As mentioned on this blog before, President Obama’s frequent citation of nonviolent leaders as his heroes is completely inconsistent with, well, just about every aspect of his job. The most obvious, of course, is leading the military. And unfortunately Obama has not approached the task any differently than his predecessors. He is dead set on maintaining our presence in Iraq, bombing Pakistan and increasing troops in Afghanistan. So, to show just how inconsistent this is with the beliefs of his heroes, Rethink Afghanistan compiled a video that combines clips from the movie Gandhi, Dr. King’s Beyond Vietnman speech, and a documentary on Cesar Chavez.
Bryan Farrell is a Waging Nonviolence co-founder and former editor. He produced the podcast, City of Refuge. His work has appeared in The Guardian, The Nation, Mother Jones, Slate, Grist and Earth Island Journal.
Movements can still find people on social media. But the real organizing has to happen somewhere else — and getting people there is the part we keep skipping.
Reflecting on decades of organizing — from Occupy to Mamdani’s campaign — Yotam Marom’s book “For Louder Days” offers a powerful guide to making hard choices.
Julie Xu, a tenant organizer in Chinatown, explains why a 20-year movement for a rent freeze pivoted — and built a coalition to elect Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
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