On this week’s episode of « The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast, » John Dear speaks with author, activist and movement scholar Rivera Sun.
Her novels include The Dandelion Insurrection and the award-winning Ari Ara Series. She is the founding editor of Nonviolence News and program coordinator of Campaign Nonviolence, an annual national week of action with over 5,000 events across the U.S. around International Peace Day, Sept. 21. Her articles are syndicated by PeaceVoice and published in hundreds of journals nationwide.
« We are seeing an unprecedented wave of organizing, protests and noncooperation, » Sun said. « This fall, ‘One Million Rising’ is an effort to mobilize and train 1 million people with a nonviolent toolbox for ‘noncooperation’ and how to resist authoritarianism. »
There are all kinds of actions people can take in addition to street protests, she said, such as the recent « Tesla Takedown » and « Target Fast, » and the many ways people are standing up to ICE.
« We need to do some soul-searching and decide if this is a normal presidency or a presidency that has stepped outside the rule of law, » Sun said. « If it’s the second, we need to organize, speak out and invoke the articles of impeachment to remove the president from office. If we want to live in a democratic society, we have to demand it. Find what you want to work on and do that, because we need you in the movement. »
Sun offers many examples, such as July’s massive one-day strike led by 10 unions in India, which 250 million people joined. « There is a rising swell of activity against authoritarianism all around the world, » she said.
At the end of the conversation, Sun suggested six holistic practices of nonviolence that can help sustain us for the long haul ahead:
- Don’t go alone; make friends in the movement, and join a community.
- Take breaks. It’s a relay race, a marathon not a sprint.
- Take a breath, then act.
- Stand against the injustice, not the people; go after the policy. Remember that people can and will change; give them space to do that.
- Try not to become what you oppose.
- Reclaim love, integrity, and always strive to embody the deepest principles of nonviolence.
