It is easy to be good in a good world. What is difficult is to be good in an evil world, where the egoism of others and the egoism built into the institutions of society attack us and threaten to annihilate us. Under such conditions, the only possible reaction would seem to be to oppose evil with evil, egoism with egoism, hate with hate; in short, to annihilate the aggressor with his own weapons.
Millions are expected to turn out for the No Kings protests, the second iteration of a coalition that marched in June in one of the largest days of protest in US history. Events are scheduled for more than 2,700 locations, from small towns to large cities. The No Kings coalition has repeatedly underscored its commitment to nonviolent resistance, and tens of thousands of participants have trained on safety and de-escalation tactics.
While ICE personnel have been using chemical agents, rubber bullets, pepper balls, and other "non-lethal" ammunition on protesters, Portlanders have been donning dinosaur costumes, clown outfits, and pied-piper paraphernalia or have been shedding their clothes and cycling naked before the camo-wearing government thugs. Others have put on PJs and distributed doughnuts in the early mornings to the bemused defenders of the home front. Protest costumes are even being given away for free on the streets.
They are joined by Hardy Merriman, an expert on the history and practice of civil resistance, to discuss what kinds of coördinated actions-protests, boycotts, "buycotts," strikes, and other nonviolent approaches-are most effective in a fight against democratic backsliding. "Acts of non-coöperation are very powerful," Merriman, the former president of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, says. "Non-coöperation is very much about numbers. You don't necessarily need people doing things that are high-risk. You just need large numbers of people doing them."
Security protocols in case of an emergency were reviewed and put into action: life vests, head counts and designated muster points. They were training for scenarios that could occur on any vessel fire, someone falling overboard, collision. But this training was different because there was another scenario. The volunteers were instructed on how to raise their hands in the event that Israeli soldiers intercepted the vessel, boarded it and detained them. The focus is on acting in a nonviolent way, in accordance with their mission.
