Practicing Nonviolent Direct Action

Perhaps you heard a racist joke and you didn’t laugh. Or you went further and said, “That’s not funny.” You engaged in nonviolent direct action. Does this surprise you? You didn’t think you were an activist. But yes, standing up for something — at a family dinner or the brown-bag lunch or on a street corner, holding a sign — that’s nonviolent direct action.

Some of us used to distribute leaflets outside a liquor store urging purchase of union wine. Today we asked the grocery manager not to carry hummus made in Israel. We’ve all taken nonviolent direct action. So what happens next?

There’s uncomfortable silence when we don’t laugh at racist jokes or when we disagree these days over politics. But then what? We must be clear that we don’t agree — but can we keep the conversation open? Can we give the joke-teller room to apologize? Can we keep talking with the brother-in-law who’s defending immigrant deportation and ICE actions? What about when a passer-by challenges my sign? A big part of the nonviolence is de-escalation.

One strategy is to ask questions. Why do you want to deport immigrants? Yes, it’s a family dinner and people want to be polite. It is not rude to ask somebody why. Particularly if you are prepared to listen. Hear them out. 

It is hard to listen to people we disagree with. But if you’re standing there with a sign saying We Need Immigrants, you are making your point. You are not going away. Stand and listen. 

Holding a sign and passing out leaflets are invitations for the other person to speak up. Ask them to say more. Ask more questions. Same as at the dinner table.

What I find hard is the people who ignore me. We wave at all the passing cars when we stand out in Lebanon, Ky., with our signs. We cheerily greet the mail carrier and delivery agents and the few pedestrians who pass us by. Many of them don’t look at us. Sometimes drivers wave or honk and that feels good. Hard as it is to be ignored, we keep standing there.

We want to be clear and direct in expressing our view that things are very wrong. At the same time, we don’t want to escalate tensions. People don’t think clearly when they are angry or embarrassed or feel backed into a corner. Our job is to invite people to think about what’s right and wrong and to feel compassion.

Nonviolent direct action is an everyday thing. The next step is to participate in a campaign or a march or a boycott. More about that in an upcoming Midweek Mission Message.