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Volume 2 |
Winter, 2001/02 |
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The way of love, or nonviolence, as Mahatma Gandhi once said, is
as old as the hills. The English word "nonviolence" derives
conceptually from the Sanskrit word ahimsa, which literally
means not hurting. The root of this word is hins, a desiderative
form of han, which means to slay, kill, or damage. Thus hins
implies the desire to kill, injure or destroy. The a is a
negative giving ahimsa the broader meaning of not having
any desire, wish, or will to kill, injure or destroy.
If people are hurting, injuring, or killing others, those of us
who feel a concern to alleviate or eliminate that suffering being
inflicted have the right, if we choose to exercise it, to attempt
to intervene to prevent or stop the harm. Yet our first concern
and responsibility is to make sure that we are not adding to the
harm being done, thus the importance of strictly adhering to the
principle of nonviolence in whatever we do. Our love and compassion
for those suffering or about to suffer may move us to act in a nonviolent
manner to help. Everyone is not obligated to do this, and we cannot
force anyone to support us in this effort.
Between Submission and Retaliation
The way of nonviolent action has been described as a third way,
an alternative to weak submission to wrongs and violent reaction
against them. Most people only see the two common alternatives:
they either accept the unjust situation passively or prepare to
use force in defense of their rights. Unfortunately those who use
force often are not able to control it or keep it from oppressing
others. Thus what starts out as a means of defending a group's interests
often ends up interfering in the affairs of others. Justice is rarely
achieved by seeing who has the strongest military forces to kill
and destroy the opponent most effectively. On the other hand those
who passively submit to what is forced upon them usually are considered
weak and cowardly as they suffer oppression from the aggressive.
The third way enables even those who are few in numbers or poor
in material resources to stand up for their rights with moral strength
and dignity. Also neutral persons may come to their aid without
injuring either side, and even dissenters from the aggressive side
may intervene nonviolently for the sake of justice. One need not
be big and powerful by worldly standards to use nonviolent action.
The very old and young, women, and even the handicapped can be just
as effective in nonviolent action as physically strong young men.
The power of nonviolence comes from the spiritual qualities of love,
understanding, communication skill, courage, and persistent endurance.
Regardless of the particular goal or cause at stake, the nonviolent
method is careful to make sure the means do no harm. By not inflicting
any harm on the opponents the nonviolent activists are not immediately
threatening to them. However, the opponents may not like the goals
we are working for, and therefore may inflict harm on the nonviolent
people anyway. When this occurs it is important that peaceful activists
not retaliate or fight back physically. At the same time it is equally
important that we persist in our efforts and not give in because
of the suffering we are undergoing. Otherwise we are encouraging
the opponents to punish us in order to "deter" us. In
this way nonviolent activists can earn the respect of opponents
who believe in force. As they realize that force is not working
in stopping the activists' protests, they will have to re-evaluate
their tactics and the whole situation. Using nonviolent action is
no guarantee that no violence will result, because the opponents
may use force. However, it is the strongest form of action that
we can use to truly win over the opponents, while minimizing the
total violence by not contributing to it at all. The weak method
of passive submission does nothing to alleviate the oppression and
injustice already present, while violent reaction escalates the
violence and oppression of the situation.
Open Friendliness
The way of nonviolence is open to the flow of love which may come
from any direction. To love completely is to be open to the whole
universe and everyone in it, both in receiving from others and in
giving love to others. True love is universal, not just for one
other person. By being open and friendly to everyone we can better
understand them and their concerns, and they will be more likely
to listen to ours as well. The way of love treats the whole world
as one big happy family. In this way we do not close ourselves off
from anyone or any viewpoint. We are not afraid to consider all
views, and we find that diversity does not have to result in disharmony
if we are friends.
In the nonviolent movement we are very friendly toward each other;
at the same time we try to be equally friendly toward our opponents
and critics, because as human beings they are just as important
as we are, and we need to understand them even more than people
who agree with us. What the world needs more than anything else
is more love and friendship, and this is something that each of
us can contribute to in our daily lives. By developing friendly
relationships with those who oppose us we are beginning the process
of social healing. Nothing is more disarming than a sincere smile.
Openness means that we are not trying to hide anything or take advantage
of what the other person does not know. Also it means that we are
open to receive what other people have to offer us. We are open
to the flow of Spirit moving in our lives and in the lives of those
around us. We are available to communication and relationship and
cooperation with what is good. However, in our openness to examine
all viewpoints, we still retain our own discernment of what is morally
good. We need not agree with all concepts or attitudes nor do we
cooperate with what we believe is harmful, but we are always willing
to discuss and consider what is best.
Friendliness is a good feeling that we share with others. When our
hearts are open, we do not discriminate between people but share
our good feelings with everyone equally. In this way we live in
love all the time. Yet we do not need to love what everyone does.
We can discern the difference between our love for people and what
they do. We may hate their actions and attitudes but still love
them as souls and human beings. In fact loving friendship is not
afraid to communicate our concerns and differences of opinions so
that we might resolve them most easily and directly. Sometimes this
requires "hard love" and honesty in communication.
Honest Communication
Gandhi used the term satyagraha to describe the way of the
nonviolent activist. The word satya means truth, deriving
from sat which means truth in the sense of being, reality
or existence. The word graha means firmly holding to something.
Thus satyagraha means firmly holding to the truth and implies
that this truth is the spiritual reality of our beingness, as when
Jesus said, "I am life, truth, and the way." Regardless
of a person's religion or lack of it, this nonviolent way is based
on a spiritual dedication to truth and therefore honesty in human
relations.
The great gift of our human intelligence enables us to communicate
clearly with each other, not only directly by our actions but also
symbolically by means of language. Because language is a symbolic
abstraction referring to objects, relations, and concepts, the words
may or may not be accurate to the reality they are attempting to
describe. In other words, language may be in error, or people can
and do lie. Deception is a subtle form of violence, because it shows
a lack of respect for other people or fear of reality. The way of
love is based on the love of the truth in everyone and everything.
Gandhi used to say that there is no God higher than the truth. To
separate ourselves from the truth is to separate ourselves from
reality.
Thus to be true to ourselves we must be true to others as well.
Is it really loving to try to be nice and not to tell someone we
like that what they are doing is bothering us? If we allow resentment
to build up we soon find ourselves in conflict and misunderstanding.
True love means having the courage to confront ourselves and others
with the reality of what is going on so that we can work to resolve
it together. By hard love we learn how to be self-critical and constantly
watchful of how we can improve ourselves and our situation with
others.
Our feelings tell us much about what is going on with us and by
communicating them we will be much more able to master the situation
in a way that is best for the group. Of course this does not mean
we unleash all our personal problems on others without any discernment.
The best communication is clear, open, and honest. We clearly communicate
when we are aware of what our feelings, thoughts, and concerns are
and make them clear to others without inflicting our own "stuff"
on to other people. We are responsible for working out our own emotional
problems without projecting them on others, but we can still communicate
what we are going through if we wish. We need to be careful not
to let personal problems distort the larger issues we are working
on together. The process of group communication can help us each
to see past our own personal concerns to what is best for everyone.
As a group it is especially important that we make sure that our
communications with the public and our adversaries are accurate
and truthful, because the credibility of our movement depends on
this trust that we are not trying to mislead people. This is another
contrast to the military methods of secrecy and surprise. In making
peace with others we want them to know exactly what we are doing
and what our objectives are so that we can work them out in as open
a situation as possible. How much information a group decides to
volunteer to opponents is an issue to be discussed in relation to
strategy. However, there can be little doubt that conscious deception
must be prohibited for the sake of public trust.
Respect for Freedom and Equality
The way of love is also the way of freedom, because no one but
ourselves directs us how to express our love. This is another contrast
to military authoritarianism where individuals must take orders
from superiors. In the nonviolent movement we are all free and equal,
each listening to our own inner guidance and sharing our concerns
with the group. Then the group can freely decide, based on all individuals'
considerations, how the group wishes to act. Thus first we must
recognize our own freedom of choice and equal right to participate.
Even more important is that we realize the equality of all human
beings and respect the liberty of others just as we want our own
freedom respected. The nonviolent way of love is not possessive
of others nor does it attempt to control others or use force against
them. If we love others, we respect their autonomy to make their
own decisions. We certainly can communicate with them, and we may
even confront them with our presence to pressure them nonviolently
to make a specific choice, if we believe that what they are doing
is wrong and harmful to people. The important distinction is that
we do not try to physically or violently force them to do what we
want. Rather we may attempt to nonviolently intervene between the
persons and the wrong acts we believe they are doing so that they
have to make a choice either to remove us or stop that behavior.
Nonviolent protests do not hurt people, although they may cause
them some inconvenience in going about the business which we believe
is harmful. In doing this we attempt to treat these people as our
equals and respect them as individuals. Our actions are meant as
a direct communication of our concern for the well-being of those
involved in the situation.
We must be careful in our attitudes not to imply that we feel we
are superior, because we are critical of what others are doing.
We all make mistakes, and the nonviolent way is a path of humility
which attempts to peacefully suggest to others that they may wish
to examine the morality of what they are doing. We are not insisting
that they change, but we may insist that they at least consider
changing. We do this by presenting them with clear choices which
often result in our own self-sacrifice if they make the choice we
believe is wrong. Thus we have not inflicted suffering on them,
but have been willing to suffer in our attempt to alleviate the
wrong.
Courageous Compassion
Contrary to much popular belief the way of love and nonviolent
action is not a weak and passive method, and it certainly is not
for cowards. Nonviolent direct action may take more courage than
fighting with violence in a war, although that is a kind of bravery.
However, if we analyze the use of weapons we can see that they are
employed out of fear of what the opponent will do to us if we do
not use violence against them. The truly courageous are not afraid
of the opponents and therefore need no weapon at all. Does it take
more courage to go into battle hiding behind armor and using a gun
to kill anyone who appears threatening or to walk with dignity unarmed
and unafraid into the conflict?
Thus courage is measured by how much we are able to overcome our
fear and do what we believe is best to do anyway. Those who fight
with weapons for what they believe are more courageous than those
who passively accept injustice and allow themselves to be controlled
by those who are threatening them. Yet the most courageous are those
who stand up to injustice and actively work to change it by nonviolently
intervening using purely moral courage and no physical weapons for
defense. The most courageous do not kill out of fear of others but
are willing to die if necessary for what is right. Love and trust,
not hate and fear, are the real marks of the truly courageous. The
word "courage" comes from the French word for heart (coeur).
Do we have the heart to expose ourselves to our opponents trusting
in a human and nonviolent process of reconciliation?
Compassion is what gives us this heart. Compassion may be defined
as the love which not only empathizes with others in feeling what
they are going through, but also is wise and courageous enough to
do something about it. Thus compassion is love in action and is
willing to take on the suffering of others in order to redeem them
and those who are doing wrong to them. In compassion we have progressed
beyond anger and hate of those who are doing wrong through pity
and into mercy and caring and healing. Compassion comes from an
experience of oneness with others which expands our hearts so that
we feel what people are suffering and are moved to help them.
When we discover that people are dying of starvation or suffering
chronic malnutrition at the same time as the world has surplus food
and is wasting its resources, then compassion tells us we must work
to alleviate this situation. When we see our government using vast
financial, technical, and human resources oppressing poor people
in other countries and threatening all nations on the earth with
genocidal weapons, then compassion tells us that it is our responsibility
to change our nation's priorities from death and exploitation to
life and sharing. When we see the natural environment deteriorating
and this generation robbing the resources from the future, then
compassion tells us that we must learn to live more in harmony with
the earth and plan for our children's health and well-being. When
we hear of individuals caught in a web of propaganda and exploitation
not realizing the harm they are doing or seeing any other way out
from their predicament, then compassion tells us we must communicate
to them
the alternatives which are better for all of us. When we know in
our hearts that we can make a contribution for the betterment of
humanity, then compassion tells us that we must move into action.
Detached Trusting
The way of love is based on the faith that if we act in a good
way without harming anyone, then inevitably in the long run the
results will be good. Instead of trying to control people by threats
and force of might we allow humans to use intelligence to solve
our problems by communication and negotiation. We may trust in God,
or the process of the universe, as well as in human abilities. By
challenging our opponents unarmed we are demonstrating our trust
in them that they will not destroy us. By standing up to the wrongs
we believe they are doing, we are trusting that by a nonviolent
process those wrongs will eventually be redressed. Ultimately even
if our bodies are destroyed, we will have done what was right and
would be trusting that in the future people would recognize that
and right the wrongs eventually.
In order to trust fully we must let go of our own control of the
situation and allow others to participate in the process. If we
are attached to achieving certain results, then we may prejudge
the process and reject the will of the Spirit of the whole. The
situation may not be best resolved in exactly the way we think it
should. Of course we can have goals and objectives for our action;
but once we have defined the purpose of our action we need to be
detached from the specific results along the way. Otherwise we will
find ourselves disappointed and discouraged. The Bhagavad-Gita
teaches non-attachment to the fruits of action. That means that
it is important that we act for the good without worrying about
whether we are immediately successful, and also that we should not
be concerned about receiving any credit or reward for our work.
Jesus spoke about the same thing when he taught how the selfless
person desires no personal reward; the rewards come spiritually
(inwardly) or "in heaven."
Of course being detached and trusting does not mean we should trust
blindly. We must monitor what is going on and be working toward
our objectives constantly. To trust people is not necessarily to
let them take advantage of us. We must watch what they do. If they
betray their word or deceive us, then we can point that out to them
and others. We can continue to protest the wrongs they are doing
while informing the general public. Our own integrity is always
within our own control. We can love others unconditionally, but
we don't have to reward people for doing wrongs. In that case we
do not withdraw our love for them, but we can withdraw our cooperation
from the wrongs we believe they are perpetrating.
Detachment enables us to be free within ourselves from emotional
clinging to people or specific experiences. It does not mean that
we don't care, because we can show that we care by our actions.
To be detached means that we are not controlled by others or by
conditioning or the situation. We are free enough to transcend our
fears, desires, aversions, ambitions, etc. and perceive what is
truly best for all concerned. This equanimity or even-mindedness
gives us peace within ourselves that we can then share with others
by being calm and in control of ourselves in any situation.
However, this does not preclude the feeling or expressing of emotion
through compassion or other passions; but instead of being controlled
by the emotions we are aware of them and in control of them so that
we can use our feelings in our communication with others. So when
the situation calls for it we may weep in sorrow or joy, or shout
assertively to protest a terrible situation. These feelings will
not destroy our detachment if they are authentic feelings, we are
aware of what is going on, and we are controlling their expression
by channeling the emotional energy in such a way that it is not
harming anyone but is communicating a proper concern. Feelings are
very powerful means of communication and often we need to pay more
attention to them not less. To suppress consciously or repress unconsciously
our inner feelings is not detachment nor is it healthy. If more
people would listen and act on our truer and deeper feelings, our
society might not be as sick as it is today. Thus we can distinguish
the difference between the prevalent psychic numbing in the face
of our overwhelming problems and the detachment which enables us
to act freely and intelligently.
Patient Persistence
Jim Douglass of Ground Zero in the state of Washington has referred
to patience as a revolutionary virtue. Others may criticize us as
impatient, because we feel the need to take direct action rather
than let a slower evolutionary process occur. Patience is not an
excuse for not acting, but rather a quality that helps us to endure
and persist in our efforts while proceeding in a calm and intelligent
manner. When we are caught up in action, the emotions are often
very active and sometimes turbulent. We must be careful not to react
without thinking very carefully about what we are doing and what
the consequences are likely to be. Patience gives us time for deliberation
and reflection on the issues and how our actions can be both nonviolent
and yet effective. It is better to wait and perhaps miss a small
opportunity of the moment than to rush into something foolishly
or unprepared. New opportunities always come forward. If we think
out the situation and how we can best deal with it, the next time
it occurs we will be ready to act in a good way.
Unlike military action which strikes quickly and ruthlessly, nonviolent
action is slow and deliberate with ample warning given to the opponents
so that they can consciously decide how they wish to meet our confrontation.
We do not want our opponents to have to react quickly with instinctive
reflexes. We want them to know us and our methods so that they can
respond as calmly and as intelligently as possible.
Military methods are quick and destructive like fire, but nonviolent
action is flowing and nurturing like water that nourishes growing
things. For some crazy reason people say, "Fight fire with
fire," but doesn't it make much more sense to fight fire with
water? The flow of water follows the lowest path, but by flowing
constantly for a long time it wears away the hardest rocks. To be
successful, nonviolent movements must continuously persist until
the opposition's hard hearts have melted and we have achieved a
higher level of cooperation. After Gandhi returned to India from
South Africa where he spent twenty years developing his nonviolent
methods, it took thirty years before India won her independence
from Great Britain. The only way for a nonviolent movement to lose
is to stop the effort. As long as we persist, we will make progress
in communication, education, and awakening of the public to the
circumstances we want changed. The other way to lose is to become
violent and lose moral credibility. When we act nonviolently, the
opponents may arrest us or allow us to stop the wrong we are acting
to stop; either way we win attention to our cause and make it more
difficult for them to continue those wrongs.
Persistence also means that we must be flexible in our strategy
and tactics. If one method does not work, we should let it go and
try another. If one issue has been resolved successfully, then we
can go on to the next in importance. If one avenue seems to be blocked,
we can flow to another area that needs attention. If people seem
to be losing interest, we can be creative with new and interesting
approaches to the problems. If we feel we are burned out, we can
take a break to replenish our spiritual and inner resources and
come back with renewed energy. We need to persist not only in our
efforts for social change, but even more important we must persist
in our love for one another, for this above all will sustain us.
The way of love is always patient and forgiving but at the same
time persistent in doing good. When people admit they have done
wrong, we can achieve reconciliation by forgiving them. The ultimate
goal of nonviolent action is not victory over the opponents but
the finding of a harmonious way of living together peacefully with
justice. We seek no advantage over anyone else. We are working for
the good of our adversaries just as much as for ourselves. Thus
when we are successful, everyone will be the victors; and those
who have become converted to a better way of life will truly deserve
just as much credit, if not more, for their transformation as those
who worked to stimulate that change. The way of love leads to a
society where freedom and equality and justice and friendly relationships
between all people become the norm, what might be called the reign
of God, spiritual democracy, or paradise on earth. Since we would
be very fortunate indeed to achieve these goals within our lifetime,
we will need a great amount of patience and persistence.
******************************************************
For we no longer take up 'sword against nation"
nor do we 'learn war any more,' having become children of peace,
for the sake of Jesus, who is our leader.
Origen******************************************************
The alternative to violence is nonviolent resistance....
First, this is not a method for cowards; it does resist.
The nonviolent resister is just as strongly opposed to the evil
against which one protests as is the person who uses violence....
This method is passive physically but strongly active spiritually.
... A second point is that nonviolent resistance
does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent,
but to win their friendship and understanding....
A third characteristic of this method is
that the attack is directed against forces of evil
rather than against persons who are caught in those forces.
It is evil we are seeking to defeat,
not the persons victimized by evil....
A fourth point that must be brought out
concerning nonviolent resistance is that
it avoids not only external physical violence
but also internal violence of spirit.
At the center of nonviolence stands the principle of love.
In struggling for human dignity
the oppressed people of the world must not allow themselves
to become bitter or indulge in hate campaigns.
To retaliate with hate and bitterness
would do nothing but intensify the hate in the world.
Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough
and morality enough to cut off the chains of hate.
This can be done only by projecting the ethics of love
to the center of our lives....
Finally, the method of nonviolence is based on the conviction
that the universe is on the side of justice.
It is this deep faith in the future
that causes the nonviolent resister
to accept suffering without retaliation....
World peace through nonviolent means
is neither absurd nor unattainable.
All other methods have failed,
Thus we must begin anew....
We have the choice in this world today
between nonviolence and non-existence.
Martin Luther King, Jr.********************************************
Experiment with nonviolent struggle has barely begun.
But in a world in which traditional violent battle
can escalate into nuclear war,
it is an experiment that is absolutely necessary
to push to its furthest limits.
Barbara Deming********************************************
The Politics of Nonviolence
The conventional view of political power sees people as dependent
on the good will and caprice of their government and any other hierarchical
system to which they belong. Power is seen as something people have
-- kings, czars, generals hold power as one holds a knife. Power
resides in knowledge, control of wealth and in the ability to impose
violence. Those who serve have little power. Consequently, those
without power must kill or destroy their rulers and replace them
in their positions in order to wield the selfsame power.
The theory of active nonviolence proposes a different analysis:
that government depends on people and that political power is variable,
even fragile, always dependent on the cooperation of a multitude
of groups and individuals. The withdrawal of that cooperation restricts
and can even dissolve power. Put another way, power depends on continuing
obedience; thus when we refuse to obey our rulers, their power begins
to crumble.
In this sense, nonviolent action is not passive - nor is it a naive
belief in converting the opposition - nor is it a "safe"
method of protest, immune from repression. Rather, it is based on
a different understanding of where people's power really lies. By
disobeying, people learn to withhold, rather than surrender, their
cooperation. This recognizes that the individual's discovery of
self-respect is tied to the recognition that one's own assistance
makes the unjust regime possible. When a large enough group of people
recognizes this - as the "untouchables" did with Gandhi's
help - the result is massive noncooperation and obstruction involving
the use of social, economic, and political power.
Then why don't people decide to withdraw cooperation? Why instead
do the many obey the few - and how can this change? The authorities
are able to wield power both because masses of people passively
obey, and because they have the violent means for suppressing dissent
- police, National Guard, prison guards and prison cells. A few
disobey and are punished, keeping the many afraid.
Yet there are chinks in the armor. First, the repressive apparatus
is made up of human beings whose cooperation is essential. A nonviolent
approach to the police undercuts their rationale for violence -
and reveals to neutral parties the extent to which the system relies
on violence and force. Second, the repressive apparatus is based
on a minimal level of dissent (i.e., much mild dissent or a small
number of militant dissenters). When dissent grows and brings pressure
to bear, the system breaks down. When a nonviolent campaign stands
its ground using nonviolence to resist dispersal (not merely for
a day or a weekend, but over time), it astronomically raises the
cost of continuing violence against it, until it is no longer feasible.
Increasing Use of Nonviolence in History
* In 494 BC plebeians in Rome decided not to kill the consuls who
refused to grant their grievances but withdrew from the city to
a hill which became known as the "Sacred Mount." After
a few days of such noncooperation with the city significant improvements
were granted.
* The people of the Netherlands nonviolently resisted Spanish rule
between 1565 and 1576.
* John Adams described the nonviolent period from 1760 to 1775 as
the true revolution, followed by a war of independence from 1775
to 1783. Boycotts and noncooperation with British laws were used
as well as direct action at the Boston Tea Party.
* Hungarians led by Deak struggled against Austrian domination between
1850 and 1867.
* Both the anti-slavery and woman's suffrage movements in England
and the United States agitated with nonviolent methods and were
successful eventually.
* The Russian revolutions of 1905 and early 1917 were primarily
nonviolent until the Bolsheviks took power by force of arms in November
1917.
* In Berlin in 1920 a rightist coup d'etat was defeated
by nonviolent action in support of the legitimate government. A
similar situation occurred in the Ruhr in 1923.
* Mahatma Gandhi led several campaigns in South Africa and in India
which led to reforms and eventually Indian independence.
* Nonviolent methods were used against Nazi occupation in Denmark
and in Norway during World War II.
* In Guatemala City in 1944 the dictator Ubico was pressured to
resign by nonviolent opposition.
* The civil rights campaigns led by Dr. King and others in the southern
United States led to significant new legislation and changes in
social policies and awareness in the 1950s and 1960s.
* Nonviolent movements have struggled briefly in Hungary in 1956
before the violence began and in Czechoslovakia in 1968.
* Nonviolent tactics have been used by the labor movement all through
the twentieth century.
* Anti-war protests were a major factor in preventing the use of
nuclear weapons in Vietnam and in ending that war.
* In Markolsheim, France in 1974 people built a friendship house
on the site where a lead factory was to be constructed until the
French government withdrew the plant's permit.
* In Wyhl, West Germany in 1976 thousands of people occupied the
location for a nuclear power plant project, staying for more than
a year until construction attempts were abandoned.
* In April 1977 and again in October 1979 about 2000 people occupied
the construction site of the nuclear power plant at Seabrook, New
Hampshire.
* In July 1977 at Crays-Malville, France, nearly 30,000 people occupied
the construction site of the new fast-breeder reactor.
* On April 30, 1978 and the next day more than a thousand people
blockaded the $300 million commercial reprocessing plant in Barnwell,
South Carolina.
* In April 1979 at Groton, Connecticut, more than 3000 people demonstrated
and over 200 people blockaded the launching of the first Trident
submarine, the Ohio.
* On April 28, 1979 more than 250 blockaded the United States' only
producer of plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons at Rocky Flats,
Colorado.
* In early 1980 thousands of dolphins gathered to resist their own
slaughter by Japanese fishers and forced the fishing boats back
to port.
* In the 1980s many thousands of protesters have been arrested in
Western Europe and the United States for protesting various nuclear
weapons and intervention in Central America.
* In 1986 the people of the Philippines overthrew the government
headed by Ferdinand Marcos.
* In 1988 refugees from El Salvador returned to their homes and
disobeyed orders of the Army to remove certain people from their
villages.
* In April and May 1989 hundreds of thousands demonstrated and hundreds
fasted in China for free speech and democratic reforms.
Nonviolence Discipline
Participants in demonstrations are usually asked to abide by a
nonviolent discipline such as this one:
1. We will regard each individual as a human being with dignity.
2. While not denying our feelings, we will harbor no hate. Should
others express violence toward us, we will not return violence.
3. We will protect others from insults or attack. We will be alert
to the people around us and will be aware of when others need assistance.
We will support each other in peacekeeping.
4. We will not run, use threatening motions, or jump suddenly on
or off the railroad tracks.
5. As participants in a nonviolent demonstration, we will follow
the directions of the designated coordinators. In the event of a
serious disagreement, one should remove oneself temporarily from
the action until the conflict is resolved.
6. We will carry no weapons.
7. We will not bring or use any drugs or alcohol, other than for
medical purposes.
8. Our attitude will be open and friendly, showing respect toward
all people we encounter, including law enforcement officers, security
and military personnel, and the people who work at the Naval Base.
9. We accept responsibility for our nonviolent actions, and if among
those who risk arrest, we will not use legal subterfuge to escape
the consequences of our actions.
Nonviolence Preparation
Sample Agenda
5 min. Introduction of Facilitators.
5 min. Agenda Review.
30 min. Slideshow or Video Presentation.
20 min. Introductions and Sharing. People give their names and organizations
and share briefly their concerns about the issue you are organizing
this nonviolent action for.
30 min. Philosophy and History of Nonviolence. This may include
a brainstorm on what nonviolence is or how it has been used effectively,
as well as some lecture and discussion.
5 min. Nonviolence Discipline.
10 min. Break.
10 min. Present Active Listening Skill.
20 min. Discuss Nonviolence in Triads. In groups of three, people
share their personal feelings about nonviolent action by responding
to questions, such as "What are the qualities of nonviolence
you personally hope to embody?" and "What is leading you
to nonviolently protest against this issue?" Each person speaks
in turn as the other two actively listen.
20 min. Hassle Line Role-play. The group divides in half and forms
two parallel lines facing each other. One line plays the role of
a worker or representative of the target of your protest, while
the other line is demonstrators attempting to communicate their
concerns. Switch roles.
10 min. Scenario. Review plans for anticipated direct action.
30 min. Meal break.
30 min. Consensus Process and Affinity Groups. Discuss how consensus
works and what affinity groups are.
15 min. Consensus Role-play. Group struggles through the process
of coming to consensus on some decision, such as agreeing to the
Nonviolence Discipline.
15 min. Affinity Group Quick Decision-making Role-play. Group is
faced with a situation, such as police brutality in an action and
must decide quickly as a group how to respond.
30 min. Legal Briefing. Discuss legal options and possible consequences.
10 min. Break.
20 min. Direct Action Role-play. Assign and play out the roles involved
in an arrest situation to include people risking arrest, supporters,
military personnel, law enforcement officers, media reporters, counter-demonstrators,
etc. Share feelings afterwards.
20 min. Jail Conditions. Discuss local jail conditions and share
feelings concerning incarceration.
20 min. Solidarity Issues. Discuss options of cite release, bail,
fines, probation, etc. in regard to strategies of refusing certain
options for group empowerment.
10 min. Affinity Group Formation. Find out if individuals are in
Affinity Groups or whether they would like to form one or more out
of the Preparation.
10 min. Evaluation and Closing Circle. Share feelings.