Ep. 0107: Applying Guerrilla Methods Beyond War (CJ’s talk at Porcfest XIII)

Join CJ as he discusses

• An overview of Michael Collins’ campaign to end British rule in Ireland
• 10 lessons one can learn from studying guerrilla warfare that apply to many other human endeavors:

1. Don’t be afraid to start small & build up your resources from there
2. Turn your weaknesses into strengths, and if you have an ‘opponent’ or ‘competitor,’ turn their strengths into weaknesses.
3. Your resourcefulness is much more important than your resources.
4. Always remember, the greatest resource you have are human ones: yourself and any partners you might be working with.
5. When following the way of the guerrilla, conventional experience & formal qualifications in a field are rarely an asset, and may often be detrimental.
6. Sometimes knowledge & experience in a seemingly unrelated field can help you.
7. When seeking to accomplish something via the guerrilla way, DO NOT try to emulate your conventional competitors.
8. Knowledge/intelligence/information/understanding are of vital importance.
9. Carefully pick your battles: Engage only when you feel you have an advantage; and if things nonetheless turn against you, don’t hesitate to quickly disengage & disperse.
10. If your project involves setting up some sort of organization, make it minimalist, decentralized, relatively egalitarian, and flexible, and only recruit people committed to the cause.

• An overview of how George Romero used an approach very similar to guerrilla warfare to make Night of the Living Dead

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Internal Links

• DHP Ep. 0074: The Western Way of War vs. the Eastern Way of War
• DHP Ep. 0077: History of Irregular Warfare with Bill Buppert (part 1 of 6)
• DHP Ep. 0102: The Irish Easter Rising of 1916

External Links

• Malcolm Gladwell, “The Unheard Story of David & Goliath”
• DIY or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist