Tag: nonviolence

What Happens on April 6th?

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The energies are building and it is fantastic. People will be gathering in small towns and large cities around the world on April 5th to protect democracy in the US. For someone who’s been working on social and environmental justice issues since the 90’s, it’s exciting to see.

It’s always great to see these times when the big rallies happen, drawing everyone from the babies in strollers to the elders with walkers. These gatherings are important for many reasons. They are a way to let those in political power know that we’re here and what we expect of them. They are also a tool to educate the public as well as to share ideas amongst our fellow activists. Perhaps most importantly, they are a space in which to make connections and build our community. Which brings me to that question of what happens on April 6th?

After this upcoming day of action we will be in a completely different world and yet nothing will have changed. Large scale protests can both empower and disappoint when we wake up the next day and find there is no immediate answer. If we look at history, we learn that while the marches and rallies were what we shown through the media, it was the months and years of work between those marches and rallies that made the huge changes.

I encourage us to be prepared for that feeling of empowerment and dismay after the rally and to talk with our fellow protestors about what will we do after the rallies to create the society that we believe in. Note that I’m not saying simply to stop our current administration, but to create the society that we believe in. How do we create community and connect with eachother?

Maybe for some of us it is continuing to write our legislators for others it may be running for office. Some will start community gardens or coordinate infoshops to create spaces for people to come together growing food and sharing resources. Maybe a few will develop training programs to teach people how to do community organizing or coordinate educational events to share the stories of the many great grassroots organizers and activists who’ve come before us so that we might learn from them. There is so much to be done. There is a role for everyone.

How do you figure out what your role is? I’ve been doing this work for a long time and I don’t always know, but there is a story that might help. Many Native tribes in the US speak of the seventh generation. My friend Walt, an Anishanaabe man from the Red Cliff reservation on the shores of Lake Superior, used to speak of it in this way. He’d tell people to imagine yourself looking down a long tunnel, at the end of that tunnel is a baby. That baby is the seventh generation. If you do what is right for that child seven generations from now, you’ll be doing what is right for today.

How are you continuing to be a part of the movement and growing community where you are?

Prepared and Peaceful–Some Ideas for a Safe and Nonviolent Movement

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There are hundreds of thousands of people across the US and allies around the world standing up to protect democracy. It is our time to work toward the vision of the Seventh Generation. It is our time not just to find against, but to work toward the world that we want for the children coming seven generations from now. Peaceful protest is one piece of that.

In 2011 in Wisconsin, the TAA (Teaching Assistants Association) led a group into the state capitol to protest Act 10, a bill that would significantly limit workers rights including the right to collectively bargain. At the time, organizers thought they were just leading another action like many others. It became much more than that. Within hours it became clear that the protest was growing and it was time to occupy the state capitol. The occupation continued for several weeks and included hundreds of thousands of people from the seasoned activists to the babies in strollers. It inspired other actions around the country and lit a fire to be engaged in democracy for many.

One thing that helped the capitol occupation in Wisconsin happen was a small team of people who created “Prepared and Peaceful”, a simple two page flyer that gave people the tools needed to participate in a non-violent action, and took that flyer around to people getting into conversations about nonviolence and providing mini trainings to thousands encouraging everyone to share what they learned.

I had the good fortune to be a part of that team and to still have the pdf for that flyer. As we prepare for actions around the country again, I’ve pulled out that flyer and updated it to help organizers and protest attendees everywhere. If you’d like to see the original content, it’s also available in my blog post Prepared and Peaceful– Bringing Back the Nonviolence Training from the Wisconsin Capitol . Electronic copies of the pdf of the flyer are available on request.

Prepared + Peaceful

Each of us is here because we’re committed to something important. How we express that commitment matters. Remember, the whole world is watching. For your safety, the safety of others, and the safety of the protest, we ask that you plan ahead, consider your options carefully, and get whatever support you need to remain calm and peaceful in the event that we are asked to leave. Nothing written here is intended as legal advice. We just want every person here to make informed choices about if, how, and when to leave.

NONVIOLENCE
Nonviolence is a philosophy, a lifestyle, and a strategy. Here we address it as a strategy to:
• Keep the public on our side
• Inform our interactions with counter-protestors
• Inform our interactions with police (many of whom support the goals of this protest)

Strategies that support our ability to practice nonviolence include:
• Connecting with others
• Planning ahead, visualizing nonviolent responses, role-playing
• Staying sober and free of alcohol/illegal drugs
• Song, prayer, meditation, compassion—remaining centered, calm, and focused on purpose

CONNECTING WITH OTHERS
Affinity groups are a long-standing way of organizing nonviolent protest. Consider forming a small group of people you already know or meet here to:
• Watch out for each other
• Know each other’s contact information
• Help each other stay healthy and safe (food, sleep, medications, mood, etc.)
• Have a designated meeting place if you get separated
• Decide together what actions you’ll take
• Support each other to leave if anyone can’t stay nonviolent
• Have a plan for what to do if you are at risk of arrest

BEING WELL
One of the biggest health concerns in a situation like this is burnout. Take time to take care of yourself. Use your affinity group to support you.
• Breathe consciously. Even a few deep breaths can make a real difference in your ability to think clearly. Make a habit of breathing consciously 10-15 minutes every day.
• Rub your feet! After a long day of being involved in protests, get the blood circulating, then elevate your feet so they’re less swollen in the morning.
• Be sure to take all medications as prescribed. See “Being Arrested” for how to prepare if your meds are critical to your moment-to-moment well-being and you plan to risk arrest.

PLANNING AHEAD
To avoid unintended consequences, consider in advance: “If the police ask us to leave, will I leave when asked, or will I refuse respectfully?” This is your individual choice. Opinions differ on whether or not it would be useful for the movement for people to be arrested. If you are told to leave, you have three choices: Leave peacefully, cooperative civil disobedience, or passive civil disobedience.

LEAVING PEACEFULLY
• Follow police instructions
• Do not interfere with arrests of others, even verbally
• Leave—walk, don’t run
• Meet up with your affinity group to confirm that everyone is away who intended to be away
• Provide planned support for anyone in your group who stayed

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government. It is a nonviolent resistance tactic that involves finding ways to achieve our goals without harming people.
• If you choose to stay, breathe, sing, center, pray, meditate, remain calm
• Recall the police are largely in support of the protest goals and want to keep the charges minimal

COOPERATIVE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
• Respectfully let the officer know you do not want to leave but will cooperate physically
• Stand & hold your hands together in front of you
• Do not react/resist/pull away in any way to avoid escalated charges
• You may be given a citation on the spot and released, or transported to a processing center &
given a citation (this would typically include a fine and court date)

PASSIVE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
• Respectfully refuse to leave
• Sit down or go limp
• This will likely result in arrest, and if done completely nonviolently should be a misdemeanor
• Do not react/resist/pull away in any way to avoid escalated charges
• See “being arrested” below

BEING ARRESTED
• Recognize that remaining limp while being physically removed can be extremely challenging, can be dangerous to you, and could possibly be considered resisting arrest, a greater charge.
• Don’t make sudden moves around the police or touch them—this could be construed as assaulting an officer, a greater charge.
• Consequences could be different for non-US citizens, students, minors, people with outstanding warrants or past criminal records. Get legal advice before deciding to risk arrest.
• The police may use zip ties to cuff your hands. Keep your hands, arms and shoulders as relaxed as possible. Use very gentle shoulder rotations to keep the blood moving. If your hands are behind your back and swelling, get them above your heart by going down on your knees and bending your head forward, so your hands rest on your back.
• You can ask where you are being taken, but if you aren’t told, don’t worry.
• Once in police custody, cooperate fully as you are transported, fingerprinted and photographed.
If you resist, you will be jailed.
• Don’t lie to the police. Give them your real name and contact information. Not to do so is a crime.
• Provide information about medical conditions or medications. If it is important that you continue medications while in custody, be sure to bring several days’ supply with you in the original prescription bottle. Also have with you a doctor’s note specifying the importance of those meds to your health. Without this, your treatment will likely be delayed—perhaps significantly.
• Don’t answer other questions. Say, “I want a lawyer. I will be silent until I get a lawyer.”
•The ACLU and lawyers hired by the unions will be tracking who is arrested and will do their best to make sure everyone gets legal support, as long as they are simply in trouble for nonviolent civil disobedience. Our understanding is that they will NOT give legal assistance to people who get charged with assault on an officer, drug charges, etc. (*note* the information in this point is from 2011. I encourage local organizers to work with unions, the ACLU, and other resources to be prepared to provide legal support)
• Legal support is being coordinated through the number below. During the day, a person will answer. At night, a recorded message will provide the numbers for people on call that night. (insert phone number here)
• Write this number(insert legal support number here) on your body. If arrested, you will not have your cell phone or notebook.

prepared + peaceful
training for being in and around the Capitol
updated March 27,2025

Thoughts on How to Stop the Violence

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Yesterday, 19 children and 2 adults lost their lives at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. That means we’re at nearly 250 school shootings since back when Columbine first shocked and terrified us all. Thousands of children and their caregivers and teachers have died. Others have been left behind to struggle with the loss.

Each time another shooting happens the response is much the same. We cry. We mourn. We say this must never happen again. Yet, it happens again. Why?

It happens because there are no easy answers. It happens because the changes needed are needed at many levels; personal, community, political, maybe even spiritual. It happens because the changes require more than the wonderful organizers who are already out there working day and night trying to save the world. The changes require all of us taking action. There are many ways to take action each day. Some listed here may seem obvious and direct. Others may leave you questioning a little. That’s okay. My thoughts here are based on the idea that everything is connected.

  • Tell someone that you love them. If you’ve already told them, tell them again. We all need to hear these words over and over again to hold our souls together and no one wants to say goodbye with these words unsaid.
  • Breathe deeply before you act and then act with the seventh generation in your mind and your heart. Some may ask what this means. The idea of the seventh generation is simple. Imagine a long tunnel. If you look down that tunnel, way down at the other end you’ll see a baby. That baby is the seventh generation, roughly 150 years from now. If you do right by that child, you’ll be doing right for today. Always treat that baby with love and respect.
  • You don’t have to love your enemy, but do recognize that someone loves them and that someone is a valuable person who deserves not to be hurt. Every shooter, every evil politician, every horrible whatever out there has or had someone, their parent, their child, their grandma or grandpa, or maybe a teacher or somebody who cared about them or still cares about them. You don’t have to love the horrible, just know that somebody could see something in them that was good, that was worthy of love and act with that in mind.
  • Recognize the connections. Our mental health is no accident. Good mental health depends on a healthy environment, healthy diet, financial security, and strong social support networks. We each need many things to maintain our stability. Each day we must strive to move toward fulfilling each of these needs for everyone if we are to create a healthy world.
  • Be involved. Find your piece of the action whether it’s working directly on gun safety and stopping school shootings or a hundred different issues. Follow your heart and connect with your community to make the world just a little bit better. It is by the creating of good, healthy communities of many types that we heal and we stop this senseless violence and turn instead to love.

Those are just a few thoughts for the moment. I am sure there are many more. I would love to hear yours. Take good care and wishing you all peace and healing

How Do We Respond To All The Violence?

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Some of my students and I were meeting today for our regular learning circle. It turned out not to be the circle I’d expected. I’d gone in with a list of questions and updates to make sure that everyone’s community projects were on task and ready to be done in just a few weeks.

Instead, we got into other conversations. One of the topics of conversation was the recent mass shootings. We discussed how violence has become the norm, the students spoke to how their response to the growing number of shootings in our country is to do their best to ignore it. They expressed how this is the only way that they feel they have to handle the immense fear, grief, and anger. They spoke of becoming hardened to feeling.

I suggested to them that this hardening seems to me much like that of depression or burnout and that maybe our society is burned out and that’s not okay. They agreed that this may be the case. Not surprisingly, they had no clear answers on what to do. But, I think the conversation was good and healthy and maybe part of what needs to be done. They talked with each other. We came together as community and acknowledged our fear face to face. That coming together and just talking is part of the healing I am sure of that. Community is essential. That’s not social media discussion or meetings to act or anything else other than just coming together as people and just letting the conversation flow.

I had another interesting conversation later in the day. A friend offered to me that part of the problem we may be facing today is inter-generational trauma. My friend spoke specifically to the trauma carried by white people from generation to generation from our role that we’ve played in so much destruction and enslavement of many kinds. Something there made sense to me, not just for the dominant group, but for all of us.

What is it that we do with our history? I’d always heard of the concept of multi-generational trauma associated with Native cultures. There is much to suggest that it is very much a reality. What if it is true of all of us? What if we carry the experiences and energies of past generations? What if we are deepening and speeding up the process with the intensity of the growth of violence in our lives?

Many Native peoples have found their way in life through a revitalization of cultural history, by learning their languages, practicing their spirituality, returning to traditional foods, and simply listening to their stories.

While I believe firmly in pressuring the government to take appropriate actions to address the growing violence and I think it’s important to partake in non-violent protest to make our voices heard, I think there is something more, something for the long term.

I think there is a knowledge in the work being done in Native communities to address inter-generational trauma that is part of addressing the growing issue of violence in our communities. We need to ask ourselves each day, “How can I treat myself and all my relations with respect and caring?”

This begins, I believe, with taking pause, breathing deep, and treating ourselves gently, feeding ourselves in healthy ways physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This gives us the energy to reach out.

We reach out to feed our relations whether those be fellow people or the earth and its other inhabitants. We take time to breathe together and get to know each other, to heal each other’s wounds.

That’s where we begin and that’s where we ultimately find the long term answers, in caring for ourselves and each other, in building our spiritual and emotional connections, in becoming a community.

It seems so simplistic and yet so challenging and so lost over so many generations. Yet, it is what we need. So, today, care for yourself, treat yourself with respect, and reach out with the same caring and respect for all those around.

Prepared and Peaceful– Bringing Back the Nonviolence Training from the Wisconsin Capitol

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January 25th, 2017
Back in 2011 I had the good fortune to get a phone call from the TAA in Madison, WI.  They needed a little help.  You see some folks had gathered in the state capitol because Governor Scott Walker was breaking the hearts of Wisconsinites with his anti-union, anti-worker behavior.  And, well, those folks who gathered there had had enough of the governor cheating on them and they’d decided not to leave.  The TAA and friends were hosting a gathering at the people’s house that would engage hundreds of thousands of people over the next several weeks.  They needed a little help making sure the space would stay safe and nonviolent.

I got the call in the afternoon and in a few hours my good friend Jeff and I were giving the first nonviolence training. Soon, I’d brought together a crew of trainers and we created “Prepared and Peaceful” a document that was shared throughout the capitol and later given to the Occupy Movement.   I’m proud to say the capitol protests remained nonviolent through the weeks were there.
With the changes in our government I expect we’re going to see a massive change in community organizing in the near future with a great increase in direct action organizing.  I’d like to share with the world again the materials that we used in Wisconsin during the capitol occupation and encourage you to be well prepared and peaceful.   Below is the text of “Prepared and Peaceful.”  If you’d like to get a pdf copy, please let me know.

Peace,
Amy

prepared + peaceful
training for being in and around the Capitol

 Each of us is here because we’re committed to something important.
How we express that commitment matters.
Remember, the whole world is watching.
For your safety, the safety of others, and the safety of the protest, we ask that you plan ahead,
consider your options carefully, and get whatever support you need to remain calm and peaceful in
the event that we are asked to leave.
Nothing written here is intended as legal advice. We just want every person in and around
the Capitol to make informed choices about if, how, and when to leave.

NONVIOLENCE
Nonviolence is a philosophy, a lifestyle, and a strategy. Here we address it as a strategy to:
• Keep the public on our side
• Inform our interactions with counter-protestors
• Inform our interactions with police (who mostly support the goals of this protest)
Strategies that support our ability to practice nonviolence include:
• Connecting with others
• Planning ahead, visualizing nonviolent responses, role-playing
• Staying sober and free of alcohol/illegal drugs
• Song, prayer, meditation, compassion—remaining centered, calm, and focused on purpose

CONNECTING WITH OTHERS
Affinity groups are a long-standing way of
organizing nonviolent protest. Consider forming
a small group of people you already know or
meet here to:
• Watch out for each other
• Know each other’s contact information
• Help each other stay healthy and safe (food,
sleep, medications, mood, etc.)
• Have a designated meeting place if you get
separated
• Decide together what actions you’ll take
• Support each other to leave if anyone can’t
stay nonviolent
• Have a plan for what to do if you are at risk
of arrest

BEING WELL
One of the biggest health concerns in a situation
like this is burnout. Take time to take care of
yourself. Use your affinity group to support you.
• Breathe consciously. Even a few deep
breaths can make a real difference in your
ability to think clearly. Make a habit of
breathing consciously 10-15 minutes every
day.
• Rub your feet! At the end of a day at the
Capitol, get the blood circulating, then
elevate your feet so they’re less swollen in
the morning.
• Be sure to take all medications as
prescribed. See “Being Arrested” (back) for
how to prepare if your meds are critical to
your moment-to-moment well-being and
you plan to risk arrest.

PLANNING AHEAD
To avoid unintended consequences, consider in advance: “If the police ask us to leave, will I
leave when asked, or will I refuse respectfully?” This is your individual choice. Opinions
differ on whether or not it would be useful for the movement for people to be arrested. If you are
told to leave, you have three choices: Leave peacefully, cooperative civil disobedience, or
passive civil disobedience.
(OVER)
brought to you by the Grassroots Leadership College | http://www.grassrootsleadershipcollege.org | updated March 11, 2011

LEAVING PEACEFULLY
• Follow police instructions
• Do not interfere with arrests of others, even verbally
• Leave—walk, don’t run
• Meet up with your affinity group to confirm that everyone is away who
intended to be away
• Provide planned support for anyone in your group who stayed

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and
commands of a government. It is a nonviolent resistance tactic that involves finding ways to achieve
our goals without harming people.
• If you choose to stay, breathe, sing, center, pray, meditate, remain calm
• Recall the police are largely in support of the protest goals and want to keep the charges minimal

COOPERATIVE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
• Respectfully let the officer know you do not want
to leave but will cooperate physically
• Stand & hold your hands together in front of you
• Do not react/resist/pull away in any way to
avoid escalated charges
• You may be given a citation on the spot and
released, or transported to a processing center &
given a citation ($150-500 fine & a court date)

PASSIVE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
• Respectfully refuse to leave
• Sit down or go limp
• This will likely result in arrest, and if
done completely nonviolently should
be a misdemeanor
• Do not react/resist/pull away in any
way to avoid escalated charges
• See “being arrested” below

BEING ARRESTED
• Recognize that remaining limp while being physically removed can be extremely challenging, can
be dangerous to you, and could possibly be considered resisting arrest, a greater charge.
• Don’t make sudden moves around the police or touch them—this could be construed as
assaulting an officer, a greater charge.
• Consequences could be different for non-US citizens, students, minors, people with outstanding
warrants or past criminal records. Get legal advice before deciding to risk arrest.
• The police may use zip ties to cuff your hands. Keep your hands, arms and shoulders as relaxed
as possible. Use very gentle shoulder rotations to keep the blood moving. If your hands are
behind your back and swelling, get them above your heart by going down on your knees and
bending your head forward, so your hands rest on your back.
• You can ask where you are being taken, but if you aren’t told, don’t worry.
• Once in police custody, cooperate fully as you are transported, fingerprinted and photographed.
If you resist, you must be jailed.
• Don’t lie to the police. Give them your real name and contact information. Not to do so is a crime.
• Provide information about medical conditions or medications. If it is important that you
continue medications while in custody, be sure to bring several days’ supply with you in the
original prescription bottle. Also have with you a doctor’s note specifying the importance of those
meds to your health. Without this, your treatment will likely be delayed—perhaps significantly.
• Don’t answer other questions. Say, “I want a lawyer. I will be silent until I get a lawyer.”
• The ACLU and lawyers hired by the unions will be tracking who is arrested and will do their best
to make sure everyone gets legal support, as long as they are simply in trouble for nonviolent civil
disobedience. Our understanding is that they will NOT give legal assistance to people who get
charged with assault on an officer, drug charges, etc.
• Legal support is being coordinated through the number below. During the day, a person will
answer. At night, a recorded message will provide the numbers for people on call that night.
608.257.0040
• Write this number on your body. If arrested, you will not have your cell phone or notebook.
prepared + peaceful
training for being in and around the Capitol
updated March 11, 2011