Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the State becomes lawless or, which is the same thing, corrupt. -- Mahatma Gandhi
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Lately, I'm seeing diaries about protests -- people who take a sign and stand on the sidewalk, by themselves or with others; people who sit in the hallway outside John Conyers' office, etc. I haven't seen any diaries talking about this particular subject, though, so I thought, what the heck, I'll tackle it. Non-violently, of course.
I started this thinking I could put together a quick diary with 'civil disobedience basics' -- a primer for newbies and a refresher for aging hippies -- but an hour later I knew that I'd either be writing a seriously long-ass diary, or I'd be writing the first of a series on civil disobedience. I'm opting for the latter because I don't have the time or patience to write a tome right now, and I'm guessing you don't have the time or patience to read one.
I took "non-violence training" back in the late seventies, when I was just a pup. What I'm going to write in this series is going to be partly what I remember from that training, and partly a summary of some reading I'm doing on Teh Intertubes, just to try to refresh my memory about civil resistance/civil disobedience/non-violent resistance (I did smoke a lotta weed back in those days, after all).
Disclaimer: I tend to use all of the above terms interchangeably even though they are technically not all the same thing. Purists may take exception to this, to which I nonviolently say: Sue me. :-)
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Non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty. -- Mahatma Gandhi
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First of all, there's no unified theory of, or single set of rules for, civil resistance, nor does it take a single form. If I were to say that there are almost as many different forms of civil resistance as there are practitioners, I'd probably not be overstating the matter by very much. However, commonalities do exist.
I'm going to (non-violently) kick this mini-series off by talking about Gandhi's approach to civil resistance, primarily because so much of the non-violence movement as it exists today hearkens back to him. Gandhi developed the theory and practice of Satyagraha, which is generally also referred to as 'passive resistance', although it's not exactly the same thing as 'passive resistance' as Westerners understand and practice it.
For Gandhi, satyagraha was more than a form of passive resistance. Satyagraha was a way of life, and he exhorted his followers to practice it in all aspects of their lives: religious, social, political, and personal. However, I'm going to focus only on satyagraha as a form of civil resistance.
In traditional violent and nonviolent conflict, the goal is to defeat the opponent or frustrate the opponent’s objectives, or to meet one’s own objectives despite the efforts of the opponent to obstruct these. In satyagraha, by contrast, these are not the goals. The Satyagrahi’s object is to convert, not to coerce, the wrong-doer. Success is defined as cooperating with the opponent to meet a just end that the opponent is unwittingly obstructing. The opponent must be converted, at least as far as to stop obstructing the just end, for this cooperation to take place.
(Source: Wikipedia)
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In the dictionary of satyagraha there is no enemy. -- Mahatma Gandhi
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Principles of satyagraha:
I. Fundamental rules:
- Maintain self-reliance at all times - don't count on outside aid.
- Maintain initiative in the hands of the Satyagrahis. "Through continuous assessment of the conflict situation satyagrahis should, by means of constructive program where possible, by positive resistance where indicated, or by tactics of persuasion and adjustment, press the movement forward."
- Clearly propagate the objectives, strategy, and tactics of the campaign. Educate the opponent, the public, and your own participants.
- Reduce demands to the minimum that is consistent with truth. Always assess and consider adjusting demands.
- Advance the movement progressively through steps and stages. Avoid a static condition, but launch direct action only when efforts to achieve an honorable settlement have been exhausted.
- Examine weaknesses within the group - especially regarding morale and discipline.
- Persistently search for avenues of cooperation with the adversary on honorable terms. Win over the opponent by helping him, thereby demonstrating sincerity to achieve an agreement with, rather than a triumph over, the adversary.
- Refuse to surrender essentials in negotiation. Make no compromise which affects basic principles or essential portions of valid objectives.
- Avoid bargaining or barter.
- Insist upon full agreement on fundamentals before accepting a settlement.
II. Code of Discipline (as laid down by Ghandi in 1930):
- Harbor no anger but suffer the anger of the opponent. Refuse to return the assaults of the opponent.
- Do not submit to any order given in anger, even though severe punishment is threatened for disobeying.
- Refrain from insults and swearing.
- Protect opponents from insult or attack, even at the risk of life.
- Do not resist arrest nor the attachment of property, unless holding property as a trustee.
- Refuse to surrender any property held in trust at the risk of life.
- If taken prisoner, behave in an exemplary manner.
- As a member of a satyagraha unit, obey the orders of satyagraha leaders, and resign from the unit in the event of serious disagreement.
- Do not expect guarantees for maintenance of dependants.
III. Steps in a Satyagraha campaign
- Start with negotiation and arbitration. Make every effort to resolve conflict through existing channels.
- Prepare the group for direct action by examining motives and initiating exercises in self-discipline. Launch full group discussions on the issues at stake, appropriate procedures to be undertaken, circumstances of the opponent, the climate of public opinion, etc. At times use purificatory fasting.
- Use agitation and undertake an active propaganda campaign together with demonstrations such as mass-meetings, parades, and slogan shouting.
- Issue an ultimatum which makes a final strong appeal to the opponent explaining what further steps will be taken if no agreement is reached. Its wording should offer the widest scope for agreement, allowing for face-saving by opponent, and should offer a constructive solution to problem.
- Undertake economic boycott and forms of strike, possibly including picketing, demonstrations, education of the public, dharna (sit-down strike), non-violent labor strike, and general strike.
- Use non-cooperation, possibly including non-payment of taxes, boycott of schools and other public institutions, etc.
- Undertake civil disobedience including contravention of laws that are central to the grievance or symbolic.
- Usurp the functions of government.
- Institute a parallel government.
(Source: University of Wisconsin Conference on Community Organizing and Development)
A key (possibly the key) tenet of satyagraha is this: Means and ends are inseparable. It is impossible to achieve justice through unjust means; it is impossible to achieve peace through violent means.
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They say the means are after all just means. I would say means are after all everything. As the means, so the end. -- Mahatma Gandhi
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I'll talk about Martin Luther King's particular brand of nonviolent resistance in a future diary, and you'll see that King owes a lot to Gandhi in terms of his approach to creating social change.
Links on Gandhi and Satyagraha:
The Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence
mkgandhi.org
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We must be the change we wish to see in the world. -- Mahatma Gandhi