Turning a good point into a well made point

Something stood out from the standard Gorilla coverage of the ICC (and police) investigation of members of the touring Pakistani cricket squad as a result of allegations of match fixing:

"Cricket fans in the eastern city of Lahore threw green tomatoes at donkeys labelled with the names of the players embroiled in the investigation." (Tuesday 31 August 2010, The Times)

At a time when the country is fighting a war on multiple fronts - against terrorism and against a terrible humanitarian crisis - these fans have found an inelegant beauty. A humanity which detracts from the grim of one more tale of corruption in the 'istans. Disgruntled by yet another failure of their nation's representatives, these fans resorted to gentle humour so revered in the cricketing world to make their dissatisfaction known. Once heroes, nothing brings a cricketer down to earth like being paraded as a donkey in the face of rotten vegetables.

Simple actions can make an incredibly strong point. When Muntazer al-Zaidi threw a shoe at George Bush, it was a strong statement because of the comparative symbolism of how Iraqi's who once hit the fallen statue of Saddam Hussein with their shoes to show their disrespect, felt the same about the leader who would argue that he was their liberator.

Fathers 4 Justice dressed in superhero outfits and descended on British landmarks in order to raise their profile in the eye of the public. Were the superhero outfits necessary? Absolutely. Children look up their parents, believing them to have superhuman powers and these were fathers wanting their children to look at them as though they would move mountains just for the opportunity to be their parent.

When a mass climate/peace camp descended on Parliament Square in July the impact was negligible bar none, and served to negate the impact of important messages as the actions of the protesters overawed any coverage of the point. A flash mob consisting of a clique of professional protesters setting up home failed to challenge a new audience with an engaging point and packed itself away when it realised its own irrelevance.

We all have the right of freedom of speech, but we also have a responsibility to use it wisely to say something. Be it a searing editorial, a gentle protest or a bold statement the key is to reach a new audience with a relevant and innovative approach; make a good point, make it well and know when it's been made.