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Nonviolence

For Today’s Youth, The Ability To Make Change Is A Survival Skill

November 28, 2019 Rivera Sun, Waging Nonviolence. , , ,
It’s a thing. Parents are hosting protest parties instead of birthday parties. The kids design signs, hold a march with their friends, and do a demonstration for peace, love, kindness or whatever. It’s training in standing up and speaking out — two prized freedoms in the United States. And it gives kids an experience they’re going to need again and again, probably in situations that are far less fun. Young people just a few years older than these kids are staging school walk-outs over the lack of gun control, the climate crisis, the overuse of standardized tests, racist police shootings and more. They’re holding occupations to overturn racist school policies. They’re taking a knee along with athlete Colin Kaepernick. They’re organizing to protect their friends who are undocumented students. To this generation, the ability to make change is a survival skill for a world in crisis. These are the life skills they’ll need to create a world that works for them — and everyone.

Kings Bay Plowshares 7 Found Guilty On All Counts

October 25, 2019 Kingsbay Plowshares 7. , ,
Brunswick, GA – More than 18 months after they snuck onto the site of one of the largest known collections of nuclear weaponry in the world, a jury found the Kings Bay Plowshares 7 guilty of all four of the charges brought against them. The defendants face more than 20 years in prison for destruction and depredation of government property in excess of $1,000, trespassing, and conspiracy. Late at night on April 4, 2018 Mark Colville, Clare Grady, Martha Hennessy, Fr. Steve Kelly, S.J., Elizabeth McAlister, Patrick O’Neill, and Carmen Trotta used a bolt cutter to enter a remote gate at Naval Base Kings Bay in St. Mary’s GA and walked two miles through swamp and brush. They then split into three groups and prayed, poured blood, spray-painted messages against nuclear weapons, hammered on parts of a shrine to nuclear missiles, hung banners, and waited to be arrested.

Taking Next Steps For Nuclear Abolition

October 23, 2019 Kathy Kelly, Voices for Creative Nonviolence. , ,
A recent op-ed in the New York Times suggests the Kings Bay Plowshares 7 message is entering public discourse. The defendants have clarified that the U.S. nuclear weapon arsenal robs resources desperately needed for food, shelter, health care and education. The New York Times notes if we could reach a total nuclear weapons ban, we could save roughly $43 billion each year on weapons, delivery systems and upgrades. “That’s roughly the same amount we’ve allocated in federal hurricane aid for Puerto Rico.” Marianne laments the madness which considers nuclear weapons a modern idol deserving of great sacrifice. She is rightfully wary of social and cultural developments that consider such madness normal. She and I commiserate about recovering from hip fractures, (I’ve been on the mend for the past month), but we both know that Steve Kelly’s invitation deserves our greatest attention.

Change Agent: Gene Sharp’s Neoliberal Nonviolence

October 12, 2019 By Marcie Smith, Nonsite.org , ,
Gene Sharp, the “Machiavelli of nonviolence,” has been fairly described as “the most influential American political figure you’ve never heard of.”1 Sharp, who passed away in January 2018, was a beloved yet “mysterious” intellectual giant of nonviolent protest movements, the “father of the whole field of the study of strategic nonviolent action.”2 Over his career, he wrote more than twenty books about nonviolent action and social movements. His how-to pamphlet on nonviolent revolution...

Expanding The Concept And Practice Of Nonviolence

September 28, 2019 Mike Yarrow, Westernfriend.org , ,
First, let me confess to an itch about the term “nonviolence” – because it connotes a passive absence of violence rather than an affirmative presence of an alternative force for change, which Gandhi called, “a force more powerful.” I like Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement, “. . . true nonviolence is more than the absence of violence. It is the persistent and determined application of peaceable power to offenses against the community.” This is not just semantics! I know people who are intent on being nonviolent by trying to expunge violent thoughts and deeds from their lives, often by retreating from situations which might provoke violent reactions.

Rebelling From A Nonviolent Heart

July 14, 2019 By Skeena Rathor, Resurgence & Ecologist magazine   , ,
As a movement Extinction Rebellion has consciously used the power of nonviolent civil disobedience as an embodied practice of love asking for the needs of the Earth and all its living splendor to be safeguarded. The work of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, and Marshall Rosenberg’s nonviolent communication or peaceful communication are nourishing reference points for Extinction Rebellion. Modern politics, religious dogma, and culture at large have bred a tremendously violent language. We have become trapped in moralistic judgments implying wrongness or badness on the part of people who don’t act in harmony with our values. With nonviolent language as an essential tool, we can accelerate the realization of our interconnectedness and our remembering of our instinct to protect and nurture what we love and that which loves and sustains us.

The Force Of Peace In Algeria’s Protests

April 7, 2019 the Christian Science Monitor. , , ,
An iconic image of the 1960s shows a young American placing flowers in the barrels of soldiers’ rifles during protests against the Vietnam War. Such symbols of peace (“flower power”) helped turn events. Something like that is now happening in Algeria. Since February, millions of pro-democracy protesters in the North African country have been purposefully peaceful, even joyful, in the streets. Their main chant is silmiya, silmiya (peaceful, peaceful). With a message of nonviolence, they aim to persuade the military to stop dictating who rules Algeria by the mere force of arms.

Nonviolent Versus Violent Peace In Afghanistan And The World

March 22, 2019 Dr. Hakim, Dissidentvoice.org ,
“Salam (peace)!” is how Afghans greet one another, some of them simultaneously placing a hand over their hearts. But, while everyone including Afghans wants peace, the Afghan Peace Volunteers and I have observed that the human species appears to be stuck on violent peace. We think that this is because most of us are reared as armed doves, like the one drawn by Wifred Hildonen for Cartoon Stock below. There is a new Peacemaker in town! Using Wilfred’s cartoon analogy, the Afghan Peace Volunteers and I are differentiating violent peace from nonviolent peace based on whether a society includes or excludes the use of weapons and armies as a resort to secure peace.

A Nonviolent Strategy To Defeat The US Coup Attempt In Venezuela

February 2, 2019 By Robert J. Burrowes, Popular Resistance , , ,
To the People of Venezuela: Given your existing and ongoing resistance to the coup in defense of your elected government, I would like to offer another avenue of support for you to consider. My support, if you like, to plan and implement a comprehensive nonviolent strategy to defeat the coup. So what is required? I have explained in detail how to formulate and implement a strategy for defeating coup attempts such as this in the book The Strategy of Nonviolent Defense: A Gandhian Approach. The chances of success are vastly enhanced if your struggle, and that of your solidarity allies around the world, is focused for maximum strategic impact and designed to spread the cost of doing so. Remember, it is you who will decide the fate of Venezuela. Not the US elite and not even your President and government.

The Tools Of Nonviolent Struggle Should Never Lose Their Edge

January 9, 2019 Rivera Sun, Dandelionsalad.wordpress.com , ,
The tools of nonviolent action and the skills of struggle are as vital to these times as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Training to use them is as essential as learning how to use a computer. The ability to boycott and strike is as important as the ability to drive a car. Every citizen who knows how to use email should also know how to protest, walk-out, shut-down, occupy, blockade, and more. This is the only way the power of the people can hold the power of oligarchs in check. Before the oligarchs concluded that the study of civics was detrimental to the longevity of their rule, every elementary student learned about checks-and-balances.

Lessons On Building Democracy After Nonviolent Revolutions

November 15, 2018 Jonathan Pinckney, Wagingnonviolence.org , ,
In 2011, Egypt began a political transition following a nonviolent revolution. There was tremendous optimism both from within the country and abroad that the transition was likely to lead to a democratic outcome. In 2014, Burkina Faso also began a political transition after a nonviolent revolution overthrew longtime authoritarian President Blaise Compaoré. While many admired the revolution, its unfavorable conditions — low levels of economic development and a region that was less conducive to democracy — made the prospects for democratic advancement less optimistic. Yet, today, Egypt is once again under autocratic rule, following a 2013 coup by General Abdel-Fatah al-Sissi.

More Than 2,500 Actions Call To End War, Poverty, Racism & Environmental Destruction

September 26, 2018 By The Pace e Bene/Campaign Nonviolence Team, Popular Resistance ,
Thousands of people organized and participated in the 2668 Nonviolence Actions throughout the U.S. and 24 countries this past week as part of Campaign Nonviolence events. The nonviolence campaign which is calling for a new culture of peace and nonviolence to end war, poverty, racism and environmental destruction is growing year by year.

Where Power Holders Get Power And How Movements Take It Away

July 15, 2018 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Popular Resistance , ,
This week, we present the second class in the Popular Resistance School course, "How Social Transformation Occurs." The second class takes a more in-depth look at the power holders - what they need to exist and how social movements can weaken their power. We also discuss the characteristics of successful social movements, Grand Strategy, when to negotiate (or not) and violence versus nonviolence. Power holders do not operate in a vacuum, they rely on various factors and pillars to maintain their power.

New Data Offers Insights Into The Dynamics Of Nonviolent Resistance

May 19, 2018 Jonathan Pinckney and Erica Chenoweth, Wagingnonviolence.org ,
In a recent article for The Guardian, L.A. Kaufman argues that we are living in a “golden age” of protest. But, she cautions, protests are often not enough for movements to realize their desired outcomes. Applying more disruptive methods, like sit-ins or blockades, is a necessary next step for organizers who wish to effect transformative change. Indeed, tactical innovation and the adoption of a broad range of nonviolent methods is a hallmark of successful resistance campaigns in the past. That said, little systematic research exists to help organizers understand when and how to use different methods of resistance. How can shifting between acts of omission and commission, concentration and dispersion, or protest, noncooperation and intervention advantage or disadvantage nonviolent movements?

Can Antifa Build an Effective Broad-Based Anti-Fascist Movement?

April 29, 2018 By Sue Curry Jansen and Brian Martin, Waging Nonviolence , ,
The book is an informed and revealing, yet one-sided, account of efforts against fascism. What it omits is a sustained discussion of strategy to counter fascism by any means except using force to deter or fight the presence of the far right in public spaces. This one-dimensional approach limits the potential for participation of many sympathetic people. Furthermore, it can even alienate potential supporters who might be won over and involved using less confrontational tactics. Using violence sends a message that the way to oppose those with whom you disagree is to silence their speech. This can legitimate use of the same methods by opponents. Ultimately, suppressing free speech and using violence are not good ways to build the sort of free society Bray desires, because they fail to foster the attitudes and skills necessary for such a society to develop and flourish.
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