Nonviolence News: 100K March In France, Brazil's X Ban, Summer of Heat On Wall Street & Culture Vitamins
100K March In France, Brazil's X Ban, Summer of Heat On Wall Street & Culture Vitamins
Editor's Note From Rivera Sun
Nonviolence isn't a football match, where we line up on two sides and charge in. At its best, nonviolence encourages us to engage the fullest sense of our humanity in navigating a conflict toward a resolution that gives all parties a way forward. And to achieve even a glimmer of that potential, we need to embrace richly-nuanced narratives about what's unfolding in the situation. This kind of reporting is critically important in a media world of sound bites, headlines, and oversimplification. It's especially illuminating when the conflict in question has competing just grievances, complex nuances, multiple perspectives on the social justice issues, and situations that are not cut-and-dry.
In Nonviolence News this week, we chose to uplift an article in Global Voices that explored the multilayered aspects of the Twitter/X ban in Brazil. On Aug 31, Brazil blocked Twitter/X over its refusal to comply with a federal investigation into fake news and militia groups. The conflict highlights the entanglement of political factions, national sovereignty, corporate power vs. accountability, the limits of free speech, and protection from political violence and misinformation. Thousands of right-wing supporters of former president Bolsonaro marched in the streets in protest, claiming that they're being censored. Meanwhile, millions of other users made the switch to BlueSky, a platform started by the founder of Twitter. Each of these choices can be looked at as a nonviolent action, one protesting the situation, the other finding an alternative that provides the same service.
You'll also find an article on Venezuela's democracy crisis that similarly acknowledges the many dynamics that make the still-unverified elections a tense and fraught political upheaval, one that Venezuelans are saying can't easily be reduced to 'left' and 'right', 'good guys' and 'bad guys'. In this article, the interviewee honestly acknowledges his position and/or slant (he's a Chavista) and then carefully critiques the choices of the Maduro government, speaks to pressures felt by citizens from international sanctions , and warns about the long-term consequences of not publishing the election results. This is the kind of story that I find helps me understand conflicts better - and contextualizes the mass movements erupting amidst them.
In other Nonviolence News, 100,000 people marched in France against Macron's right-wing prime minister appointment. Around 33,000 Boeing workers rejected a 25% pay raise and went on strike for 40% increases and other benefits that they say are long overdue amidst rising cost of living. On Wall Street, the Summer of Heat campaign ended with 50 arrested while demanding fossil fuel divestment outside Citibank offices. The quiet rollout of Cop City urban warfare training facilities across the US is meeting resistance, led by Black and Indigenous-led campaigns.
You'll also see a pair of stories on renters and landlords that show how nonviolent action can be used to oppose an injustice or build a solution. In one story, Canadian renters are furious that a mega-landlord has been caught using the illegal, rent-spiking, AI-driven software that is coordinating increases across the US. So, they've been hanging protest banners off apartment balconies and taking other actions. In the other story, an eviction-prevention program in Philadelphia is using face-to-face chats and mediation to resolve conflicts between renters and landlords, hoping to keep people in their houses. Both stories exemplify the versatility that makes nonviolent action such a powerful force in our world. It's an enormous toolbox that can aid communities in responding to their situations in tailored and unique ways.
Find these stories and more in Nonviolence News>>
A favorite story? Well, last week, we reported on the UK's 8,000-person experiment in "nature prescriptions" that are led to improved mental health. This week, I found a fascinating article on Denmark's Kulturvitaminer - Culture Vitamins that helps people deal with anxiety, depression, loneliness, and social isolation. Unlike traditional group therapy, the 10-week program doesn't ask people to talk about what's wrong. Instead, they coordinate access to concert tickets, sing-a-longs and read-alouds, museums, art galleries ... trusting that arts and music unlock human emotion, help people process their deeply held feelings, and offer the tonic of social connection in the process. To me, this is a perfect example of nonviolence. What do you think?
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun