A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Direct Action
Originally, direct action signified the direct action of workers against their employers, through sabotage of the workplace, slowdowns, strikes, and other forms of economic harm. This is different than what came to be known as civil disobedience. There was no moral rule to be arrested, or to not harm property (a monkey wrench in an assembly line is direct action to slow down production) as there has been in civil disobedience. Tired of waiting for politicians to get around to passing laws that would make working conditions better, workers began to form unions, and to find ways to hurt the profits of the businesses that had them in their grip. Since corporations and the business people who lead them only really cared about profits, anarchists thought that the best way to bring these people to the negotiating table, was not to write a letter to Congress or to endlessly appeal to the better nature of the business person, but to put economic pressure on them.
|
Footage of a direct action where Mi'kmaq women shut down a closed door meeting between the Nova Soctian Minister of Energy & Oil/Gas Industry representatives. Video presented by Reclaim Turtle Island.
|
Roland Micklem talks about the Senior Citizen’s march to end mountain top removal as part of a larger nonviolent direct action movement.
|
Foreman, Dave, and Bill Haywood. Ecodefense: A Field Guide to Monkeywrenching. 3rd ed. Chico, Calif.: Abbzug Press, 1993.
King, Tiffany “Puppets, Pageantry and Protest Politics: White People and the Anti-War Movement.” In Our Culture, Our Resistance: People of Color Speak Out on Anarchism, Race, Class and Gender, edited by Ernesto Aguilar: http://www.illvox.org, 2004.
Lerner, Michael. Surplus Powerlessness: The Psychodynamics of Everyday Life and the Psychology of Individual and Social Transformation. Institute for Labor and Mental Health, Highlands, New Jersey: 1989.
Michael Lerner wrote this book out of his own experience of the failure of social change movements in the 1960s. In this book he explores the ways in which work is structured, the built-in frustrations of balancing family and work, and the disappointments with unions and other efforts to created social justice, have led to despair and cynicism among those who want to work for greater democracy and justice. He found that people who joined him in organizations working for change tended to discount the gains that had been made, and tended to expect failure. His premise is that we accept that we have no power too often and too quickly, hence the title, "Surplus Powerlessness." The notion that we tend to underestimate our own power as individuals and groups, and that our belief that nothing will change tends to dominate our work in ways that make us ineffective, is worth exploring.
Riegle, Rosalie. Doing Time for Peace: Resistance, Family, and Community. Vanderbilt University Press. November, 2012. Print.
In this compelling collection of oral histories, more than seventy-five peacemakers describe how they say no to war-making in the strongest way possible—by engaging in civil disobedience and paying the consequences in jail or prison. These courageous resisters leave family and community and life on the outside in their efforts to direct U.S. policy away from its militarism. Many are Catholic Workers, devoting their lives to the works of mercy instead of the works of war. They are homemakers and carpenters and social workers and teachers who are often called “faith-based activists.” They speak from the left of the political perspective, providing a counterpoint to the faith-based activism of the fundamentalist Right.
In their own words, the narrators describe their motivations and their preparations for acts of resistance, the actions themselves, and their trials and subsequent jail time. We hear from those who do their time by caring for their families and managing communities while their partners are imprisoned. Spouses and children talk frankly of the strains on family ties that a life of working for peace in the world can cause.
The voices range from a World War II conscientious objector to those protesting the recent war in Iraq. The book includes sections on resister families, the Berrigans and Jonah House, the Plowshares communities, the Syracuse Peace Council, and Catholic Worker houses and communities. The introduction by Dan McKanan situates these activists in the long tradition of resistance to war and witness to peace.
———.Crossing the Line: Nonviolent Resisters Speak Out for Peace. Wipf and Stock Cascade. January, 2013. Print.
More than sixty-five peacemakers have contributed oral narratives to this compelling history of those who say no to war making in the strongest way possible: by engaging in civil disobedience and paying the consequences in jail or prison. Crossing the Line gives voice to often neglected social history and provides provocative stories of actions, trials, and imprisonment.
This volume serves as an excellent supplement to conventional histories. Almost all the storytellers here are people of faith or are inspired by those who live by faith. Many work at conventional careers; some do full-time peacemaking by living in Catholic Worker houses or in the Jonah House community; several are priests and nuns who minister worldwide. Also featured are three resisters prominent in War Resisters League history and a chapter on resisters in Europe. From World War II conscientious objectors to contemporary activists, these narrators have refused to be helpless in the face of a violent world, and have said with their bodies that they do not accept the status quo of permanent war and war preparation. In short, the voices illustrate hope at a time when it seems in short supply.
King, Tiffany “Puppets, Pageantry and Protest Politics: White People and the Anti-War Movement.” In Our Culture, Our Resistance: People of Color Speak Out on Anarchism, Race, Class and Gender, edited by Ernesto Aguilar: http://www.illvox.org, 2004.
Lerner, Michael. Surplus Powerlessness: The Psychodynamics of Everyday Life and the Psychology of Individual and Social Transformation. Institute for Labor and Mental Health, Highlands, New Jersey: 1989.
Michael Lerner wrote this book out of his own experience of the failure of social change movements in the 1960s. In this book he explores the ways in which work is structured, the built-in frustrations of balancing family and work, and the disappointments with unions and other efforts to created social justice, have led to despair and cynicism among those who want to work for greater democracy and justice. He found that people who joined him in organizations working for change tended to discount the gains that had been made, and tended to expect failure. His premise is that we accept that we have no power too often and too quickly, hence the title, "Surplus Powerlessness." The notion that we tend to underestimate our own power as individuals and groups, and that our belief that nothing will change tends to dominate our work in ways that make us ineffective, is worth exploring.
Riegle, Rosalie. Doing Time for Peace: Resistance, Family, and Community. Vanderbilt University Press. November, 2012. Print.
In this compelling collection of oral histories, more than seventy-five peacemakers describe how they say no to war-making in the strongest way possible—by engaging in civil disobedience and paying the consequences in jail or prison. These courageous resisters leave family and community and life on the outside in their efforts to direct U.S. policy away from its militarism. Many are Catholic Workers, devoting their lives to the works of mercy instead of the works of war. They are homemakers and carpenters and social workers and teachers who are often called “faith-based activists.” They speak from the left of the political perspective, providing a counterpoint to the faith-based activism of the fundamentalist Right.
In their own words, the narrators describe their motivations and their preparations for acts of resistance, the actions themselves, and their trials and subsequent jail time. We hear from those who do their time by caring for their families and managing communities while their partners are imprisoned. Spouses and children talk frankly of the strains on family ties that a life of working for peace in the world can cause.
The voices range from a World War II conscientious objector to those protesting the recent war in Iraq. The book includes sections on resister families, the Berrigans and Jonah House, the Plowshares communities, the Syracuse Peace Council, and Catholic Worker houses and communities. The introduction by Dan McKanan situates these activists in the long tradition of resistance to war and witness to peace.
———.Crossing the Line: Nonviolent Resisters Speak Out for Peace. Wipf and Stock Cascade. January, 2013. Print.
More than sixty-five peacemakers have contributed oral narratives to this compelling history of those who say no to war making in the strongest way possible: by engaging in civil disobedience and paying the consequences in jail or prison. Crossing the Line gives voice to often neglected social history and provides provocative stories of actions, trials, and imprisonment.
This volume serves as an excellent supplement to conventional histories. Almost all the storytellers here are people of faith or are inspired by those who live by faith. Many work at conventional careers; some do full-time peacemaking by living in Catholic Worker houses or in the Jonah House community; several are priests and nuns who minister worldwide. Also featured are three resisters prominent in War Resisters League history and a chapter on resisters in Europe. From World War II conscientious objectors to contemporary activists, these narrators have refused to be helpless in the face of a violent world, and have said with their bodies that they do not accept the status quo of permanent war and war preparation. In short, the voices illustrate hope at a time when it seems in short supply.
Websites