Earlier this month, Palestinians organized and staged Hip-Hop Kom, a rap competition broadcast in the West Bank and Gaza showcasing the talent of local rappers. As Jordan Flaherty, writing for The Electronic Intifada, notes, “Through the use of video conferencing and projection, each city could see and hear the performances happening in the other. Five groups from Gaza participated, coming in first, third, and fourth place.” Although Gazans took the prize, the real victory goes to all the Palestinians who orchestrated and participated in the event which embodied the principles of pragmatic nonviolence. It was a subversive action, daring to unite and voice the angst of oppression over melodious beats and rhythms. It was a bold demonstration of the power of Palestinian youth and their ability to peacefully and creatively mobilize themselves in the face of violence.

I see Palestinians turning toward an art form that was birthed by oppressed black people in the US and I can’t help but notice the parallels between the groups. Hip-hop gives expression to the plight of marginalization and it vocally validates the experience of the oppressed. In the US, we are witnessing the infiltration of hip hop by forces of materialism and greed. In Palestine, the essence of hip-hop still remains close to the root of active struggle and resistance against on oppressive order. Palestinian hip-hop reminds us that the poverty of the South Bronx shares a common cause with the poverty of Jenin. It calls us back to the realization that we are all a people in struggle against the war machine. While we let hip-hop die on its native soil, a drumbeat from Palestine calls us toward a resurrection fueled by the knowledge that our country deprives and exploits its poor at home in order to make war on others abroad.

Palestinians are painfully aware that life in Palestine depends on perception and awareness in the US. Getting back to the roots of hip-hop will situate us at the interface of the international and the domestic and will put us in solidarity with local and global networks of people struggling for change and freedom from tyranny. Hip hoppers in the US must therefore take hip-hop as seriously as the Palestinians do and utilize it as a tool to organize and elevate the consciousness of the nation. We must bring the human face of Palestine to our fellow Americans but in order to do so we have to get closer to them ourselves. Can we show them that we care? Or are we too committed to rapping about money and illusory prosperity? Are we exporting our solidarity or a vain, materialistic outlook on life? Are we representatives of the status quo of imperialism and colonialism or do we chant the fires of resistance? Only we can decide.

NASA climatologist James Hansen (center) gets arrested at West Virginia anti-coal protest yesterday.

Hundreds of anti-coal/anti-mountaintop removal activists gathered for a historic protest in Coal River Valley, West Virginia yesterday. The top headlines are that NASA climatologist James Hansen, actress Daryl Hannah and 94-year-old former WV congressman Ken Hechler were among 30 arrested for sitting down on a highway outside of Massey Energy, the leading mountaintop removal coal mining company. A large number of coal supporters also showed up and were described as being aggressive toward the other rally participants. Coal River Mountain Watch co-director Judy Goldman was reportedly hit in the face by a Massey supporter, who was apprehended by police just before attempting to assault a coal miner’s widow/community activist.

Here are a couple jumping off points from this action:

-Charleston Gazette staff writer Ken Ward Jr. blogged about the action, raising the point that both sides of the coal debate could claim a victory yesterday. This leads to a number of important questions, namely “So what next?” but also, “What about the miners? Who can argue that they don’t have a right to stand up for their jobs and their families?” The Gazette blog offers some good analysis.

-Robert Kennedy Jr. helped rally protesters for the yesterday’s action while at the Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee over the weekend, telling the crowd, “Let’s get arrested!” However, I haven’t seen any reference to him being at the protest.

-James Hansen has agreed to debate Massey Energy President Don Blankenship later this week.

-Hansen also wrote a plea to President Obama to put an end to mountaintop coal mining.

-Video of 94-year-old former WV Congressman Ken Hechler talking about why he’s become a “hell raiser.”

• Staffers and Representatives were treated to a flash mob on Tuesday at Longworth Cafeteria on Capitol Hill. Over 30 young activists froze mid-motion for two minutes before raising their voices in unison and yelling “Solve climate change now!”

• More than a dozen New York City beekeapers gathered Tuesday on the steps of City Hall to support a bill that would legalize beekeeping in the nation’s largest metropolis.

• Several hundred hotel workers and supporters picketed in front of the Hilton in Crystal City, Virginia to protest an imposed contract that cut salaries and benefits.

• More UK power plant workers go on strike to show solidarity with the 647 Lindsey Oil Refinery workers who were dismissed last week for staging their own unauthorized strike.

• A group of female academics in Italy have called on the wives of world leaders to boycott an upcoming meeting of the G8 in Trieste over Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi‘s “offensive” attitude toward women.

• Inhabitants from several southern Peruvian provinces blocked important highways on Monday to protest against the land use and the industrial pollution to the environment.

• 6,000 people gathered at the Illinois Statehouse in Springfield, effectively shutting it down, to protest looming social service cuts.

As the whole world watched the tragic death of an Iranian female protester named Neda this weekend, news coverage shifted from the uplifting and defiant non-violent struggle of the Iranian people to the brutal crackdown of the Iranian regime. This has naturally led many to question the effectiveness of nonviolence.

A Los Angeles Times story called attention to this phenomenon and cited a comment found under a protest video posted on YouTube:

“Someone pointed out Gandhi and MLK as an example of peaceful protesting. Here’s my take on that: MLK was not facing a dictatorship, so it doesn’t apply. Gandhi had a unique situation: peaceful protest worked here because he only had to convince the people of India that they should not be governed by foreign powers (England). In Iran’s case, there are no foreign powers to rise up against, only a dictatorship that also happens to have millions of local supporters. Violence is necessary here.”

This sort of argument manifests itself quite frequently among those with only a cursory knowledge of nonviolence.  It seeks to imply that nonviolence doesn’t work against dictatorships (even though it has, e.g. Pinochet in Chile, Marcos in the Philippines and Milosevic in Serbia). It also implies that Gandhi and King succeeded because they were fighting civilized opponents who were unlikely to mow down a bunch of peaceful protesters. But we can’t forget the lynchings that occurred in the South while local authorities looked the other way or the fact that King’s own house was bombed by segregationists. Are they not comparable to Ahmadinejad’s “millions of local supporters”?

Many lives were lost in the Indian independence movement as well. One glaring incident, known as the Amritsar Massacre, saw 90 British soldiers kill nearly 400 unarmed men, women and children and injure over a thousand without warning in less than 15 minutes at what was nothing more than a religious holiday and harvest festival.

So, to say that either of these men and their movements had it easy overlooks the great deal of violent opposition they faced and the immense courage and dedication it took to remain nonviolent. For this reason we must be wary of those calling for an intervention in Iran or an arming of the protesters. But not for this reason alone.

We have also forgotten another valuable history lesson, which is that the Iranians have used nonviolence before to overthrow a brutal and repressive regime. After 25 years of rule by the US-installed Shah, Iranians took to the street in 1979, waging boycotts, strikes and non-co-operation. In the book “Unarmed Insurrections,” author Kurt Schock gives full credit to the nonviolent movement, stating, “The lifeblood of the shah’s regime was drained by mass civil disobedience.”

While it is sad that this Islamic Revolution paved the way for the current regime, which violates all sorts of human rights, we must convince ourselves that the last thing thing the Iranians need now is our help. Chris Hedges expounded on this point in a recent article titled, “Iran had a democracy before we took it away.”

Iranians do not need or want us to teach them about liberty and representative government. They have long embodied this struggle. It is we who need to be taught… We are the biggest problem in the Middle East. We have through our cruelty and violence created and legitimized the Mahmoud Ahmadinejads and the Osama bin Ladens. The longer we lurch around the region dropping iron fragmentation bombs and seizing Muslim land the more these monsters, reflections of our own distorted image, will proliferate.

There’s no reason we can’t lend our moral support to the protesters in the street. But to call for violent resistance, perhaps backed by foreign militiaries, would only serve to set the Iranians back even further than we’ve already done.

On February 4th, 1968, just about a month before he was assassinated, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “Drum Major Instinct” sermon from the pulpit of Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. The “drum major instinct,” according to King, is the desire for “recognition, importance, and attention.”

Elise Aghazarian, a professor of sociology at Bethlehem University and Palestinian activist

It’s a shorthand way of speaking about the relentless, though perhaps unconscious, desire to “be number one.” While those in the social justice, peacemaking and civil rights movements might assume that King was only addressing the wealthy and the powerful, it would be a mistaken assumption. King, relying upon the psychological studies of Alfred Adler, contends that the desire to “lead the parade,” is a pervasive human tendency.

For King, the “great issue in life is to harness the drum major instinct.” Failure to do so lends itself to a range of debilitating practices, particularly for the nonviolent activist. The unharnessed drum major instinct, for example, fosters a snobbish exclusivity not a welcoming inclusiveness; destructive competition not affirming cooperation; gossip and not meaningful conversation, etc. When properly harnessed, however, the drum major instinct fuels true human greatness: “to be first in love, to be first in moral excellence and to be first in generosity.” Further, there is no “Ph.D.” required for this kind of creative genius; it is a field of study and application open to all. Meditating upon his death, though not knowing how soon that would come to pass, King asked that all of his achievements be forgotten; he simply wanted to be remembered as one who led a life “committed to peace, justice and righteousness.”

During a recent visit to Beit Sahour, a Palestinian town just east of Bethlehem, I met Elise Aghazarian, a young woman professor of sociology at Bethlehem University. In short order, it was quite evident that I was in the presence of someone who, though relatively unknown, embodied the greatness described by King in his sermon. Aghazarian, who is of Armenian and Palestinian descent, spoke to our CODEPINK delegates at a forum sponsored by the Alternative Information Center (AIC). The AIC is a Palestinian-Israeli grassroots organization engaged in the dissemination of information, critical analysis and political advocacy. After the forum, she joined us for lunch.

Aghazarian impressed me with her comportment, intelligence, warmth and passionate interest in her studies. Upon learning of the crushing circumstances forced upon her by the Israeli occupation, I was moved by her resilience and obvious love of life.

This resilience and love of life flowed through the brief talk that she gave at the AIC forum. I have, as much as is possible, reconstructed her talk for those not fortunate enough to have been there upon its hearing and in her presence. Read the rest of this article »

• 40 activists from across the UK gathered on Friday to help an already heavily mined Scottish community in their fight against another open-cast pit. The group has set up camp and is pledging to stay until the project is called off.

• Residents of Park County, Colorado are protesting the contruction of a pit mine that they believe will endanger the community and wildlife.

• Bikers in Tel Aviv, Israel are planning a protest ride across the city to oppose the lack of government support for urban bike riding.

• Ten Greenpeace activists boarded a boat carrying coal for Kingsnorth power station outside of London on Sunday. Six were arrested shortly after boarding, while the four others remained in the crows nest overnight.

• EarthFirst! activists are protesting the expansion of I-70 near Denver, Colorado over concerns of added pollution to an area already plagued by dozens of major polluters and the destruction of over 300 acres of wildlife habitat.

• Hundreds of public sector doctors demanding better wages picketed outside a South African hospital on Monday.

• LGBT activists are planning to protest a Democratic Party fundraiser in Boston on Tuesday headlined by VP Joe Biden in response to the party’s backpedaling on the repeal of DOMA.

• Internet users in China are planning a Web protest on the day that the Chinese government is making the controversial “Green Dam” software filter mandatory on personal computers.

For nonviolence to be truly waged, the practitioner must be skilled in the science of the soul, the art of self-knowledge by which his/her natural peace vibration can resonate uninhibited. Yes, we are warriors, yet our war is not against flesh and blood; we do not seek the destruction of our brethren, but rather their peaceful conversion into loving, self-realized beings. Our battlefield is that of the human heart and its stillness depends upon our constant vigilance and relentless care. We must remember that we are bearers of the original status quo, a cosmically ordained harmony and peace—the natural state of affairs. Our insurrection therefore must be against the forces which have swooned our hearts and obscured the light of our oneness as a people. Convulsive fits of violence, disrupting the natural flow, erupt when wagers of nonviolence go astray. The covetous fantasies of grandeur and excess are not exclusive to members of the multinational corporate and military elite but lie in wait for us all.

And so I wonder: Can we see the seeds of violence in ourselves? Do we see our own complicity in the great divide?

One thing is for sure. Our protests and campaigns will be effective only to the degree that we are capable of meeting hatred with love and falsehood with truth. This is our mission, individually and collectively. It is no easy task. Such knowledge can not be purchased and so we must train ourselves and stimulate our hearts with the enrichment that relationship in community brings. We must educate and encourage one another in the practice of nonviolence which is the active formation of the soul and strengthening of one’s character.

As someone who espouses nonviolence and universal Love as pillars of Truth, I often question if I have what it takes in the end. It is easy to love my friend and colleague, yet am I making efforts to Love my enemy and oppressor? Can I be true to my innermost self and manifest peace in the face of violence? Will I have the clarity of vision to see a suffering brother/sister in the eyes of a soldier of death? I have my doubts and fears yet I believe waging nonviolence is what you do in spite of them.

Right now, all I can do is stand in solidarity with those whose hearts are big enough to forgive, with those who reject violence when it seems they almost have a right to it. These prophets of peace among us light the way and set the standard.

Despite individual weakness, I am edified when I recall that simply speaking truth to power is always a service to those who have ears to hear. May the Almighty open our ears to each other’s song and may we dance thy kingdom come. Wage on.

• 650 workers at the UK Lindsey oil refinery were fired after taking part in a strike last week. They are now pledging to burn their dismissal letters in a mass protest on Tuesday.

• Activists gathered in front of the Israeli Pavilion at the annual Paris Airshow this weekend to protest the presence of top Israeli defense companies and call for a boycott.

• Hundreds of Wazir tribesmen in Pakistan took to the streets on Friday to protest a strike by US drones in South Waziristan.

• Employees of the State Bank of Indore are going on strike this week to protest the bank’s proposed merging with the State Bank of India.

• 14 anti-coal activists were arrested at a mine in West Virginia last week for scaling a 150-foot-high excavating machine at a mine owned by Massey Energy and unfurling a huge banner that read “Stop Mountaintop Removal.” The action shut down operation for several hours.

• Up to 8,000 postal workers in London launched a two day strike last week over job cuts.

• Surfers have mounted an aggressive effort to block plans for several natural gas projects scheduled for the coastal waters of New York and New Jersey.

Over at Think Progress, Matthew Yglesias raised an interesting point about the importance of security service defection in a revolution.

It’s through nonviolent resistance that you heighten the psychological contradictions, and encourage the regime and its enforcers to blink. From the Velvet Revolution to Tiananmen Square to the Orange Revolution to what’s happening today in Iran, the brave dissidents are essentially daring the security forces to beat or kill them. The bet is that when push comes to shove, people in the Iranian security forces have some humane and patriotic instincts and will recoil from the idea of using mass violence against their fellow citizens. And it’s a terrifying bet.

Some journalists are already reporting a turning of the tide among security forces. Matthew Rothschild, editor of The Progressive, noted it in his podcast. And British journalist Robert Fisk observed it first hand on assignment for The Independent.

The armed special forces of the Islamic Republic, hitherto always allies of the Basiji, were prepared for once, it seemed, to protect all Iranians, not just Ahmadinejad’s henchmen. The precedent for this sudden neutrality is known to everyone – it was when the Shah’s army refused to fire on the millions of demonstrators demanding his overthrow in 1979.

Yet this is not a revolution to overthrow the Islamic Republic. Both sets of demonstrators were shouting “Allahu Akbar” – “God is Great” – at Vanak Square last night. But if the Iranian security forces are now taking the middle ground, then Ahmadinejad is truly in trouble.

Forbes’ Ramin Ahmadi gives a slightly different take on this.

I have watched with horror the new footage of violence committed against the youth almost every hour. In at least one film clip, Arabic-speaking men treat a young protester like a piece of meat getting ready to be cut in the local butcher shop. The activists report seeing many of these Arabic-speaking men among the anti-riot police force in the streets of Tehran. This poses a special problem for students committed to nonviolent protest. The cornerstone of nonviolence strategy is to talk to your oppressor, to remind him of your humanity and to show him his family members in the crowd. How do you do all that when your oppressor has been imported from abroad, selected from oppressed, poor Palestinian or Lebanese communities?

That question could become moot if the opposition doesn’t have a clear strategy. Stephen Zunes, writing for Yes! online, seems to think that’s the case.

So far, there are little indications that the diverse opposition in Iran has the organizational and strategic wherewithal to mount a massive nonviolent action campaign that could overturn the stolen election and bring greater democracy to that country. This stolen election may hasten that day, however. Iran today is not unlike Eastern Europe in the 1970s. The people may not be ready to overthrow the system, but the ideological hegemony which had previously maintained that system and stifled freedom of thought has largely vanished. Even among Iranians dedicated to the principles of the Islamic Republic, many now see their country essentially as a police state, recognizing that Ahmadinejad and the ruling clerics are little more than corrupt self-interested politicians who have manipulated their people’s religious faith for the sake of their own power.

Regardless of whether this situation becomes a full blown nonviolent revolution, it’s clear that small acts of resistance have gone a long way.

Author and syndicated sex advice columnist Dan Savage wrote an interesting piece this week called “Civil Disobedience: A Proposal.” In it, Savage lays out a plan of action aimed at taking down the Defense of Marriage Act. He says, “It would demonstrate better than another gay march just how seriously we take this issue.”

Here’s the idea: one gay or lesbian couple—a couple currently denied their rights under DOMA—shows up at the entrance to the White House grounds. A different couple every day. They ask to speak to the president about DOMA. They’re refused. They sit down. They refuse to leave. They’re arrested, carried away by the police. Couples would be recruited from all over the country, demonstrating that gay marriage isn’t just an issue in liberal California or godless New England, and the media in each couple’s home city and state would be notified in advance of their arrest. The occasional famous couple—Rosie and Kelli? Ellen and Portia?—would participate to pull in celeb media. But most of the couples who come to D.C. to get arrested would be average folks. The couples would need support, legal and logistical, and we would need someone to organize media outreach and maintain a website. The website would include a photo and profile of each couple that comes to D.C. to get arrested, collect all the press, and be used to recruit couples willing to travel to D.C. and get arrested.

Strategically, the idea probably needs some more fleshing out. First off, getting arrested may not be as easy as just sitting down in front of the White House. Initially it may work. But as more and more people attempt it, police may be told to stop giving activists the attention they want.

A good example of this is the annual School of the Americas protest. In the early years it was easy to cross the line and get arrested. Now, as someone who went to last year’s gathering told me, to get arrested you have to practically pole vault over the special fence that’s been erected for the protest.

Regardless of this possible issue, Savage is really on to something. Imagine if one gay couple got arrested in front of the White House every day for a year–or perhaps longer? Politicians would be pressured in a way that a march or one day of action simply can’t deliver.

The couples would keep coming. Every day an arrest. Drip, drip, drip. Members of the White House press corps would see couples getting arrested every day on their way to work. Gibbs would be forced to address DOMA on a near-daily basis. The president would be asked about the issue again and again.

Then again, as most hardcore activists would probably testify, you can’t take media coverage for granted. What if the White House press corps ignores the action, as they have so many others? Witness Against Torture held a vigil in front of the White House for Obama’s first 100 days in office. They got some decent press coverage, but Helen Thomas never came out to interview them.

If gay rights activists are seriously considering this plan, they need to think through these weaknesses, as well as come up with Plan B’s and Plan C’s for whatever unexpected obstacles may pop up. For now, though, I think it’s good enough to commend Savage for simply bringing the tactic of persistence to the table.

A quick study of the most successful nonviolent movements shows that persistence is a key factor, see the civil rights movement or the Indian independence movement. It would be wonderful if gay rights activists embraced this strategy, but it’s also something for other justice movements to consider as well.