in their role as dominant opposition.

Well is that good enough ?

Where are the voices of those who would be leaders ?

Basically they are sitting in the political bus shelter waiting – and sooner or later their bright shiney bus will come along and take them off to the big house in Hobart.

IS that what we really want ?

OR do we want them to earn every millimeter and gram of our respect THROUGH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.

EACH voting age person in each electorate needs to be telling those passive active local, state and federal politicians the promise of PAIN – “no way in hell will you get a vote unless you get off your
arse and start bringing these matters to public arena and LEADING (yes a big concept for some) LEADING from the front” or PLEASURE -“IF you do these things we will not only help you by voting for you – we will get all our street to vote for you as well..”

Those little men of state, those limping senators and other jokes who would want us to provide them respect. Who actually attempt to command respect.

Well boys, its earned – not provided.

For why should you be different to anyone else.

Youre SERVANTS, and right now few of you would find the word LEADERSHIP in your vocabularies and not need to run home and ask your mum what it means.

Fuck the banks, and fuck the passive active politicians.

For too long, Tasmanians have learned to operate under enormous pressure.

They have learned the ability to absorb and dissipate pain amongst themselves.

This is done in groups, in weekend workshops, at barbeques, in meetings or out there on your own.

Your children are growing up in distressed homes in communities divided.

THAT’S the legacy of this government. NOT whether or not it builds this – or rips down that – or pays for something else.

It’s legacy is the abondonment of its people.

So now is the time to change that paradigm.

Reflect on what you do, and who you are.

Are you going to continue to be part of the Lennon Gunns problem equation – or are you going to break out of the script that defines the balance of current pro/anti mill environment?

Turn it around.

Find out where pain can be caused – large amounts of economic pain – like mass withdrawal from ANZ bank accounts.

Find where political pain can be caused – and cause it.

The opposition politicians , the senators and those little men and women aspiring to be in the big end of town – who wish to be regarded as people of consequence – need to produce acts of consequence – or they are without consequence.

And promise Reward.

Like the promise of maximum account deposits to ANZ if they change, like the promise of political support if they take an affirmative stand.

Even if you DONT have an ANZ account write to Mike Smith and tell him you’ll change if his bank stops talking to those who call the zone around the chemical plant/ pulp mill “The 20 kilometer Sacrifice Zone”.

There is latent power to be used – you each have latent power – start using it !!

Absorb nothing of what you currently feel – reflect it all back. And then some – because you all know that little regard is paid to your feelings, and to the values that you have modeled your sense of
community on.

Absorb nothing. Reflect everything.

And just so I keep myself safe. Keep within the law at all times.

Feel free to copy this and send it on to your friends.., and then ask them to do the same.