Robert Levering comes to Nonviolence Radio this week to talk to Stephanie Van Hook and Michael Nagler about the film “The Boys Who Said No!” and the powerful draft resistance movement that helped to end the Vietnam War. Robert is an executive producer of the film, a position he is well suited to as he himself was a draft resister in the 1960s. In the interview, we hear how Robert worked collectively to refuse the draft, and more, to stand up actively and nonviolently to an unjust and oppressive system: …the draft sort of makes it us vs. the government. It’s very frightening just individually to face the government and all the power it has. But the communities that we developed helped to give us the kind of strength that we really needed in order to do that confrontation. I know that I never would have – I don’t know what I would have done. I mean, you never can tell. But it made it really much, much easier to do something as part of a community rather than just simply doing it individually. Robert’s discussion of his work in the 60s reveals how groups like those opposing the war in Vietnam came together with the Civil Rights Movement to create a power that finally ‘overwhelmed’ the US government, pushing it to end the war and change some of its racist policies. We are seeing strong echoes of this kind of collaboration today, as shown in Michael’s nonviolence report at the end of the show: diverse groups dedicated to nonviolence in many different forms, directed at many causes are coming together, joining hands and actively building a better world. Transcript archived at Waging Nonviolence [pending] The post How to Escalate Nonviolence appeared first on Metta Center.

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How to Escalate Nonviolence

This week, Michael and Stephanie talk to Kathy Kelly, life-long nonviolence activist, co-founder of Voices for Creative Nonviolence and co-coordinator of the Ban Killer Drones Campaign. This week she discusses her extensive experience in and thoughts about Afghanistan. American intervention, she believes, was — and indeed, continues to be — entirely misoriented, escalating rather than resolving the violent conflicts there. She offers some practical and clear advice on what good and productive involvement might entail, and provides concrete ways we might engage. She also pushes us to reconsider our preconceived ideas, both about the Taliban and ourselves; in doing so we can start to empathize, re-humanize and be less afraid: First of all, I think we need to do what you and Michael have advocated in the Metta Center for a long time. We have to find the courage to control our fears. We have to become a public that isn’t so whipped-up into being afraid of this group, afraid of that group, that we will continue to bankroll efforts to kind of eliminate that group so that we don’t have to be afraid of them anymore. That’s one thing.I think it’s really important to keep on building up our sense of controlling our fears.  A second thing, very practically, is to get to know the people who are bearing the consequences of our wars and our displacement…My young friends in Afghanistan were emblematic of people who wanted to reach out to people on the other side of the divide. They talked about a border-free world. They wanted to have interethnic projects. Only when we truly look at Afghanistan, when we see it and its people in all their rich complexity can we come to a better understanding of what they want and need. Only by actively listening to individuals and groups on the ground will we learn how we might be able to join them in finding ways to resolve conflicts and rebuild. And all this depends on a firm commitment to nonviolence, genuine humility and honest self-reflection: …nononviolence is truth force. We have to tell the truth and look at ourselves in the mirror. And what I’ve just said is really, really hard to look at. But I think that it’s required to better understand who we are and how we can actually say, “We’re sorry. We’re so very sorry,” and make reparations that say we are not going to continue this. The post Bearing Witness in Afghanistan appeared first on Metta Center.

Bearing Witness in Afghanistan

This week, Nonviolence Radio hosts Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, herself a peace activist and committed supporter of nonviolence. Ela was raised in The Phoenix Settlement, an ashram established by Gandhi in 1904 dedicated to the value of self-sufficiency, grounded in a profound concern for the natural world and dedicated to promoting human dignity for all. In this episode, Stephanie and Michael talk to Ela about her life, about the corrosive power of consumerism in our world today, about the importance of actively modeling compassion, decency and kindness, and the crucial Gandhian idea of constructive program: …at Phoenix Settlement, we encouraged people to do their own growing of vegetables and so on. That was one way in which people became self-sufficient. Also, in little skills to make them less dependent on the mainline economy. This is building up your own economic activity so that you become self-sufficient, so that you’re not dependent on the people who are actually exploiting you. That’s the one thing. The second thing is that you are not supporting the exploitative mechanism. By becoming independent or dependent on yourself rather than on these economic giants, you’re making a statement and you’re also showing that, at the end of the day, they depend on us as consumers. And if we stop consuming what they produce, then it makes them think, it makes them reassess what they are doing. That’s one of the ways in which one indicates to people that we are unhappy about the way you are doing things. “Constructive program” emerges as one of the most empowering and effective tools nonviolent activists can use to push back against oppressive forces and set up a more just and peaceful world.  The post Rooted in Nonviolence – Ela Gandhi appeared first on Metta Center.

Rooted in Nonviolence – Ela Gandhi

As we move into the days commemorating the horrific bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we join with activists and scholars around the world who say “no” to nuclear proliferation. What kind of wealth system, what kind of thinking about human life and our shared ecology would pose a fundamental challenge to the nuclear mindset?  We invited Dr. Michael Allen to Nonviolence Radio to offer a short but meaningful “teach-in” about the foundations of Western economic thought in Thomas Hobbes and its revolutionary contrast in the economics of Mahatma Gandhi.  Transcript archived at Waging Nonviolence [pending] The post Enough for Everyone appeared first on Metta Center.

Enough for Everyone

This week, Michael and Stephanie welcome Dr. Wim Laven, professor, author, board member of the International Peace Research Association and the Peace and Justice Studies Association, and Editor in Chief of Peace Chronicle magazine. Wim’s work looks at the immense power of forgiveness as well as the very real difficulties involved in the act of forgiving. How does forgiving release us and allow us to move forward? What are the conditions needed for meaningful forgiveness? How can we forgive the unforgivable?  People are figuring out, you know, and being coached by their friends and their family and their spiritual advisors and so forth, that in order to live their best lives, they’re going to have to release some of these injustices, despite the fact that it’s completely unfair, right? Like police departments pulling over people just because of the color of their skin or just because they’ve profiled them to match descriptions of whatever prejudicial bias they would like to monitor. But being angry about it, staying angry about it, is having harmful consequences. In that capacity, the police officer is just following orders and we know that just following orders has been used as a defence about some of the most heinous crimes in history. But it really is. It’s the system or the structure that’s creating those outcomes. I don’t know how much the student is aware that what they’re doing is forgiving the racism in America, but I do know that they are aware that if they stay angry, then they’ll be unemployed. And they’re finding ways to get over that – at least to the degree that they’re able to function, you know? It’s challenging stuff. I think that there are some people that would say that that’s not really forgiveness. I would. I do. I think that I’ve learned a lot from my students sharing their experiences and their practices for how they get through the critical injustices in the world. Wim’s work with students in prison and all over the world illuminates the way in which forgiving plays an essential role in helping individuals to release anger so that they can live more freely and fully. At the level of society, Wim shows how forgiving can work to dismantle power structures that allow for, even encourage cruel, unjust and violent actions. Forgiving is not easy, but it is a powerful force which, when harnessed, allows for deep and lasting transformation. Transcript archived at Waging Nonviolence [pending] The post Forgiveness: Its challenge and necessity appeared first on Metta Center.

Forgiveness: Its challenge and necessity

Nonviolence and utopian thinking go hand in hand, or so argues Safoora Arbab on this week’s episode of Nonviolence Radio. Utopian thinking is about what is possible, not what is impossible, she posits, and when coupled with nonviolence, we have both a roadmap and a means for achieving a more balanced and inclusive political identity. The goal may be “ever receding” as Gandhi said, and yet, without the clarity that utopian thinking can provide, nonviolence cannot fulfill its higher capacity to engage with long-term systems’ transformation.  Michael Nagler begins the show with his Nonviolence Report for the week.  Transcript archived at Waging Nonviolence. The post Utopias and the Political Imaginary appeared first on Metta Center.

Utopias and the Political Imaginary

How does the way that we live contribute to a nonviolent society? As the pace of society speeds up, fewer and fewer people are finding fulfillment in the promise of a world that is based on advancing technology, consumerism, and depersonalization. Yet there are pockets of nonviolence-oriented people around the world who are experimenting with community life as a solution to our society’s ills. While this does not mean that there will not be any conflicts (remember, conflict is natural–violence is not), or that the experiment is perfect (for Gandhi, all was an experiment, a learning opportunity), it is precisely in community living infused with high ideals like those of the nonviolent path, that we can see ourselves and our human potential more clearly.  In this episode of Nonviolence Radio we speak with Tim Anderson, a full-time resident of a nonviolence-oriented community in the South of France, founded by Lanza del Vasto, an Italian follower of the Gandhian path.  In the Nonviolence Report, Michael Nagler makes the radical case for restorative justice because of the impact of retribution on the human psyche and our societal development; and Stephanie shares an article from Waging Nonviolence by Robert Levering about Daniel Ellsberg’s conversion to nonviolence, and a press release from the Shanti Sena Network on their upcoming gathering, to which all are invited! Transcript archived at Waging Nonviolence. [Link pending] The post Simple Living Rooted in Nonviolent Ideals appeared first on Metta Center.

Simple Living Rooted in Nonviolent Ideals

Renowned Palestinian activist and humanitarian Mubarak Awad on nonviolence, his activism, and insights for action as the conflict in Israel-Palestine continues to smoulder. The post A Palestinian’s Journey to Nonviolence appeared first on Metta Center.

A Palestinian’s Journey to Nonviolence

The legacy of Mahatma Gandhi goes well beyond the Indian Freedom Struggle. He has influenced countless movements and struggles for freedom and democracy around the world, decolonization struggles, including the civil rights movement within the United States. We speak with P. Anand Rao who is a professor of Communications and Digital Studies at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. I reached out to Rao to see if he could talk to us a little bit about what research he’s done into this connection between Gandhi and the civil rights movement. And also, how it ties into the legacy of James Farmer. I also happen to be an alum of Mary Washington. So, I was very excited to find on a listserv that I’m a part of, M.K.Gandi.org, that a professor from Mary Washington wrote a piece for his local newspaper about the influence of Gandhi on the civil rights movement. As I started to reflect back, I remembered there was a statue right across from the building where I studied philosophy (the Classics, Philosophy and Religion department) of a great Civil Rights leader, James Farmer. And I thought, “Well, maybe it isn’t unlikely that a professor from Mary Washington would be speaking about the civil rights movement and Gandhi, given that there’s actually a deep legacy between the University of Mary Washington and the civil rights leader, James Farmer. Read the transcript at Waging Nonviolence. The post Gandhi’s Influence on Dr. James Farmer appeared first on Metta Center.

Gandhi’s Influence on Dr. James Farmer

00:23 Intro 00:55 Master of Sustainable Peacebuilding Course 01:36 Third Harmony Screening in Jalgaon 02:06 Meta Peace Team Trainings 03:18 Campaign Nonviolence workshops 03:38 Stephen Zunes Sudan’s 2019 Revolution 04:41 Digital Nonviolence Talk 05:28 Housing Solution Summit 06:12 Votercade for John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Day 06:46 Protests of Berlin’s repeal of “rent cap” 07:43 People’s Choice Communications 09:11 First Global Scientist Rebellion Play Global Scientist Rebellion – civil disobedience at Downing Street 10:06 Diana Wilson – hunger strike 11:42 Coal Miners Union transition 13:31 Women Protection Teams in South Sudan The post Nonviolence Report April 28, 2021 appeared first on Metta Center.

Nonviolence Report April 28, 2021

00:42 Chauvin Verdict 01:35 Healing Our City — Darnell Moore for Ma’Khia Bryant 07:58 “Madman with a Sword” analogy 08:39 Restorative Justice 09:18 Nonviolence and the case of the extremely ruthless opponent 10:56 Resources 11:02 Free Bystander Intervention & De-escalation Trainings 11:29 For Goodness Sake: Music for the Nonviolent Future 12:11 Planned Actions for Campaign Nonviolence Action Week 12:45 Rivera Sun’s Upcoming Events 12:55 Sustaining Peace Project 13:20 Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony 13:50 Indigenous Youth Arrive in DC to Tell Biden: Stop Dakota Access and Line 3 Pipelines 14:36 Defend the Sacred Alliance 15:40 Music by Eliza Gilkyson The post Nonviolence Report April 23, 2021 appeared first on Metta Center.

Nonviolence Report April 23, 2021

“Share the Day” – this is a translation of a greeting from the ocean world of Shora which was a world created by Joan Slonczewksi. She’s a science fiction writer and professor at Kenyon College. This is from her 1986 novel, A Door Into Ocean. The book describes a society of people who are committed to nonviolence at a very, very deep level – and not just an emotional, sentimental kind of ‘do no harm’ nonviolence, but one that is a really deeply transformed view of what it means to be human. And with that, what’s really at stake when we turn to or away from the nonviolent path. Read the transcript at Waging Nonviolence. The post A Door Into Ocean appeared first on Metta Center.

A Door Into Ocean

00:00 Nonviolence Radio – Hollaback! 08:59 Five D’s of Bystander Intervention 33:20 Trainings. Webinar with Michael Beer at ICNC. NV Tactics Social Media and More Tool Kit Nonviolent Tactics Database Submissions Webinar at James Lawson Institute Michael Beer – Civil Resistance Tactics of the 21st Century Gene Sharp’s 198 Methods 36:27 “Restless as Mercury” 38:04 Yellow Finch Blockade of Mountain Valley Pipeline 39:52 Jesuit Fr. Steve Kelly 42:39 MLB All-Star Games Moved From Georgia 44:17 Judge Throws Out Charges Against Activists 45:31 Fairy Creek 46:18 Total Protest 48:38 Military Coup in Myanmar Maria Stephan’s article in Waging Nonviolence The post Nonviolence Radio April 9, 2021 appeared first on Metta Center.

Nonviolence Radio April 9, 2021

How Hollaback! is Creating a Culture of Community Accountability and Mutual Respect: An Interview with Emily May. In the two weeks immediately following the Georgia attack that killed 8 people, 6 of them Asian women, over 40,000 people signed up for trainings in bystander intervention with an incredible organization called Hollaback! They’re really leaders in the world of bystander intervention as a tool to end harassment, teaching a framework known as the “Five Ds” (Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, and Direct) which many groups who do similar work borrow from them. According to Emily May, Hollaback!’s Co-Founder and Executive Director,  “It’s something that all of us can do to take care of each other when harassment happens that slowly but surely chips away at the institutions that underlie it – the institutions of racism and sexism and homophobia that allow it to proliferate to the extent to which it has.” She adds, however, that bystander intervention is only one piece of the solution, noting that we have to also turn to restorative and transformative justice, and “solutions we haven’t even imagined yet.” I had the opportunity to speak with May from her Brooklyn office for Nonviolence Radio about showing up for community, the 5 Ds, why they don’t recommend calling the police, the power of sharing our stories (they have an App for that!), and the importance of ‘resourcing’ organizations like Hollaback!. (Transcript is pending to be published at WagingNonviolence.org.) The post Bystander Intervention is only the beginning appeared first on Metta Center.

Bystander Intervention is only the beginning

00:38 Jain Studies — Teaching Peace 01:20 Greta Zarro – Organizing 101 01:53 Anniversary of “Breaking Silence” 02:29 Kazu Haga – Fierce Vulnerability 03:49 Michael Beer – Civil Resistance Tactics of the 21st Century 05:00 BLM in Birmingham 06:36 Annova LNG 07:24 Herring Protectors 08:24 Canadian fighter jet protests 09:58 Myanmar 11:43 Tulsa Massacre of 1921 13:43 Maria Stefan’s article in WNV The post Nonviolence Report April 02, 2021 appeared first on Metta Center.

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