Today we renew our commitment to nonviolence
Nonviolence is the moral path; it is also the more effective strategy.
Friends,
Yesterday was a terrible day.
The horror of a public assassination vied for the headlines and for our attention with the unfolding story of yet another school shooting, even while other recent murders and incidents of violence are still fresh in our minds. There was an outpouring of vitriol and blame—and unseemly glee—on social media, calls for vengeance from Fox News host Jesse Watters, and an Oval Office address in which the President of the United States blamed the “radical left” (with no information or evidence) for Charlie Kirk’s death, saying that “violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,” a statement which would be hilarious if it weren’t so tragic.
We must not take the bait. Indivisible Mobile has repeatedly affirmed a commitment to nonviolence. The current environment of name-calling, threats, and division makes that commitment all the more necessary. There may well be more violence in the coming days, but we must not be its perpetrators.
We must also not be its victims, and we are seeking out training on how to keep all of us safer as we go about the work of pushing back against authoritarianism and injustice. We have asked everyone who has attended an Indivisible Mobile event to remain peaceful, to not engage with counter-protesters or hecklers, and to be sure that their signs and their speech remain strictly nonviolent. That is partly so that we can occupy the high ground, but also because we are safer if we disengage or de-escalate whenever we can. I won’t go so far as to ask anyone to turn the other cheek, but I’ve observed that a soft answer does in fact turn away wrath more often than not.
And another thing: it’s a fact that nonviolent movements are many times over more successful than violent ones. They gather more participants, since even in these violent times most people are not ready or willing to harm others. They encourage defections when people on the “other side” (or those who have been uninvolved or apathetic) are presented with a positive alternative to the oppressive regime. And they avoid an escalation of violence when we don’t give the authoritarian the excuse he is looking for to clamp down further.
Peaceful protest requires significant personal discipline, which is why the leaders of the Civil Rights movement underwent Passive Resistance training in how to endure abuse without responding with violence, or even self-defense. I know for a fact that as an individual I don’t have anything like their courage or their patience.
But I continue to believe that we can do this together. We can encourage and spell each other. We can talk each other in off the ledge. We can hold each other accountable and keep each other close. Yesterday was a terrible day. Tomorrow can and must be better.
A perspective on nonviolence
https://3rdworldecon.substack.com/p/a-perspective-on-nonviolence
Especially liked Six Principles of Nonviolence.