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In this episode,
we begin our search for patterns in the game

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of framing and reframing.

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Let’s start straight away with an example.

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Two local politicians are having a disagreement.

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The right-wing politician wants to abolish
several local tax benefits for the unemployed.

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The left-wing politician responds as follows:

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‘This measure will hit people over 55 the
hardest.

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Some of them have become unemployed after
working for 30 years or more.

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It is almost impossible for them to find work
again,

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because many companies don’t want to hire
people over 55.

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These people have had their jobs taken away
from them,

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and now you are proposing to take away their
tax benefits as well.

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For many of them,
this could mean the difference between being

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able to pay their mortgage or losing their
home.

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And if you take that away from them,
you’ll take away their dignity as well.

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Your proposal is therefore extremely antisocial.’

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Your feelings on this issue obviously depend
on your political views,

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but something else is going on in this example
as well.

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The left-wing politician is trying to appeal
to our emotions.

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Specifically our compassion for the older
unemployed.

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Once she has achieved this,
it turns out that there are three characters

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in her frame:

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a victim (the older unemployed),
a villain (the right-wing politician) and

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a hero (the left-wing politician who stands
up for the victim).

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This bring us to the first model in the game
of framing and reframing:

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the Victim,
Villain,

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Hero model.

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In this case,
the trigger

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the device that activates the model
is emotion.

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We expect three things from a hero.

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First,
he must adopt a clear moral position in which

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the victim is the good guy and the villain
is the bad guy.

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Second,
he must take action.

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In other words,
he must go after the villain and protect the

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victim.

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Thirdly,
he must act swiftly.

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When we’re emotional,
we want action to be taken as soon as possible.

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Our feelings are so strong that we won’t
tolerate any delay.

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The greater our outrage,
the more susceptible we are to this frame.

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Think about debates about crime or serious
environmental pollution,

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which often involve an actual victim and an
actual villain

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a criminal or a major polluter.

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As our emotional involvement increases,
so does our belief that somebody should go

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after the villain.

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In these circumstances,
any politician who coldly reasons that crime

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is caused by poverty or that environmental
accidents will just happen,

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does not take on the role of the hero.

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This leaves them vulnerable to attack.

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Now suppose that you have been framed as a
villain.

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How should you respond?

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One thing is clear:

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if you step into this frame you are taking
a big risk.

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Let’s say you claim that older people can
find work.

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That there are companies that are willing
to hire them.

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There is a good chance that people will continue
to regard you as a villain who refuses to

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acknowledge how hard it is to find work.

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Reframing is the act of telling a different
story with a different division of roles.

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This is how our right wing politician might
respond.

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‘We all know that our city has several public
playgrounds.

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These playgrounds,
which are incredibly important to families

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with young children,
are run by volunteers.

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Unfortunately,
I find myself forced to close some of these

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playgrounds due to a lack of volunteers.

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One of the playgrounds facing closure is the
popular playground on Church Street,

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despite the fact that there are seven people
who are unemployed and receiving benefits

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living on this street.

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And this is not the only example.

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Many of our local services rely on volunteers.

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And although there are many unemployed people
who receive benefits,

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there never seem to be enough volunteers.

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Never.’ What just happened?

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The right-wing politician is also talking
about benefits,

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but the roles have been reversed.

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The playgrounds and the families using them
are now the victims.

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The villains are the people who refuse to
volunteer to keep these playgrounds open,

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even though they are receiving government
benefits.

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The hero is the right-wing politician who
dares to raise this issue.

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This is an emotional topic for anyone who
knows the playground on Church Street.

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Other people might also consider it an outrage
that playgrounds have to be closed because

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people on government benefits refuse to volunteer
for a few hours a week.

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The victim/villain/hero model is the first
model in the game of framing and reframing.

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Many frames are based on this model.

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In conclusion,
you should never step into a frame in which

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you are the villain.

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If your opponent is framing you as the villain,
your best option is to reframe the debate

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by presenting a different version of the same
reality and changing the roles so that you

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become the hero.

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Will you win if you do this?

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Not necessarily,
whether you win or lose depends upon the opinion

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of the listeners.

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But at least you have made clear that there
are different perspectives on this problem,

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and that there are no unambiguous victims,
villains and heroes.