By Chris G. and Jenn R.
In September, Indivisible East Bay (IEB) unveiled its new strategic plan, aligned with Indivisible National’s. Both plans added a new strategy to complement our ongoing work of influencing members of Congress: civil resistance. And a core element of civil resistance is strategic nonviolence.
Soon after, through a series of nonviolence training events that many IEB members attended, it became clear that we did not all share the same definition of nonviolence or risk tolerance. Some felt yelling “shame” was a form of violence, while others were willing to strike someone in self-defense. It was an eye-opening experience, and we realized there was much to unpack about what nonviolence means to us.
These events led IEB leadership to define the principles of strategic nonviolence, for ourselves and for our members. (See here for a presentation of the principles and pledge at the October All-Member Meeting.) After all, acting in concert with each other and with other groups in the pro-democracy movement will be critical to our success.
Nonviolence works
Our concept of nonviolence is pretty straightforward: no use of physical force with one’s body or with weapons directed at another person, even in self-defense, whenever possible. The “why” is what makes it strategic. While there are solid moral and spiritual reasons to refrain from violence, for us, the overriding reason is that it works.
According to Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan, who studied resistance movements (both armed and peaceful) over a period of 106 years, the conclusion was unmistakable: nonviolent resistance was twice as successful as armed resistance. This is in part because nonviolent (and even joyful) action draws more people into resistance movements. In Serbia, protesters used humor—called “laughtivism”—to grow their movement and overthrow dictator Slobodan Milošević.
Our ability to stay nonviolent, even in the face of violence inflicted upon us, is also strategic. Remaining nonviolent helps us expose the violence of the oppressor and can turn the tide of public opinion. The bloody and televised beatings of Civil Rights protestors, marching peacefully across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama, contributed to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
When we change minds, we change history.
Sign the pledge!
To ensure we are doing everything we can to win the battle against authoritarianism, we are now articulating what strategic nonviolence means to us, informed by evidence and historical learning from the Civil Rights Movement in the US and other anti-authoritarian movements around the world. Our set of Principles of Strategic Nonviolence include both clarity on the definition and further rationale for why we think it’s important.
Our Principles of Strategic Nonviolence ends with a pledge. We believe a shared commitment to engaging in strategic nonviolence and knowing why it’s important will help us build unity within IEB and with other groups in the movement. Indeed, both the national No Kings and the regional Bay Area Resistance coalitions, of which Indivisible and Indivisible East Bay, respectively, are part, adhere to nonviolence principles.
We strongly encourage every IEB member and person who joins our actions to read the Principles and sign the pledge. Our ability to demonstrate our collective commitment to nonviolence will also send a powerful message to those who claim we are instigating violent conflict. Let’s not let them get away with that narrative.
