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“If nonviolence is not working for you, you’re not working it.”

Nonviolence feels unnatural at first, because we’re not used to it. It is not an add-on to life, it is a way of life. We need to unlearn the aggressive, violent attitudes and behaviors and relearn the lifestyles of human form the early stages of life.

 

Defining nonviolence:

Dr. King - physical and emotional harm

Group 1 - abuse/misuse of power

Group 2 - de-meaning the other

Group 3 - causing/inflicting hurt/harm/suffering/pain on lifeforms/beings

 

Planning nonviolent action - Be mindful about the possible reactions that could surface in response to your actions? Think about the probable consequences/counter measures and prepare appropriate responses in dealing with them. There will always be unexpected ones!

 

Thesis - Anti-thesis - Synthesis - there are two (or more) sides to every story and then there is the truth.

 

Beloved Community - If you strive for Utopia you will achieve excellence. If you strive for excellence you will end up with mediocrity. Your generation might not achieve it, but your great-grandchildren might!

 

Nonviolent communication - Four Questions to Know if Nonviolent Communication is What You Want

It is challenging to be shifting from an activism fueled by hate to an activism fueled by common love and humanity. “Hating somebody is like hating drinking poison and expecting the other one to die.”

Accepting voluntary suffering for the larger goal will make you a stronger person in the process. At the same time, the beauty of nonviolent organizing is that there is a role for everyone to play, even for those that are not ready/comfortable with the idea of the ultimate sacrify.

The universe is on the side of justice. It does not tolerate idleness/passivity. If people invest in peace, the Universe will pay it returns in justice and truth.

Human Aggression is directed against persons. Retaliation will only result in more violence.

Human Compassion/Conciliation is directed against conditions. (i.e. the ability to empathize with people that are homeless, and target the conditions of the system that cause it)

We need a paradigm shift from Conflict Resolution to Conflict Reconciliation. It is somewhat pretentious to think we can resolve any sort of conflict. We can only try to prevent the outbreaks of violence in any form. Also we need to work on the consequences of violent conflicts throught healing and relief of grievances and  trauma - “Hurt people, hurt people!”

 

Arguments to your close ones for doing this type of work

- If I don’t do it/commit to it, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, will not be able to respect/be gentle with myself. It is something bigger than us. There is a common humanity and understanding in our cause. We are rising together against the systems that are maintaining the status quo, that reinforce and legalize violence and injustice

- You’ve raised me an activist, an open-minded person, with critical thinking and compassion, with the ability to identify injustice and oppression. Please don’t try to stop me now.

- We have thoroughly planned our actions. We devised an elaborate strategy, support mechanisms, an early warning - early response system, so please get on board and join the cause

 

“You can fight injustice by yourself, but you cannot create justice by yourself!”

“We demand the politically impossible, in order to make it politically inevitable”  

“I’m not disturbing the peace, I’m disturbing the war!”                          

Further Learning Resources

Fruitvale Station - movie about Oscar Grant’s death

Highlander Center - popular education center, training school during the Civil Rights movement

Erica Chenoweth - “Why Civil Resistance Works?”

Martin Luther King - “When Peace Becomes Obnoxious”

Leo Tolstoy - “The Inevitable Revolution”

Ta-Nehisi Coates - “The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood”

Positive Peace Warrior Network - http://www.ppwn.org/

http://www.thepowerofforgiveness.com/

www.teachingtolerance.org

 

Thoughts and notes on the 2-day orientation to Kingian nonviolence conflict reconciliation with Kazu Haga

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