Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun It’s a week of reflecting on the rise and fall of global movements. Some are making headway, like Colombia’s national strike. Others have nearly vanished, like Hong Kong’s mass protests. In Spain, the Catalonian independence movement’s secession attempt took a hard hit with the imprisonment of its leaders for sedition…
Tag: Colombia
Venice Flotilla Protests Cruise Ships, Pipeline Resistance Rises Up
Editor’s Note by Rivera Sun When we’ve had enough of destruction and injustice, nonviolence gives us tools to push back. With strikes, boycotts, protests, and more, people like us are standing up to powerful regimes, systems, and institutions. Around the world, courageous people are getting in the way of everything from bulldozers to cruise ships…
India’s Farmers Persist, Brazil Marches, Saiga Antelope Rebounds, and Ugandans Resist Big Oil
Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun This week in Nonviolence News, protests in India marked the six month anniversary of their immense, record-breaking farmer protests. The organizer of a vigil commemorating Tiananmen Square has been arrested and gatherings banned. Brazilians in 200 cities marched for Bolsonaro’s impeachment. Colombia continues to rise up despite repression. In Canada,…
Demand The Impossible: Brave People Thwart Hijacker, Hug School Shooter, Stop Civil Wars
Editor’s Note by Rivera Sun We’re always told that nonviolence won’t work. We’re supposed to believe that more – and greater – violence is the only option. The strange thing is: that doesn’t always hold true. This week’s Nonviolence News contains remarkable stories that upend that kind of thinking. In Idaho (US), a sixth grade…
Yaqui Women Dismantle Pipeline, Scottish Neighbors Thwart Immigration Raid, Oakland Unhoused Residents Build A Village
Editor’s Note from Rivera Sun “Direct action gets the goods,” is a popular movement saying. And it’s true. This week’s Nonviolence News stories include some truly stellar examples. Yaqui women (Mexico) mobilized their entire community to dismantle an illegal pipeline. They took it apart with blow torches and sold it for scrap metal. In Scotland,…
Lobster Boycott, Tenants Blockade, & the Earth On Fire
Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun “You can’t lose if you never give up,” said Gene Sharp about waging nonviolent struggle. Bolivia just proved those words. After a right-wing faction contested last year’s election results, fomented confusion in the streets with protests, and took power with military backing, the people of Bolivia have spent the entire…
Whale Rescues, Housing Occupations, & Dismantling and Rebuilding Police Stations
Editor’s Note from Rivera Sun Is property destruction “nonviolent”? This is a frequent question that comes up around nonviolence. The short answer is that it’s complicated. It’s situational. Gene Sharp, a nonviolent struggle researcher, categorized destruction of one’s own property as nonviolent, but not destruction of others’ property. Many acts of property destruction are viewed…
Another World Is Possible … She Is Already On Her Way
Editor’s Note from Rivera Sun “Another world is possible. She is already on her way. On a quiet day, you can hear her breathing.” – Arundati Roy Mass protest has won a world unimaginable only a few weeks ago. Major cities are defunding police units, implementing professional crisis response teams, setting up community-led public safety…
Giant Murals, Banner Blockades, Street Dances, and More
Editor’s Note from Rivera Sun The pandemic has shape-shifted activism, but it hasn’t stopped it. In our opening image (above), these activists blocked four streets in downtown San Francisco while they painted a giant mural (side image – and notice how small the people are!) of a hot air balloon that was visible from the skyrise…
Pots-and-Pans Protests Raise a Racket for Justice
Editor’s Note from Rivera Sun Nonviolence comes in thousands of shapes and sizes. It’s a force, a field of potential, a method of making change, even a way of life. While this week’s headline celebrates the Latin America-wide cacerolazo (pots-and-pans protest), I’m also uplifting a few stories that show the wide-ranging potential of nonviolence, from small acts…