Saul Alinsky's Rule #11 "If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside."
Even a negative situation can be reforged into a positive for an activist. If you take the proper steps, and are relentless in your framing of the message, even a terrible scenario can benefit your group.
A great example of this rule is when the Youth for Western Civilization Chapter at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) invited Congressman Tom Tancredo to speak at on campus on the topic of illegal immigration.
The campus left went in an uproar, and organized a massive protest outside the building where the event was held.
The protest soon spun out of control, as various leftists would run into the room to disrupt Tancredo's speech. Then a group of protesters unfurled a banner reading "no human being is illegal."
The unruly display reached its peak when one protester threw a brick through the window of the room where the event was held.