Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun We rarely discuss it directly: is nonviolent action a right? Should the ability to strike, protest, boycott, engage in civil disobedience, etc. be considered a political freedom? Our governments could – and should – respect our rights to use these tools, making it easier and safer to organize for social…
Hummingbird Allies, Grandmother Trees & Sámi Forest Defenders
Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun Happy May Day! Today, workers around the world mark the long-standing importance of the global labor movement with strikes, protests, walkouts and more. We’ll have a full round-up of those stories next week. This week, Nonviolence News contains some extraordinary tales of tree-sits, forest defenders, and water protectors from Fairy…
Perilous Times For People & Planet – Black Lives, Earth Day, Women’s Safety Worldwide
Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun Our planet is in peril. Our politicians aren’t doing enough. That’s the sum-up from Earth Day 2021. Behind the frustrating headlines about political inaction, a different kind of politics – the politics of the people – continues its bold, courageous, and relentless resistance to the destruction of the planet. We’re…
Justice For Black Lives, Turkey’s Students, Kyrgyzstan’s Women
Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun Justice. Heart. Soul. Humanity. Respect. Dignity. When society forgets its responsibility toward these values, movements rise up to hold them accountable. When I looked at the stories in this week’s Nonviolence News, I see thousands of human beings using protests, strikes, boycotts, and more to lift the moral standard of…
From Protests To People-Powered, Nonviolent Solutions
Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun Nonviolence is more than just protest. It includes solutions as well as objections to business-as-usual. It can be personal as well as political. From the tens of thousands of people in Lebanon demanding an end to the violence of economic austerity (pictured above) to peace activists in the United States…
#PayUp Wins, Teens Resist Toxins, & the Herring Protectors
Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun Nonviolence News offers us all ways to learn from our fellow humans around the world who are standing up for justice. From Myanmar to El Salvador to Iran, you’ll find stories in this week’s issue that will open your eyes, inspire you into action, and give you skillful – and…
Syria’s Rebel Librarians, Yemen’s Women Solve Water Conflict, and Interrupting Anti-Asian Hate
Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun Violence is an epidemic. Nonviolence offers many remedies. From community safety teams replacing militarized police to Active Bystander training to intervene in Anti-Asian (and other) harassment, the tools and practices of nonviolence give us ways to work personally and politically to dismantle the many dangerous and deadly forms that violence…
Women Have Had Enough. Global Protests & Feminist Revolts
Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun There’s that famous quote (often misattributed to Gandhi, it comes from Churchill): First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you … then you win. The “Injustice League” is at the fighting stage. Sexism, racism, classism, dictators, coupists, oppressors, earth destroyers are being pushed to the ropes…
Tackling Giants: Halting Coups, Big Oil, and Amazon
Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun It’s been a week of David and Goliath struggles with “little guys” around the world standing up to horrible regimes and destructive corporations. Haiti and Myanmar’s resistance to coups has been gaining international attention, but major struggles are also happening in Algeria (against austerity), First Nations in Canada (against fossil…
Broken Down Cars, Onion Drops, & Tying Shoelaces: Myanmar’s Creative Resistance
Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun Myanmar’s anti-coup campaign is spectacular in its persistence, size, scope, and ingenuity. Banned from protesting, citizens have started blocking roads by “accidentally” dropping bags of onions and rice, or pausing to tie their shoelaces in crosswalks. People’s cars are mysteriously breaking down all over the country, backing up traffic for…