Nonviolent resistance courtesy of Debby. She left a link to an excellent article in her response to the first comment. It's so easy to forget the things that we've learned, at least for me. It's also easy to forget about nonviolence when faced with so much anger and hatred and fear. But there are people, much better people than myself, who were able to use nonviolence to force change.
The most well known nonviolent resister is Mahatma Ghandi who used nonviolent resistance for more than thirty years, first in South Africa and then in India. His movement forced the British to return India to Indians and self rule. In the United States, there is of course Martin Luther King Jr. who led the civil rights movement to end segregation and ensure equal rights for black people.
The list is endless when it comes to noviolent resistance and goes back hundreds, if not thousands of years. We remember the names of the men and women who led those movements, Nelson Mandela, Henry David Thoreau, Lech Walesa, Martin Luther King Jr., Alice Paul, Anton Sakarov, The Suffragettes, and Leo Tolstoy to name a few.
The Singing Revolution in 1989-1991, led to the restoration of independence of Lativia, Estonia, and Lithuania from the USSR. The Rose Revolution in 2003 in Georgia, brought about an end to Soviet era leadership in that country. The Carnation Revolution in Portugal in 1974, The People Power in the Phillipines in 1986, The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989, The Peaceful Revolution in East Germany in 1989, and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004. These were all nonviolent, peaceful protests, and they were all successful.
The thing about nonviolent protests, is that they don't even require a huge number of people to make a change and they are twice as likely to be successful. The article, backed by research, suggests that only 3.5% of the population is required to participate for a campaign to be successful. Here is Erica Chenoweth talking about nonviolent resistance at a TED talk.
The best thing about this, it gives me hope, and it gives me a way to have my voice heard in Alberta, because right now we have an autocratic Premier who is pushing her own agenda, and that of a very small minority of Albertans. I am not a violent person, not a screamer, but I want change in Alberta, and the world if I'm honest. This gives me a pathway to do that that works in accordance with my own beliefs.
Thanks.
ReplyDeleteExcellent. I wish I could join in tomorrow in person but I will need to be ok with being there in spirit.
ReplyDeleteThere is hope.
DeleteYes, non-violence is the way to go for mass protests. Excellent link!
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteI won't be joining the protestors, but I do donate money to organizations who are suing the overreach and also to people/organizations who are spreading the truth. Letters from an American by Heather Richardson is one of the great ones. https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/about
ReplyDeleteExcellent. We can all do our part.
DeleteThis is exactly why Trump is over-responding to the protests in LA. He knows nonviolent protests are more successful, and the more violence he can whip up, the more the American public will reject the protests or see the protesters as extremists.
ReplyDeleteHe also wants Americans to not think about the tariffs right now.
DeleteRight this second I am so beyond the capability of logic or calmness that I feel like I'm spinning so fast I'm going to simply fly off into space.
ReplyDeleteSending hugs to you Mary.
DeleteI think the Orange Menace (and Faux News) are using propaganda about the protests to say that they're violent and destructive; I don't know how to combat that. :(
ReplyDeleteI don't either. The people at the protests have to stay non violent though.
DeleteThere have many successes but also I am sure failed non violent protests. It is not me arguing this but some say you have to break things to make change, which sounds rather more than peaceful protests, although you can break things by peaceful protest too.
ReplyDeleteApparently that young women's research has proven that non violent protests are twice as likely to lead to positive change.
DeleteViolence always makes things worse instead of better. Nonviolence is a paradoxically powerful response and requires true courage. Thank you for your post today.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to stay non violent when all your buttons are being pushed, which is the point of trump escalating things.
DeleteLikewise not a fan of our MAGA wannabe premier. You sound empowered and that gives me hope too.
ReplyDeleteShe is a destructive, manipulative human being with an agenda that is what she and her minions find beneficial for them, as opposed to the Albertans in general.
DeleteI read an article about the premier of Alberta a couple of weeks ago in the New York Times and I wondered what your take on her was. She sounds dreadful, like she belongs in the USA MAGA movement.
ReplyDelete