Tuesday, February 17, 2025: questions we should answer when planning an effective nonviolent direct action
Dear Sisters and Brothers: On Thursday, February 20, 2025, Lindsey Kerr and Christ Church United Methodist are sponsoring a "Train the Trainer" day of teaching about how to create nonviolent direct action.
Here's the note from Pastor Lindsey with a link to a folder chock full of documents which will be used on Thurdsday
All,
Meditation on non-violent direct action with quotes by Dolores Huerta among other leaders committed to non-violence.
The great social justice changes in our country have happened when people came together, organized, and took direct action. It is this right that sustains and nurtures our democracy today. The civil rights movement, the labor movement, the women's movement, and the equality movement for our LGBT brothers and sisters are all manifestations of these rights. - Dolores Huerta
Non-violent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored... I am not afraid of the word tension. I have earnestly worked and preached against violent tension, and there is a type of constructive tension that is necessary for growth. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Direct Action Strategy
Some of the questions we should answer when planning an effective nonviolent direct action:
Campaign goals:
What is your intention? What is your vision for the future? How do you define "winning," especially in? terms of your current campaign? What will "winning,” mean? What will "winning" look like? When will you claim victory?
How will the situation look different if you "win" the campaign? What stage is your campaign in? Do you need to escalate, draw attention, educate the media, etc.? What is your strategy to win? Are other groups or organizations using different strategies? How do you or your group fit into them? How does it affect the children, health, or wellbeing of people in your community?
Are mere especially egregious facts, images, data, statements or actions by the opponent, etc. that you want to point out to the public? Is direct action the best tactic for this stage of your campaign? How/When could the tactics of NVDA be best used in your campaign? What story are you trying to tell?
Audience:
Who is your audience? Who are you trying to affect? Who are the decision-makers? What do you want them to do? How could you be satisfied?
Timing & Political Climate:
What makes this timing strategic? Why now? Is there a more strategic date? What is the political significance of this date? What makes that day special? Is it special just to you, your organization or Movement? Is it a culturally important date? What is the political climate? What has happened recently? How is your campaign relevant to people in your community/state/country? How is it compelling and timely? How soon do you need to act? What is your timeline?
Goals of Action (Public):
What is the goal of the action? What are you trying to achieve by acting at this point? Gain leverage for negotiation, sound the general alarm, frame your campaign of the issue in general, prevent greater harm from occurring, etc. What do you want to accomplish? Does this action fit into a larger campaign or more long-term strategy?
Goals of Action (Private):
Build the movement. Inspire others by showing them that individuals can make a difference. Empowering for you and your friends. A morale booster.
Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man - Mahatma Gandhi
I would say that I'm a nonviolent soldier. In place of weapons of violence, you have to use your mind, your heart, your sense of humor, every faculty available to you...because no one has the right to take the life of another human being - Joan Baez
Resources:
What resources do you have in terms of people, time, money, equipment, skills, etc. Do have an affinity group already organized into roles and capable of making quick consensus decisions?
Action planning:
Scouting, budget, logistics, hardware and equipment, roles, training and preparation, staging area, etc.
Strategy:
Is there a way to do this without arrests? How could we accomplish our goals and get our message out without arrests? Should we do a more "mainstream," "soft" action first to build support?
Political Leverage:
Who is the decision maker? What person is the target of the action?
Creativity/Theatre:
What could we try that has never been tried before? What could we do differently? How could we involve artists or musicians in this action? What is the message? What is your six second sound-byte? What compelling image(s) will accompany your action and reach your audience? What is the money shot? What image would you like to see in the newspaper? What symbols can you use to simplify and stream-line your message to the audience? Could you exploit your opponent's symbols against them?
Target/Location:
Why here? Is there a major media market nearby? Have there been actions there before? Would there be a more strategic location? Have you scouted it? Taken pictures?
A second basic fact that characterizes nonviolence is that it does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his friendship and understanding - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Media:
What is the narrative? What makes it newsworthy? What is new about the action? What makes this significant?
Demands:
What are your short-term demands? What are your long-term demands? Make sure that your primary demand can be reasonably met by the people at the location, given the timeline of your action.
Outreach:
How can we outreach to non-traditional communities for this action? Will your action build or foster community support for your campaign? Will the tactic alienate or interest the general public?
Tactic:
Based on answers to the above questions, which tactic will you and your affinity group use? Will it be a soft (symbolic) or hard (blockade/occupation) action?
Nonviolence is absolute commitment to the way of love. Love is not emotional bash; it is not empty sentimentalism. It is the active outpouring of one's whole being into the being of another. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Needs?
What do you need to know, do, accomplish, or acquire to move forward?
Design your action according to resources of time, money, people, etc.
1) Does action/idea address campaign goals?
2) Is it directed at the appropriate target? Audience?
3) Is the message clear?
4) Is it organizationally achievable?
5) Who are your allies?
6) What/Who is the leverage point? Public, consumers, politicians, industry, community, government, etc.
7) Strategy for getting media?
8) Which part of the message is for which audience?
The Four C's
C: Clarity: communicate with symbol*-
C: Consciousness: Make it about right and wrong. Go for a visceral emotional response (rather than an intellectual/factual argument) in terms of your values.
C: Commitment: Your demonstrated commitment to your values and willingness to risk sacrificing something may cause them
C: Cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance can make people feel uneasy and uncomfortable. This is particularly true if the disparity between their beliefs and behaviors involves something that is central to their sense of self.
For example, behaving in ways that are not aligned with your personal values may result in intense feelings of discomfort. Your behavior contradicts not just the beliefs you have about the world, but also the beliefs that you have about yourself.
Peace is the alternative to war, and nonviolence should be seen as the antidote to violence, not simply as its opposite. Nonviolence is more concerned with saving life than with saving face. Jesse Jackson
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