Twenty-First Century Radical Rhetoric

1. The ten observations for understanding the rhetoric for contemporary activists are:
Our rhetoric is anti-authoritarian meaning it tries to create a truly egalitarian society by eliminating hierarchical power structures.
Our rhetoric promotes diversity by highlighting diversity as beneficial to the individual and the collective.
Our rhetoric is idealistic and prefigurative because it espouses social justice for all and our words and actions try to invoke structures, practices, relations and values that do not currently exist.
Our rhetoric is multi-historical by replacing the hi-story with multiple low-stories.
Our rhetoric is anti-representational because we recognize that no rhetoric can fully represent another's experience and our rhetoric is creative rather than representational.
Our rhetoric privileges complex interrogation because our discussions challenge one another to reflect upon our own taken for granted assumptions.
Our rhetoric is symbolically powerful by critiquing and rejecting particular logos, labels, brands and corporate symbols.
Our rhetoric is confrontational because it often involves yelling, screaming, shouting, stomping, clapping, drumming, fists in the air, passionate manifestos and declamatory speeches.
Our rhetoric is visionary because it is driven by visions of a better world, and realize that what we do now creates a better and presumably more democratic future.
Our rhetoric is self-righteous and self-critical by wanting to change the world and thinking that we know how.

2. The five suggestions for mending the gap rhetorical gap are:
Specify your audience which helps communicate with actual people rather than an amorphous mass.
Make adjustments to your rhetoric to fit the wants and needs of your audience.
Name and explain your rhetoric by explaining the reasons behind your choices, as in protests or any action.
Make more observations by reflecting upon what you and others are doing and catalogue your observations.
Take personal responsibility which can either weaken or strengthen the success of others.

3. Network rhetoric is a paradigmatic figure of contemporary activism, which is common for speakers, authors, movements, collectives, gatherings, periodicals, publications and websites to use versions of the phrases mentioned. An example of network rhetoric is social forums. Social forums allow different campaigns, strategies, problems, issues and ideologies to dialogue with one another.

4. The three basic steps that can make your network more appealing and intelligible are:
Creating a rhetorical frame by using a slogan, statement, theme, or title that ties in all the nodes together.
Using categories to manage the connections by highlighting the connections among diverse people, ideas, voices, issues, etc.
Striving for clarity and accessibility by doing whatever must be done to make your rhetoric intelligible to others by naming and explaining your rhetoric.

5. The new form of activism is referred to as Neo-radicalism. Neo-radicalism approaches activism as a communicative labor that prefigures new realities, which helps activists close the gap between their visions of the future and the realities of today.
The five guidelines for developing a neo radical agenda are:
Neo-radicalism is based on the idea that human beings create their realities through communicative processes.
Neo-radicalism asks you to walk toward your innermost political desires and create whatever realities you choose.
Neo-radicalism believes that every reality should be accepted, respected and appreciated so long as one reality does not impede another reality.
Neo-radicalism seeks to establish social systems that enamble the free creation of our desired realities: this involves investigating, confronting and uprooting any social system that hinders this process.
This struggle continues indefinitely, for even if we create a world of truly decentered realities, there is no guarantee against the re-emergence of obstructive, controlling and oppressive forces.