Nonviolent Noncooperation Think Tank Meeting 3
YES, WE DO BIG PROTESTS. BUT…
Protests are powerful in moments of crisis. However, protest alone doesn’t always translate into sustained political change. Indivisible recognizes that symbolic protest must be paired with real pressure tactics that can disrupt the systems empowering authoritarian actors.
RISING AUTHORITARIAN THREAT REQUIRES ELEVATED STRATEGY
The escalating political climate demands escalated, strategic resistance. Nonviolent noncooperation is a potent and disruptive form of civic engagement that aims not just to raise awareness, but to compel change by withdrawing consent and compliance from unjust systems.
There’s no sugarcoating our current situation – the country is in a dangerous moment. But MAGA is not invincible, and We The People ARE standing up.
“So far, the most energetic opposition to the authoritarian offensive has come not from civic leaders but from everyday citizens.” (New York Times.
“The machinery we’re up against is enormous, but not monolithic. Authoritarian projects don’t rely solely on force. They thrive on fatigue. They colonize the future by making it unthinkable. They isolate people from one another, then offer fear in place of solidarity.
Anthropology teaches us that power is never just top-down. It is sustained through relationships, routines, habits of compliance—and it can be disrupted in those same places.
Political ecology reminds us that these systems are never only symbolic. They are material. They are embedded in land use, water access, zoning codes, financial instruments, and environmental degradation.
This is why protest must be strategic. To endure, it must be rooted in the material, embedded in everyday life, and sustained through collective purpose It must shift from visibility to leverage, from moments to movements, from opposition to construction. Not just saying no, but making new rules and new arrangements for life together.” – James Greenberg, political ecologist.
It’s up to US to shift from visibility to leverage and to bring DOWN the pillars that allowed things to go this far.
It’s up to US to stand together to prove them wrong in thinking some inevitable fatigue will force us into complacency.
It’s up to US to encourage the pillars upholding this administration NOT to capitulate and to stand strong to our long held American values – especially those of freedom, diversity, inclusion, and equality of opportunity.
WE have already taken the initial steps with our initial Nonviolent Noncooperation meetings.
They never anticipated us changing tactics. This is how wars are won.
In Solidarity,
– The Indivisible Knoxville Planning Team
🗓️ When: August 19th @6PM
📍 Where: The Sanctuary at TVUUC
They never anticipated us changing tactics. This is how wars are won.
You can find the video from this week’s meeting here:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0e3DLIQU9saiYxQ-LXtGqfYMA
Dan’s ‘Minutes’:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KzHDb2bq2CwjtYI-La89VBQ6RMaJc3_0zGmhz-d7NeA/edit?usp=sharing
And the full presentation from the inaugural July 17th meeting here:
In Solidarity,
~ Marie & the Indivisible Knoxville Planning Team