Profit from Hate and Ignorance

A Manhattan synagogue found out that an anti-gay and anti-Semitic church from Kansas was coming to town to protest their existence, but managed to turn it into a nice fund raiser to support their own community.

What happened was that they asked supporters to pledge a dollar or more for every minute the protesters were at it. After 50 minutes they hauled in $10,000.

This is innovation isn't it? The most expected way to deal with those types of protesters is to have counter protesters and get into this huge shouting match that frankly makes both parties look pretty bad. But at the same time you don't want to let them go at it without a response - you still want to win. I think their tactic of turning it into a fundraiser essentially reframed the battle and made their enemies' actions a benefit.

Some related Sun Tzu wisdom right here:

Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's
troops without any fighting; he captures their cities
without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom
without lengthy operations in the field.

I like it. More on the protest here.

via @molluskbrigade