Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?‘
On the day that you read this article, 200 species of life on Earth (plants, birds, animals, fish, amphibians, insects, reptiles) will cease to exist. Tomorrow, another 200 species will vanish forever.
The human onslaught to destroy life on Earth is unprecedented in Earth’s history. Planet Earth is now experiencing its sixth mass extinction event and Homo sapiens sapiens is the cause. Moreover, this mass extinction event is accelerating and is so comprehensive in its impact that the piecemeal measures being taken by the United Nations, international agencies and governments constitute a tokenism that is breathtaking in the extreme.
And it is no longer the case that mainly ‘invisible’ species are vanishing: those insects, amphibians and small animals about which you had never even heard, assuming they have been identified and given a name by humans.
If you want to read more about some aspects of the extinction threat, you can do so in these recent reports: ‘World Wildlife Crime Report: Trafficking in protected species‘ and ‘Living Planet Report 2016‘ which includes these words: ‘The main statistic from the report … shows a 58% decline between 1970 and 2012. This means that, on average, animal populations are roughly half the size they were 42 years ago.’
Of course, some of what is happening is related to the ongoing climate catastrophe and there isn’t any good news on that front. See ‘What’s Happening in the Arctic is Astonishing‘.
Of course, military violence has devastating consequences on the Earth’s ecosystems too, destroying land, water and atmosphere (not to mention killing human beings) in the fight over resources. You will get no joy from the article ‘Iraq’s oil inferno – government inaction in the face of eco-terrorism‘ or the website of the Toxic Remnants of War Project. But every single aspect of military spending is ultimately used to destroy. It has no other function.
As you read all this, you might say ‘Not me’! But you are wrong. You don’t have to be an impoverished African driven to killing elephants for their tusks so that you can survive yourself. You don’t have to be a farmer who is destroying the soil with synthetic poisons. You don’t have to be a soldier who kills and destroys or a person who works for a corporation that, one way or another, forces peasants off their land.
You just have to be an ‘ordinary’ person who pays your military taxes and consumes more than your share of world resources while participating without challenge in the global system of violence and exploitation managed by the global elite.
‘Why is this?’ you might ask.
This is because the primary driver of the human-induced mass extinction is not such things as some people hunting a particular lifeform to extinction, horrendous though this is. In fact, just two things drive most species over the edge: our systematic destruction of land habitat – forests, grasslands, wetlands, peatlands, mangroves… – in our endless effort to capture more of the Earth’s wild places for human use (whether it be residential, commercial, mining, farming or military) and our destruction of waterways and the ocean habitat by dumping into them radioactive contaminants, carbon dioxide, a multitude of poisons and chemical pollutants, and even plastic.
And do you know what drives this destruction of land and water habitats? Your demand for consumer products, all of which are produced by using land and water habitats, and the resources derived from them, often far from where you live. The most basic products, such as food and clothing, are produced on agricultural land, sometimes created by destroying rainforests, or taken from the ocean (where overfishing has savagely depleted global fish stocks). But in using these resources, we have ignored the needs of the land, oceans and the waterways for adequate regenerative inputs and recovery time.
We also participate, almost invariably without question or challenge, in the inequitable distribution of resources that compels some impoverished people to take desperate measures to survive through such means as farming marginal land or killing endangered wildlife.
So don’t sit back waiting for some miracle by the United Nations, international agencies or governments to solve this problem. It cannot happen for the simple reason that these organizations are all taking action within the existing paradigm that prioritizes corporate profit and military violence over human equity and ecological sustainability.
Despite any rhetoric to the contrary, they are encouraging overconsumption by industrialized populations and facilitating the inequitable distribution of income and wealth precisely because this benefits those who control these organizations, agencies and governments: the insane corporate elites who are devoid of the capacity to see any value beyond the ‘bottom line’. See ‘The Global Elite is Insane‘.
If you want action on the greatest challenge human beings have ever faced – to avert our own extinction by learning to live in harmony with our biosphere and equity with our fellow humans – then I encourage you to take personal responsibility.
If you do, you need to act. At the simplest level, you can make some difficult but valuable personal choices. Like becoming a vegan or vegetarian, buying/growing organic/biodynamic food, and resolutely refusing to use any form of poison or to drive a car or take an airline flight.
But if you want to take an integrated approach, the most powerful way you can do this is to systematically reduce your own personal consumption while increasing your self-reliance. Anita McKone and I have mapped out a fifteen-year strategy for doing this in ‘The Flame Tree Project to Save Life on Earth‘. You might also consider signing the online pledge of ‘The People’s Charter to Create a Nonviolent World‘ which obviously includes nonviolence towards our fellow species.
Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?‘
One of the more subtle manifestations of the intimate link between (unconscious) human emotions and behaviour is illustrated by the simple concept of choice and how this is so often reduced to a dichotomy between two bad options. In such circumstances, most people choose whatever they consider to be ‘the lesser evil’.
But how often are there only two options, even if they appear ‘good’ and ‘bad’? Frankly, I cannot think of one circumstance in which my choices are limited to two, however good or bad they appear to be.
Why does this belief in just two options arise?
When we are born, our evolutionary inheritance includes a phenomenally powerful capacity to feel a complex range of emotions. However, because what sociologists refer to as ‘socialization’ (a process by which babies and children are supposedly taught the ways of their society) is actually a process of terrorizing babies and children into suppressing their awareness of these emotions so that they can be forced to conform to societal ‘norms’ (no matter how dysfunctional), the disastrous outcomes of ‘socialization’ are obscured. If you wish to read more about the terrorization of children, you can do so in ‘Why Violence?‘ and ‘Fearless Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice‘.
This terrorizing of babies and children takes many forms but one of the most common ways it occurs is through simply telling a child what they must do under threat of punishment for non-compliance which all parents, teachers, religious figures and other adults do routinely. This imperative to obey will always run counter to the child’s own Self-will. Why is this? Because every single human baby is genetically programmed to follow their own Self-will, not to obey the will of another.
This individual Self-will is generated by the integrated sense of how to behave in response to the mental and physical feedback – including feelings, thoughts, memory, conscience, sensory perception (sight, smell, sound, touch, taste), truth register, intuition… – which each person receives and which their mind processes and integrates to crystallise the precisely appropriate behaviour in any given circumstance.
But once a child is routinely terrorized into submitting to the will of another – no matter how benign either the person giving the instruction or the instruction itself – they lose trust and faith in their own capacity to decide on a course of action and undertake it powerfully. They are now adrift without clear internal guidance and, as they grow up, they are now readily vulnerable to the ‘persuasion’ of others whether it be the opinion of someone else, the advice of an ‘expert’ or the inanity of an advertisement for a commercial product.
Adrift from their own unique and powerful internal mental processor – with its emotional, intellectual, sensory, intuitive, memory, conscience and other components – they are the victim of their own fear of being disobedient, wrong, in the minority, isolated … if they follow their own Self-will.
Unconsciously, the child feels trapped. They are terrified to do what they want without permission (which is routinely denied) but unconsciously angry about this (because they have been scared out of being openly angry at their parents and teachers) which usually manifests as something powerless such as resentment.
What does the child do in this circumstance? Obey the parent/teacher or attempt to follow their own Self-will and risk (and probably receive) punishment for doing so? What is the ‘good’ option here? Or is the child faced with a choice between two evils and must try to choose the ‘lesser’ one? In the words of Anita McKone: ‘It feels like you must either put up with abuse or die.’
Routine abuse of the child in this manner by their parents, teachers and other adults throughout their early life leaves virtually all adults with an unconscious belief that life is a series of choices between ‘lesser evils’ with an occasional ‘good’ choice allowed in limited circumstances. We might choose our meal, the color and style of our clothing, what film to watch and other such trivia. But what of anything important? No way!
Most people end up believing that there are only ever two choices on anything that matters and neither is particularly desirable. Unconsciously, they feel trapped and it makes no sense when they are told that they have many options from which to choose. This is not their experience and it just feels untrue. They will endlessly choose the lesser evil of two bad options on virtually everything that matters in their life and accept the trinket ‘goods’ they are allowed to choose, such as the nature of their hairstyle.
Long before adulthood, the child accepts a lifepath of conformity to the most mundane human existence imaginable: school, work, the occasional holiday, illness and death. A life never lived.
In essence, the terrorized child, now an adult, never looks beyond the choices given, even when both are ‘bad’ or one is trivially ‘good’.
Most people have no sense of their own Self-will in the profound sense, no faith in where this Self-will might take them if followed and, if they could/can feel it, no courage to do what their Self-will tells them.
The tragedy of virtually every human life is that they never seek out what was taken from them as a child: the Self-will that would guide them unerringly to seek out and become everything they were born to be. They are so full of fear, self-hatred and powerlessness as a result of the violence they suffered as a child, that they endlessly settle for ‘the lesser evil’ on anything important and settle for trinkets in the form of ‘good’: the choice of ice-cream flavour, the color of their socks, the novel to read, the holiday destination.
Is there a way out? Yes, but it requires you to feel your fear, anger, sadness and other feelings at what has happened to you until you are powerful enough to reject both/all ‘bad’ options and to refuse the trinkets that parody ‘good’. And to ask ‘What do I want?’ It is only by consciously and deliberately rejecting all ‘lesser evil’ options that the magnificent array of incredible opportunities which you have never contemplated/discovered will open before you to choose as you wish.
And that is why it is so difficult. You must have the courage to cut off, without the option of turning back, all options that do not give you what you need. This is because what matters is not whether you get what you need in the short term, but whether you live your truth, no matter how difficult this might be in the immediate sense.
It is the fear of burning all bridges that holds us back because, as a child, we were too scared to walk out on those who told us, one way or another, that we had no choice but to suffer their abuse or die.
But the more bridges you burn, the more magnificent will be the vista of undreamt opportunities that will open before you. And you will wonder why you never considered/saw them before. Imagine if everyone had the courage to burn the bridges of fear and to set out on their own unique path.
And to experience the sheer joy of living powerfully in every moment of their life.
But our own personal effort does not need to exclude the possibility of making it easier for others in future too. So if you would like to participate in the ongoing effort to create a world in which living powerfully is more possible for each of us, you are welcome to consider signing the online pledge of ‘The People’s Charter to Create a Nonviolent World‘.
If people are not afraid of violence, they are genuinely free to seek their true path.
Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?‘
In early 2011, as the Arab Spring was moving across North Africa and the Middle East, small groups of nonviolent activists in Syria, which has been under martial law since 1963, started protesting against the brutal dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad and demanding democratic reforms, the release of political prisoners, an increase in freedoms, abolition of the emergency law and an end to corruption.
By mid-March these protests, particularly in cities such as Damascus, Aleppo and Daraa, had escalated and the ‘Day of Rage’ protest on 15 March 2011 is considered by many to mark the start of the nationwide uprising against the Assad dictatorship. The dictatorship’s reaction to the protests became violent on 16 March and on 18 March, after Friday prayers, activists gathered at the al-Omari Mosque in Daraa were attacked by security forces with water cannons and tear gas, followed by live fire; four nonviolent activists were killed.
In recent commentaries on the war in Syria, both long-time solidarity activist Terry Burke – see ‘U.S. Peace Activists Should Start Listening to Progressive Syrian Voices‘ – and long-term Middle East scholar Professor Stephen Zunes have encouraged the anti-war movement to listen to Syrian voices in framing their response, particularly given the tendency within some sections of it to support ‘the extraordinarily brutal Assad regime – a family dictatorship rooted in the anti-leftist military wing of the Baath Party’. See ‘Anti-war movement must listen to voices within Syria’s civil war‘.
‘The Syrian uprising sprang from the country’s grassroots, especially from youth in their teens, and adults in their twenties and thirties. They, not seasoned oppositionists, began the uprising, and are its core population. They share, rather than a particular ideology, a generational experience of disenfranchisement and brutalization by a corrupt, repressive, and massively armed ruling elite in Syria.
‘The uprising began nonviolently and the vast majority of its populace maintained nonviolence as its path to pursue regime change and a democratic Syria, until an armed flank emerged in August 2011.
‘The Syrian Revolution has morphed. From midsummer to autumn 2011, armed resistance developed, political bodies formed to represent the revolution outside Syria, and political Islamists of various sorts entered the uprising scene. Since then, armed resistance has overshadowed nonviolent resistance in Syria.
‘…political bodies and support groups for the revolution’s militarized wing, have become venues for internal power struggles among opposition factions and individuals, and entry-points for foreign powers attempting to push their own agendas into a revolution sprung from Syrian grievances, grown from the spilling of Syrian blood on Syrian soil.
‘Many in the global peace community can no longer discern the Syrian uprising’s grassroots population through the smoke of armed conflict and the troubling new actors on the scene. Further, some in the global left or anti-imperialist camp understand the Syrian revolution only through the endgame of geopolitics. In such a narrative, the uprising population is nothing but the proxy of U.S. imperialism.
‘Such critics may acknowledge that the Assad regime is brutal, but maintain from their armchairs that Syrians must bear this cost, because this regime has its finger in the dike of U.S. imperialism, Zionism, and Islamism. Or, perhaps they agree that a revolution against a brutal dictator is not a bad idea, but wish for a nicer revolution, with better players. Eyes riveted to their pencils and rulers and idées fixés, such critics abandon a grassroots population of disenfranchised human beings demanding basic human freedoms in Syria. This is a stunning and cruel failure of vision.
‘The voices of the original grassroots revolution of Syria are nonviolent, nonsectarian, noninterventionist, for the fall of the Assad regime, and for the rise of a democratic, human rights upholding Syria that is bound by the rule of law. They are still present in this revolution. Who will hear them now, after so much dear blood has been spilled, so much tender flesh crushed under blasted blocks of cement, so much rightful anger unleashed?’
If Syrians and their solidarity allies are to develop and implement a successful nonviolent grassroots strategy to end the war in/on Syria and remove the Assad dictatorship, then we need a sound strategic framework that guides the comprehensive planning of our strategy. Obviously, there is no point designing a strategy that is incomplete or cannot be successful.
A sound strategic framework simply enables us to think and plan strategically so that once our strategy has been elaborated, it can be widely shared and clearly understood by everyone involved. It also means that nonviolent actions can then be implemented because they are known to have strategic utility and that precise utility is understood in advance. There is little point taking action at random, especially if our opponent is powerful and committed (even if that ‘commitment’ is insane, which is frequently the case).
There is a simple diagram presenting a 12-point strategic framework illustrated here in the form of the ‘Nonviolent Strategy Wheel‘.
In order to think strategically about nonviolently resolving a violent conflict, a clearly defined political purpose is needed; that is, a simple summary statement of ‘what you want’. However, given the complexity of the multifaceted conflict in the case of Syria, it is strategically simpler to identify two political purposes. These might be stated thus: 1. To end the war in/on Syria, and 2. To establish a democratic form of government in Syria (which, obviously, requires removal of the dictatorship).
Once the political purpose has been defined, the two strategic aims (‘how you get what you want’) of the strategy acquire their meaning. These two strategic aims (which are always the same whatever the political purpose) are as follows: 1. To increase support for your campaign by developing a network of groups who can assist you. 2. To alter the will and undermine the power of those groups who support the war/dictatorship.
While the two strategic aims are always the same, they are achieved via a series of intermediate strategic goals which are always specific to each struggle. To keep this article reasonably straightforward, I have only identified a set of strategic goals that would be appropriate in the context of ending the war in/on Syria below. For a basic set of strategic goals appropriate for ending the dictatorship, see ‘Strategic Aims‘.
Before listing the strategic goals for ending the war, I wish to emphasise that I have only briefly discussed two aspects of a comprehensive strategy to end the war in/on Syria: its political purpose and its two strategic aims (with its many subsidiary strategic goals). For the strategy to be effective, all twelve components of the strategic framework should be planned (and then implemented). See Nonviolent Defense/Liberation Strategy.
This will require, for example, that tactics that will achieve the strategic goals must be carefully chosen and implemented bearing in mind the vital distinction between the political objective and strategic goal of any such tactic. See ‘The Political Objective and Strategic Goal of Nonviolent Actions‘.
Strategic goals to end the war in/on Syria
I have outlined a basic list of strategic goals below although, it should be noted, the list would be considerably longer as individual organizations should be specified separately.
Many of these strategic goals would usually be tackled by action groups working in solidarity with Syria campaigning within their own country. Ideally they would be undertaken by activist groups with existing expertise in the relevant area (for example, experience in campaigning against a weapons corporation) but this is not essential.
Of course, individual activist groups would usually accept responsibility for focusing their work on achieving just one or a few of the strategic goals (which is why any single campaign within the overall strategy is readily manageable).
It is the responsibility of the struggle’s strategic leadership to ensure that each of the strategic goals, which should be identified and prioritized according to their precise understanding of the circumstances in Syria, (so, not necessarily precisely as identified below) is being addressed (or to prioritize if resource limitations require this).
So here is a set of strategic goals to end the war in/on Syria:
To cause the women in [women’s organizations WO1, WO2, WO…] in Syria to join the liberation strategy by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities]. For example, simple nonviolent actions would be to wear a national symbol (such as a badge of the national flag and/or ribbons in the national colors) and/or to boycott all media outlets supporting the war. For this item and many items hereafter, see the list of possible actions that can be taken here: ‘198 Tactics of Nonviolent Action‘.
To cause the workers in [trade unions T1, T2, T…] in Syria to join the liberation strategy by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities]. For example, this might include withdrawing their labor from occupations that support the Syrian military forces.
To cause young people in Syria to resist conscription into the Syrian military forces.
To cause young people in Syria to refuse recruitment into the Free Syrian Army, al-Qaeda and its affiliates/allies, the Islamic State (Daesh) and its allies.
To cause the members of [religious denominations R1, R2, R…] in Syria to join the liberation strategy by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the members of [ethnic communities EC1, EC2, EC…] in Syria to join the liberation strategy by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the activists, artists, musicians, intellectuals and other key social groups in [organizations O1, O2, O…] in Syria to join the liberation strategy by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the students in [student organizations S1, S2, S…] in Syria to join the liberation strategy by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the soldiers in [military units M1, M2, M…] to refuse to obey orders from the dictatorship to arrest, assault, torture and shoot nonviolent activists and the other citizens of Syria.
To cause the police in [police units P1, P2, P…] to refuse to obey orders from the dictatorship to arrest, assault, torture and shoot nonviolent activists and the other citizens of Syria.
To cause young people in [the US, NATO countries, Russia and other countries fighting in Syria] to refuse recruitment into their respective military forces.
To cause conscripts into the military forces of [NATO countries, Russia and other countries fighting in Syria] that still use conscription to conscientiously refuse to perform military duties.
To cause military personnel in the military forces of [the US, NATO countries, Russia and other countries fighting in Syria] to refuse deployment to the war in/on Syria.
To cause young people in [your country] to refuse recruitment into the Free Syrian Army, al-Qaeda and its affiliates/allies, the Islamic State (Daesh) and its allies.
To cause former soldiers in [your country] to refuse recruitment as mercenaries by corporations that supply ‘military contractors’ to fight in Syria.
To cause the activists in [peace groups P1, P2, P…] in [your town/city/country] to resist the war on Syria by encouraging their members to boycott [all/specified nonmilitary products] of [weapons corporations W1, W2, W…]. For example, this might include boycotting all commercial flights that use Boeing and Airbus passenger aircraft given the heavy involvement of these corporations in the production of military aircraft.
To cause the activists in [environment groups E1, E2, E…] in [your town/city/country] to resist the war on Syria by encouraging their members to boycott [all/specified nonmilitary products] of [weapons corporations W1, W2, W…]. For example, this might including boycotting all commercial products of General Electric given the heavy involvement of this corporation in the production of military engines, systems and services.
To cause the workers in [trade unions or labor organizations T1, T2, T….] in [your town/city/country] to resist the war on Syria by encouraging their members to boycott [all/specified nonmilitary products] of [weapons corporations W1, W2, W…].
To cause the women in [women’s organizations WO1, WO2, WO…] in [your town/city/country] to resist the war on Syria by encouraging their members to boycott [all/specified nonmilitary products] of [weapons corporations W1, W2, W…].
To cause the members of [religious denominations R1, R2, R…] in [your town/city/country] to resist the war on Syria by encouraging their members to boycott [all/specified nonmilitary products] of [weapons corporations W1, W2, W…].
To cause the members of [ethnic communities EC4, EC5, EC…] in [your town/city/country] to resist the war on Syria by encouraging their members to boycott [all/specified nonmilitary products] of [weapons corporations W1, W2, W…].
To cause the artists, musicians, intellectuals and other key social groups in [organizations O4, O5, O…] in [your town/city/country] to resist the war on Syria by encouraging their members to boycott [all/specified nonmilitary products] of [weapons corporations W1, W2, W…].
To cause the students in [student organizations S1, S2, S…] in [your town/city/country] to resist the war on Syria by encouraging their members to boycott [all/specified nonmilitary products] of [weapons corporations W1, W2, W…].
To cause the consumers in [your town/city/country] to resist the war on Syria by boycotting [all/specified nonmilitary products] of [weapons corporations W1, W2, W…].
To cause more individuals in [your town/city/country] to resist the war on Syria by conscientiously resisting paying [part/all] of their taxes for war.
To cause more organizations in [your town/city/country] to resist the war on Syria by conscientiously resisting paying [part/all] of their taxes for war.
To cause [weapons corporations W4, W5, W…] to convert from the manufacture of military weapons to [the specified/negotiated socially/environmentally beneficial products].
To cause [banks B1, B2, B…] to cease financing the weapons industry.
To cause bank customers to shift their deposits to ethical banks and credit unions that do not finance (or are otherwise involved in) the weapons industry.
To cause [religious organizations R4, R5, R…] to divest from the weapons industry.
To cause [superannuation funds S1, S2, S…] to divest from the weapons industry.
To cause superannuation fund customers to shift their money to ethical funds that do not finance (or are otherwise involved in) the weapons industry.
To cause [insurance companies I1, I2, I…] to divest from the weapons industry.
To cause insurance customers to shift their policies to ethical insurance companies that do not finance (or are otherwise involved in) the weapons industry.
To cause [corporations C1, C2, C…] that provide [services/components] for [weapons corporations W1, W2, W…] to cease doing so.
To cause the workers in [trade unions or labor organizations T4, T5, T…] to withdraw their labor from [weapons corporations W1, W2, W…] [partially/wholly], [temporarily/permanently].
To cause the workers in [trade unions or labor organizations T7, T8, T…] to withdraw their labor from [corporations C1, C2, C…] [partially/wholly], [temporarily/permanently].
To cause [corporations C4, C5, C…] that provides [services/supplies] to [military bases MB1, MB2, MB…] to cease doing so.
To cause the workers in [trade unions or labor organizations T10, T11, T…] who work in/supply [military bases MB1, MB2, MB…] to withdraw their labor [partially/wholly], [temporarily/permanently].
To cause the workers in [trade unions or labor organizations T13, T14, T…] to withdraw their labor from [corporations C4, C5, C…] [partially/wholly], [temporarily/permanently].
To cause [corporations C7, C8, C…] that manufacture and supply spy satellites for military purposes to cease doing so.
To cause the workers in [trade unions or labor organizations T16, T17, T…] to withdraw their labor from [corporations C7, C8, C…] [partially/wholly], [temporarily/permanently].
To cause [corporations C10, C11, C…] that provide [services/components] for the militarization of space to cease doing so.
To cause the workers in [trade unions or labor organizations T19, T20, T…] to withdraw their labor from [corporations C10, C11, C…] [partially/wholly], [temporarily/permanently].
To cause [corporations C13, C14, C…] that provide private military contractors (mercenaries) to fight in wars to cease doing so.
To cause the private military contractors (mercenaries) who fight in wars to withdraw their labor from [corporations C13, C14, C…].
To cause the soldiers in [military units M1, M2, M…] in [your town/city/country] to refuse to obey orders to [arrest, assault, torture and shoot, depending on your local circumstances] nonviolent activists campaigning against the war.
To cause the police in [police units P1, P2, P…] in [your town/city/country] to refuse to obey orders to [arrest, assault, torture and shoot, depending on your local circumstances] nonviolent activists campaigning against the war.
To cause individual members of the military forces at [Military Base MB1/Drone Base DB1/Navy Ship NS1/Air Force Base AFB1/Army unit AU1/Marines unit MU1] in [your town/city/country] to resign.
To cause individual members of those corporations that employ/supply private military contractors (mercenaries) to resign.
As you can see, the two strategic aims are achieved via a series of intermediate strategic goals.
Not all of the strategic goals will need to be achieved for the strategy to be successful but each goal is focused in such a way that its achievement functionally undermines the power of those conducting the war.
The difference between success and failure in any struggle is the soundness of the strategy.
Robert J. Burrowes PhD Honorary Editor, Ground Report India
Punishment is a popular pastime for humans. Parents punish children. Teachers punish students. Employers punish workers. Courts punish lawbreakers. People punish each other. Governments punish 'enemies'. And, according to some, God punishes evildoers.
What is 'punishment'? Punishment is the infliction of violence as revenge on a person who is judged to have behaved inappropriately. It is a keyword we use when we want to obscure from ourselves that we are being violent.
The violence inflicted as punishment can take many forms, depending on the context. It might involve inflicting physical injury and/or pain, withdrawal of approval or love, confinement/imprisonment, a financial penalty, dismissal, withdrawal of rights/privileges, denial of promised rewards, an order to perform a service, banishment, torture or death, among others.
Given the human preoccupation with punishment, it is perhaps surprising that this behaviour is not subjected to more widespread scrutiny. Mind you, I can think of many human behaviours that get less scrutiny than would be useful.
Anyway, because I am committed to facilitating functional human behaviour, I want to explain why using violence to 'punish' people is highly dysfunctional and virtually guarantees an outcome opposite to that intended.
Punishment is usually inflicted by someone who makes a judgment that another person has behaved 'badly' or 'wrongly'. At its most basic, disobedience (that is, failure to comply with elite imposed norms) is often judged in this way, whether by parents, teachers, religious figures, lawmakers or national governments.
But is obedience functional or even appropriate?
Consider this. In order to behave optimally, the human organism requires that all mental functions – feelings, thoughts, memory, conscience, sensory perception (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste), truth register, intuition… – must be developed and readily involved, without interference, in our life. If this happens, then all of these individual functions will play an integrated role in determining our behaviour in any given circumstance. This is a very sophisticated mental apparatus that has evolved over billions of years and if it was allowed to function without interference in each individual, human beings would indeed be highly functional.
So where does obedience fit into all of this? It doesn't. A child is genetically programmed to seek to meet their own needs, not obey the will of another. And they will behave functionally in endeavouring to meet these needs unless terrorized out of doing so. Moreover, they will learn to meet their own needs, by acting individually in some circumstances and by cooperating with others when appropriate, if their social environment models this.
However, if a child is terrorized into being obedient – including by being punished when they are not – then the child will have no choice but to suppress their awareness of the innate mental capacities that evolved over billions of years to guide their behaviour until they have 'learned' what they must do to avoid being punished. For a fuller explanation of this, see 'Why Violence?' and 'Fearless Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice'.
Unfortunately, as you can probably readily perceive, this process of terrorizing a child into suppressing their awareness of what they want to do so that they do what someone else directs is highly problematical. And it leads to a virtually infinite variety of dysfunctional behaviours, even for those who appear to have been successfully 'socialized' into performing effectively in their society. This is readily illustrated.
Perhaps the central problem of terrorizing individuals into obedience of conventions, commands, rules and the law is that once the individual has been so terrorized, it is virtually impossible for them to change their behaviour because they are now terrified of doing so. If the obedient behaviours were functional in the circumstances then, apart from the obviously enormous damage suffered by the individual, there would be no other adverse social or environmental consequences.
Unfortunately, when all humans have been terrorized into behaving dysfunctionally on a routine basis (in the Western context, for example, by engaging in over-consumption) then changing their behaviour, even in the direction of functionality, is now unconsciously associated with the fear of violence (in the form of punishment) and so desirable behavioural change (in the direction of reduced consumption, for example) is much more difficult. It is not just that many Western humans are reluctant to reduce their consumption in line with environmental (including climatic) imperatives, they are unconsciously terrified of doing so.
By now you might be able to see the wider ramifications of using violence and threats of violence to force children into being obedient. Apart from terrorizing each child into suppressing their awareness of their innate mental capacities, we create individuals whose entire (unconscious) 'understanding' of human existence is limited to the notion that violence, mislabeled 'punishment', drives socialization and society.
As just one result, for example, most people consider punishment to be appropriate in the context of the legal system: they expect courts to inflict legally-sanctioned violence on those 'guilty' of disobeying the law. As in the case of the punishment of children, how many people ask 'Does violence restore functional behaviour? Or does it simply inflict violence as revenge? What do we really want to achieve? And how will we achieve that?'
Fundamentally, the flaw with violence as punishment is that violence terrifies people. And you cannot terrorize someone into behaving functionally. At very best, you can terrorize someone into changing their behaviour in an extremely limited context and/or for an extremely limited period of time. But if you want functional and lasting change in an individual's behaviour, then considerable emotional healing will be necessary. This will allow the suppressed fear, anger, sadness and other feelings resulting from childhood terrorization to safely resurface and be expressed so that the individual can perceive their own needs and identify ways of fulfilling them (which does not mean that they will be obedient). For an explanation of what is required, see 'Nisteling: The Art of Deep Listening' which is referenced in 'My Promise to Children'.
So next time you hear a political leader or corporate executive advocating or using violence (such as war, the curtailment of civil liberties, an economically exploitative and/or ecologically destructive initiative), remember that you are observing a highly dysfunctionalized individual. Moreover, this dysfunctional individual is a logical product of our society's unrelenting use of violence, much of it in the form of what is euphemistically called 'punishment', against our children in the delusional belief that it will give us obedience and hence social control.
Or next time you hear a public official, judge, terrorist or police officer promising 'justice' (that is, retribution), remember that you are listening to an emotionally damaged individual who suffered enormous violence as a child and internalized the delusional message that 'punishment works'.
You might also ponder how bad it could be if we didn't require obedience and use punishment to get it, but loved and nurtured children, by listening to them deeply, to become the unique, enormously loving and powerful individuals for which evolution genetically programmed them.
I am well aware that what I am suggesting will take an enormous amount of societal rethinking and a profound reallocation of resources away from violent and highly profitable police, legal, prison and military systems. But, as I wrote above, I am committed to facilitating functional human behaviour. I can also think of some useful ways that we could allocate the resources if we didn't waste them on violence.
Punishment can sometimes appear to get you the outcome you want in the short term. The cost is that it always moves you further away from any desirable outcome in the long run.
Dr Robert J Burrowes PhD, Australia
Dr Robert has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?‘ and many other documents.
Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?‘
Moreover, given the myriad indications of progressive environmental breakdown in domains unrelated to the climate catastrophe, one must be terrified and delusional to suggest or even believe that anything less than a comprehensive strategy, which goes well beyond anything governments and corporations will ever endorse, gives us any chance of averting the sixth mass extinction event in planetary history. A mass extinction that will include us.
As an aside, if you believe the ‘end of century’ scenario (for human extinction) being driven by the same corporate interests that drove climate denial for so long, then you are simply a victim of their latest attempt to drive ‘business as usual’ while delaying action for as long as possible at any cost.
Another problem, if you understand anything about human psychology and political organization, is that mobilizing people in large numbers to act strategically and powerfully is not easy. Of course, if it wasn’t so difficult, this crisis would not have arisen in the first place. We would have responded intelligently and strategically decades ago as some aware individuals, starting with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 100 years ago, suggested.
To briefly recap the wider nature of the crisis we face: Consider our synergistic and devastating assaults on the environment through military violence (often leaving vast areas uninhabitable), rainforest destruction, industrial farming, mining, commercial fishing and the spreading radioactive contamination from Fukushima. We are also systematically destroying the limited supply of fresh water on the planet which means that water scarcity is becoming a frequent reality for many people and the collapse of hydrological systems is now likely by 2020. Human activity drives 200 species of life (plants, birds, animals, fish, amphibians, insects, reptiles) to extinction each day and 80% of the world’s forests and over 90% of the large fish in the ocean are already gone. Despite this readily available information, governments continue to prioritize spending $US2,000,000,000 each day on military violence, the sole purpose of which is to terrorize and kill fellow human beings.
So what are we to do?
Well, if you are inclined to assess the evidence and to design a response strategy that has the possibility of success built into it, then I invite you to consider the strategy outlined on the Nonviolent Campaign Strategy. This strategy identifies all twelve components of a nonviolent strategy to end the climate catastrophe, including the myriad of strategic goals necessary for such a strategy to be comprehensive and effective. You are very welcome to suggest improvements in this strategy and to invite other individuals and groups to participate in helping to implement it.
One final point: a tragic outcome of modern humans terrorizing their children into obedience (to maintain social control) is that most of the human population is (unconsciously) terrified, self-hating and powerless. For a full explanation of this, see ‘Why Violence?‘ and ‘Fearless Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice‘.
So don’t wait around waiting for others to act first. It is your leadership that is required in this circumstance. And it is your leadership that might ultimately make the difference.
Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?’
As most of the world ignores or hypocritically celebrates the 147th birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on the International Day of Nonviolence on 2 October, some of us will quietly acknowledge his life by continuing to build the world that he envisioned. When asked for his message for the world, Gandhi responded with the now famous line ‘My life is my message’ reflecting his lifelong struggle against violence.
Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi’s life was dotted with many memorable quotes but one that is less well known is this: ‘You may never know what results come of your actions but if you do nothing there will be no results’.
Fortunately, there are many committed people who have identified the importance of taking action to end the violence in our world – whether it occurs in the home or on the street, in wars, as a result of economic exploitation or ecological destruction – and this includes the courageous people below. These people have identified themselves as part of the worldwide network, now with participants in 96 countries, committed to ending violence in all of its forms. I would like to share their inspirational stories and invite you to join them.
Christophe Nyambatsi Mutaka is the key figure at the Groupe Martin Luther King which promotes active nonviolence, human rights and peace. The group is based in Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in central Africa. They particularly work on reducing sexual and other violence against women.
Also based in Goma, the Association de Jeunes Visionnaires pour le Développement du Congo headed by Leon Simweragi is a youth peace group that works to rehabilitate child soldiers as well as offer meaningful opportunities for the sustainable involvement of young people in matters that affect their lives and those of their community.
Given the phenomenal suffering in the DRC, which has experienced the loss of six million lives and the displacement of eight million people due to the long war driven by Western corporations keen to exploit the country’s mineral wealth, Christophe, Leon and their colleagues are testimony to the fact that committed people strive in the most adverse of circumstances.
Tess Burrows in the UK is an adventurer (including parachutist, mountaineer, cyclist and marathon runner), peace activist, author, speaker, healer, and ‘most importantly a mother and grandmother’. In her words: ‘I am dedicated to the pursuit of World Peace and the healing of the Earth.’ Tess has written several books and, if you are looking for inspiration, I suggest you try these: ‘Cry from the Highest Mountain’ (describing a climb to the point furthest from the centre of the Earth), ‘Cold Hands, Warm Heart’ (describing a trek across the coldest, driest, windiest place on Earth: the Geographic South Pole), ‘Touch the Sky’ (describing her climb of Mt Kilimanjaro, in Africa’s heartland, pulling a car tyre which included peace messages from every nation on Earth and embodying their desire for everyone to pull together to promote peace) and her latest book ‘Soft Courage’. Her video ‘Climb For Tibet’ won’t bore you either! among other things, built six schools in Tibet and supported a Maasai community tree-planting project in Africa. Tess collects messages of peace from individuals and speaks them out from ‘far high places’. So far, this has included the North and South Poles, the Himalayas, Andes, Pacific and Africa. You can be part of her next Peace Climb in Australasia by writing your personal message on her website where you can also check out her books. Be warned however, this website will exhaust you!
Recently, on the International Day of Peace, the Afghan Peace Volunteers and Borderfree Street Kids in Kabul, mentored by Dr Teck Young Wee (Hakim), reached out to the visually impaired and blind students at Rayaab (Rehabilitation Services for the Blind Afghanistan). They brought MP3 players as gifts to 50 visually impaired students. The students will use the MP3 players to listen to recorded school lessons and educational programs. Rayaab is an Afghan non-governmental organization run by Mahdi Salami and his wife Banafsha, who are themselves visually impaired. If you want to see photos from this day, and to watch an extraordinary three minute video, you can do so at ‘To Touch a Colourful Afghanistan’.
Ghanaian Gifty A. Korankye has just developed a new website titled ‘Daughters of Africa’. Explaining why, she writes: ‘Over the years I watched women go through unbearable pain …. Our daughters go through FGM in their puberty…. The humiliation we face when we lose our spouse, all in the name of customs and tradition.’ Determined to help address the issues that plague many African women she wants to give them the chance to be ‘a useful voice to our communities’, to share the success stories of African women and African-American women in business administration, the entertainment industry and elsewhere in order to share learning from their journeys and to ‘help mentor our young generation’. She invites African women to write to share their stories and work together to find solutions. ‘We can do it because we are daughters of Africa.’
So what about you? Do you believe that ending human violence is possible? Even if you believe that it is not, do you believe that it is worth trying? As Gandhi noted: ‘The future depends on what we do in the present.’ What will you do?
In essence, working to end human violence and to create a world of peace, justice and ecological sustainability for all life on Earth might not be what gets you out of bed in the morning. But if it is or you would like it to be, you are welcome to join those of us who are committed to striving for this outcome by signing the online pledge of ‘The People’s Charter to Create a Nonviolent World’.
And if you subscribe to Gandhi’s belief that ‘Earth provides enough to satisfy every [person’s] needs, but not every [person’s] greed’, then you might consider participating in ‘The Flame Tree Project to Save Life on Earth’ which he inspired as well.
Each of us has a choice. We can stand aside in the great fight for survival in which humanity is now engaged. Or we can be involved. What is your choice?
The bottom line is this: What will be the message of your life?
Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?‘
As citizens of the USA with a presidential election approaching you have a wonderful opportunity to ponder whether to participate in this election or to participate in the ongoing American Revolution.
Your first revolution might have overthrown the authority of the British monarchy and aristocracy but the one in progress must remove the US elite which has executed a political coup against your government. And you cannot remove elite coupmakers in a fraudulently conducted election in which the ‘choice’ is essentially between two violently insane individuals, each of whom represents the violently insane US elite. See ‘The Global Elite is Insane’https://www.transcend.org/tms/2014/02/the-global-elite-is-insane/ and ‘Why Violence?’ http://tinyurl.com/whyviolence
The real value of this second revolution, which moves along steadily with routine outbreaks over a multitude of peace, environmental and social justice issues and occasional ‘uprisings’, such as the Occupy Movement in 2011 which spawned a range of new and visionary initiatives, is that it could give citizens of your country the chance to finally reclaim the Republic for those people who genuinely care about ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’. And, just as importantly, have sufficient vision to regard these aspirations as something to be shared with the entire US population, starting with Native Americans, and even those of us in the rest of the world including those countries that are currently victims of US elite violence, whether it be wars, drone strikes, coups, economic exploitation or ecological destruction.
Such a revolution might rewrite your constitution and replace the second amendment ‘right of the people to keep and bear arms’ with the right to live free of the fear of gun violence. It might result in a form of social organization that distributes wealth equitably (perhaps by actually taxing the wealthy and outlawing the use of offshore tax havens) while reallocating the annual military (killing) budget to life-enhancing projects such as poverty alleviation, affordable housing, free education, free healthcare, clean water, renewable energy technologies, and a substantial budget for compensation to those countries that the US elite has systematically exploited or simply destroyed during the past 200 years. This would allow the 50 million US citizens who live in poverty, and another billion people around the world who also live in poverty, the chance to live a decent life.
Now, you might ask, ‘How are we, the ordinary citizens of the United States, even with our handguns, rifles and assault weapons, going to take on the US military and police to remove elite control of our government?’ Well, the answer is that you do not need even one weapon for this ongoing revolution and, in fact, you are vastly better off without them. Weapons have only one use – to kill people – and any revolution worth the name has a more profoundly ambitious aim than this.
What you need is intelligence, commitment, courage and a sound nonviolent strategy. The US elite controls your government and has crippled your republic because, over successive generations, you have let them. Every time you cooperate with the elite, because you are scared, by paying your taxes (more than 50% of which finances US wars and other military violence), putting your money into their corporate banks, shopping at their corporate shopping malls, buying and consuming the ‘news’ presented by their corporate media, rationalizing their policies as reasonable, participating in their unjust and violent legal system, fighting (as an enlisted person or as a mercenary) in their military forces, working in their prison system, accepting exploited employment of any kind, eating their poisoned and genetically mutilated foods (GMOs), going along with their endless attempts to divide you along racial, class, religious and other lines, you simply consent to their control. Why?
You have a simple alternative. Consciously and systematically participate in the ongoing nonviolent revolution that is already taking place and give it added life by your presence. Remake the US republic as you want it by withdrawing your cooperation with elite structures and processes while creating alternatives that meet your needs and the needs of those around you.
Join those US visionaries who are creating cooperatives where people are both managers and valued workers, take your money out of elite banks and put it into financial organizations that exist or which you create to serve the interests of their members (or, if you prefer, use LETSystems), refuse to participate in or pay for (with your taxes) US imperialism (and win friends all over the world), grow or buy healthy locally-grown organic/biodynamic (and, if you are concerned about the climate catastrophe as well, vegetarian) food, read progressive news outlets so that you know what is really going on in the USA and the world, read literature that deepens your understanding and concern for humanity and doesn’t just offer you a distraction from the horror in which you live, and support or even become one of those many fine nonviolent activists in your country who take personal risks in the struggle to create a better world.
If you want more of what you have, then you should vote and/or buy a gun. They have an equivalent outcome: they both legitimize elite violence and exploitation directed at you and those you love.
If you want to participate in this second and ongoing American revolution, then spend your time participating in the wholesome activities that many grassroots organizations already offer and in creating its next manifestations in your own neighborhood. It is the powerful conscience-based choices that you make as an individual that define your Self. And it is these choices that will have most impact on your family, neighborhood, community organization, trade union, religious organization and elsewhere and that will help decide the future of the USA and its role in the world.
Now you might say, I do some or even all of the sorts of things you mentioned above, so why not vote too? My answer is simply this: Voting is an act of disempowerment. It’s essential message is ‘I appoint you to govern for me’. I prefer to govern myself (both meanings intended). And you?
So what of those who present the ‘lesser evil’ argument: one candidate is so bad that it is better to have the other. This ‘argument’ is not worthy of scrutiny. If you are deceived by this argument, you will vote forever in the delusional hope that you will one day get a choice to vote for someone genuinely decent. In 2008, Barack Obama was supposed to be the candidate of hope and change. Did you get that hope and change? Are you going to get it with Clinton or Trump? Of course not. Elites simply ensure that change via the electoral system cannot happen; its function is to absorb and dissipate our dissent.
If you vote you are saying that you endorse this system of electoral exploitation. The tragedy is that even third-party candidates, who may be people of genuine principle, have no chance. Even worse, they add a veneer of legitimacy to your corrupt electoral system.
In essence, if you vote for the ‘lesser evil’ you are still voting for an ‘evil’ and, more importantly, you have participated in and endorsed an ‘evil’ system: one which denies you a genuine ‘free and fair’ choice to vote for a candidate who actually represents your interests and views and has a reasonable chance of winning. And, having won, is then able to actually implement their policies (rather than be stymied by a power structure that has no intention of letting this happen). Given your circumstances, ‘the only winning move is not to play’ their corrupt game and to put your energy into a genuinely winning move: working for the regeneration of American society.
Look at it this way. If there are two rotten eggs, would you choose the one that is less rotten and eat it? Presumably you would seek another option and only after you have identified and fixed what is causing the problem in the first place. The point is this: Unless you spend your time deeply contemplating the nature of the society in which you want to live and then devoting your time and energy into creating that society, you will never have it. And you have betrayed yourself.
The reality is that either Clinton or Trump is going to be president of the USA for the next four years and a lot of people (both in the US but particularly in foreign countries) are going to die because of it (through US military violence and corporate exploitation). What we can do is to invest our political energy into creating a United States in which, at some point in the future, the likes of Clinton and Trump, and those they represent, no longer drive outcomes in our world.
To reiterate: I am not saying ‘Don’t vote and do nothing’ (as so many people do already). I am suggesting that you ponder the dysfunctionality of your society, do some research into the secretive ‘deep state’ (or military-industrial complex or power elite or the 1% or however you wish to describe it) that controls your ‘republic’ with its electoral system designed to delude you into believing that you have a say in governing your nation, and then consider how you want to engage politically and act in accord with your conscience in doing so. It is only by doing this that we will have any chance of getting the society and the world that we want, even if it is beyond our lifetimes (and assuming we can avert extinction at our own hand in the meantime).
In summary, profound change only occurs from the ‘bottom up’ when enough ordinary people take the initiative to remake their own society. And if you are really interested in doing this, one important place to start is by reviewing the way in which you nurture children. See ‘My Promise to Children’. https://nonviolentstrategy.wordpress.com/strategywheel/constructive-program/my-promise-to-children/
Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?‘
As I read of the latest coup in Brazil, once again removing a democratically elected leader from power, my anger surged. Not again! However, as I see and read about the ongoing massive protests, as well as calls by prominent community leaders to mobilize in defense of your country’s democracy, I feel great hope for Brazil. Having been a nonviolent activist for many years, I would like to support Brazilian activists to develop a nonviolent strategy that will increase your chances of success.
Behind the scenes, of course, the United States elite was heavily involved. With vast quantities of highly profitable fossil fuels, mineral and forest resources, as well as fresh water at stake, the US elite (and its allied elites) is not going to stand aside while Brazil and BRICS endeavour to create a more just world for at least some of its human inhabitants. See ‘Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff: Brazil’s Parliamentary Coup and the “Progressive Media”‘http://www.globalresearch.ca/brazils-parliamentary-coup-and-the-progressive-media/5543597
Despite what has happened and as your ongoing street protests demonstrate, you know that you do not have to accept this outcome. You also know that you do not have to wait until the 2018 election to register your disapproval of this coup.
Given my own support for your right to elect any president of your choice (and to remove them if necessary at a subsequent election), I invite you to consider planning and implementing a nonviolent strategy to remove the coupmakers in your country and restore the president that you elected.
Vitally, the strategic goals need to include mobilizing people in strategically focused ways and causing the police and military to withdraw their support for the coupmakers. It will usefully include causing key local and foreign corporations to withdraw their support too. This would usually include corporations involved in the weapons industry, the mainstream media, banks and the resource extraction of fossil fuels, strategic minerals, forest products and fresh water. To make it clear, I have listed a provisional set of strategic goals that you might consider modifying as appropriate below.
Of course, as suggested above, you will need a comprehensive strategy and it might take some time to plan and then fully implement.
However, if you do plan and implement a comprehensive strategy, you have every chance of reversing this coup with minimal loss of life. For example, the article ‘Nonviolent Action: Minimizing the Risk of Violent Repression’https://nonviolentliberationstrategy.wordpress.com/articles/minimizing-risk-violent-repression/ identifies 20 things that you can do to minimize the risk that your mobilizations will be violently repressed. This article was written after a careful study, throughout history, of nonviolent mobilizations that were met with extreme violence.
Suggested Strategic Goals in a Nonviolent Strategy to Liberate Brazil
Strategic goals that would usually be appropriate for resisting a political or military coup include those listed below although, it should be noted, the list would be considerably longer as individual organizations should be specified separately.
Of course, individual groups resisting the coup would usually accept responsibility for focusing their work on achieving just one or two of the strategic goals. It is the responsibility of the struggle’s strategic leadership to ensure that each of the strategic goals, which should be identified and prioritized according to your precise understanding of the circumstances in Brazil, is being addressed.
To cause the women in [women’s organizations WO1, WO2, WO…] in Brazil to join the liberation strategy by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities]. For example, simple nonviolent actions would be to wear a national symbol (such as a badge of your national flag or ribbons in the national colors), to boycott all corporate media outlets supporting the coup and/or to withdraw all funds from banks supporting the coup. For this item and many items hereafter, see the list of possible actions you can take here: ‘198 Tactics of Nonviolent Action’. https://nonviolentliberationstrategy.wordpress.com/strategywheel/tactics-and-peacekeeping/198-tactics-of-nonviolent-action/
To cause the workers in [trade unions or labor organizations T1, T2, T…] in Brazil to join the liberation strategy by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities]. For example, this might include withdrawing their labor from an elite-controlled or foreign-owned bank/corporation operating in Brazil.
To cause the small farmers and farmworkers in [organizations F1, F2, F…] in Brazil to join the liberation strategy by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the members of [religious denominations R1, R2, R…] in Brazil to join the liberation strategy by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the members of [ethnic communities EC1, EC2, EC…] in Brazil to join the liberation strategy by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the activists, artists, musicians, intellectuals and other key social groups in [organizations O1, O2, O…] in Brazil to join the liberation strategy by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the students in [student organizations S1, S2, S…] in Brazil to join the liberation strategy by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the soldiers in [military units M1, M2, M…] to refuse to obey orders from the coupmakers to arrest, assault, torture and shoot nonviolent activists and the other citizens of Brazil.
To cause the police in [police units P1, P2, P…] to refuse to obey orders from the coupmakers to arrest, assault, torture and shoot nonviolent activists and the other citizens of Brazil.
To cause businesspeople who conduct small businesses in [organizations SB1, SB2, SB…] in Brazil to refuse to cooperate with the coupmakers by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause businesspeople who operate multinational franchises in [organizations MF1, MF2, MF…] in Brazil to refuse to cooperate with the coupmakers by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause businesspeople who manage local branches of large multinational corporations in [organizations MNC1, MNC2, MNC…] in Brazil to refuse to cooperate with the coupmakers by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause large farmers and ranchers in [organizations FO1, FO2, FO…] in Brazil to refuse to cooperate with the coupmakers by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the foreign managers and technical workers [working for resource extraction corporations X1, X2, X…] who are from [the United States and other relevant countries where the elite supports the coupmakers in Brazil] to withdraw from Brazil.
To cause the workers [in trade union or labor organizations T4, T5, T…] in [the United States and other relevant countries where the elite supports the coupmakers in Brazil] to interrupt the supply of military weapons to Brazil.
To cause the workers in [trade unions or labor organizations T7, T8, T…] in [the United States and other relevant countries where the elite supports the coupmakers in Brazil] to interrupt the transport of [military personnel/military weapons] to Brazil.
To cause the workers in [trade unions or labor organizations T10, T11, T…] in [the United States and other relevant countries where the elite supports the coupmakers in Brazil] to support your liberation struggle by refusing to handle [a particular resource] extracted and exported from Brazil.
To cause the workers [in trade unions or labor organizations T13, T14, T…] working in [the United States and other relevant countries where the elite supports the coupmakers in Brazil] to support your liberation struggle by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the women in [women’s organizations WO4, WO5, WO…] in [the United States and other relevant countries where the elite supports the coupmakers in Brazil] to support your liberation struggle by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the members of [religious denominations R4,R5, R…] in [the United States and other relevant countries where the elite supports the coupmakers in Brazil] to support your liberation struggle by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the solidarity activists in [activist organizations A1, A2, A…] in [the United States and other relevant countries where the elite supports the coupmakers in Brazil] to support your liberation struggle by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the members of [your exile communities E1, E2, E…] in [the United States and other relevant countries where the elite supports the coupmakers in Brazil] to support your liberation struggle by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
To cause the students in [students organizations S4, S5, S…] in [the United States and other relevant countries where the elite supports the coupmakers in Brazil] to support your liberation struggle by participating in [your nominated nonviolent action(s)/campaign(s) and/or constructive program activities].
In the struggle to make this world the place of peace, justice and environmental sustainability that it could be, the people of Brazil have been playing an inspirational role. You do not need to let this coup be more than a temporary setback. You also have solidarity allies around the world and many of us are willing to assist you, if you decide to let us play a role too.
has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?
The fearful individual uses violence to try to control the other individuals, objects and events onto which it has projected its own fear in a futile attempt to suppress its awareness of this fear.
The fearless individual has no use for violence because it has no fear to control.
The child is born with the innate capacity to achieve consciousness of itself.
It is terrorised until this capacity is lost.
Human beings will end violence, or Violence will end human beings.
THE SPECTRUM OF INVISIBLE VIOLENCE
Each item below identifies a parental or adult behaviour that is violent but ‘invisible’ because people would not ordinarily perceive the behaviour as damaging. The bracketed section identifies one or more likely responses of the child although the precise response(s) will obviously vary from one child to the next. The responses might be feelings and/or behaviours; they might be copies or reactions.
Treat child as a tabula rasa – ‘blank slate’ (child will come to believe that it has no innate, genetically programmed capacity for functional behaviour)
Pretend, despite negative feedback from the child, that interfering with the genetic programming of the child is both loving and necessary (child will learn to identify abuse as love)
Do not listen to child’s thoughts and feelings (child will learn to not listen to itSelf thus destroying its internal communication system)
Do not listen to and accept child’s explanations of its behaviours (child will develop dysfunctional behaviours such as lying and/or wriggling out of acceptance of responsibility)
Pretend to listen to child, perhaps in a ‘knowing’ way, while waiting for the earliest opportunity to interrupt it to get attention for yourself (child will feel enormous fear, pain and anger, of which it will need to suppress its awareness, as it is denied the opportunity to talk about something important to it and is required to give its attention to you at the same time)
Dogmatically refuse to listen to child (child will develop authoritarian – intense fear of being out of control – or fundamentalist – intense fear of being wrong – ‘personality’)
Do not allow child to listen to (that is, pay attention to) itSelf by chronically interfering with its natural inclination and capacity to do so, for example, by comforting or distracting a child that is crying, reassuring a child that is scared, frightening a child out of being angry (child’s natural capacity to become Self-aware will be destroyed)
Interfere with child’s natural (e.g. exploratory) behaviours (child will become fearful of acting out its natural Selfwill)
Chronically interfere with child’s genetically programmed exploratory behaviours (child will develop anatomical, physiological, emotional, intellectual and/or behavioural dysfunctionalities possibly including mental illnesses such as anorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder, paranoia and/or phobias)
Do not communicate (truthfully) with child (child will not have accurate information as one of the bases for its actions and will become increasingly dysfunctionalised)
Do not let child communicate with you, especially about your violent and damaging behaviours (child will have no avenue for meaningfully resolving conflict and will become increasingly dysfunctionalised)
Terrorise child out of telling the truth about, and resisting, parental violence (child will suppress its awareness of the truth and be powerless to respond to this violence and the violence of others)
Do not respond to child’s requests or its feedback about your dysfunctional behaviours (child will be reduced to powerlessly whingeing and complaining)
Interfere with child’s communication (child will develop communication dysfunctionalities, which usually obscure its actual needs, such as compulsive talking, stuttering, lying, hinting and signalling)
Routinely interrupt child (child will become fearful of both expressing itSelf and of listening, and will learn to interrupt others)
Persistently thwart child’s initiatives to do things for itSelf (child will eventually learn to quit easily and might even develop a chronic unconscious tendency to thwart and punish itself as a manifestation of its self-hatred for failing to get what it wanted)
Keep interfering with child (by frightening it in any number of ways), despite all of its defences, until its submits to parental will and then deny child the time and space to feel its fear, pain, anger and sadness about this interference and its consequent submission (child will be terrorised into surrendering its own Self-will)
Powerlessly appeal to one child for pity, sympathy and/or support when your violent behaviour is challenged by a second child (first child will learn to perform a ‘guard dog’ function which it will then perform throughout its life; second child will powerlessly vent its anger on first child instead of you)
Project onto child that it is your parent and that it is responsible for caring for you (child will be caused enormous pain and must grapple with mind-bending confusion)
Project onto child that you are not the child’s parent (or carer) and that it should have no expectation that you will care for it (child will be caused enormous pain and must grapple with mind-bending confusion)
Demand that child gives you your due respect and gratitude as its parent (child will be caused to feel fury)
Present a delusion of always being ‘in control’ (child will learn to fear unusual challenges that nurture initiative and creativity, and will probably end up deluding itself that it needs to be, and is, ‘in control’ as well)
Pretend to child that you are something that you are not (child might become as delusional as are you)
Pretend to be and perform a set of social roles rather than being your natural self (child will learn to fearfully act out social roles rather than have the courage to become its genuine Self, warts and all)
Be anxious with child (child will learn to fear but also have sympathy for anxiety and will probably develop an anxiety disorder, as well as other dysfunctionalities, of its own)
Compulsively seek child’s reassurance to deal with your anxiety (child will unconsciously learn to reassure your dysfunctional anxiety in the ways that you require and might develop an anxiety disorder of its own)
Take child for granted (child will develop a low sense of Self-worth and will learn to not appreciate others)
Do not let child have what it wants (child will feel stuck, trapped and frustrated, and will probably become greedy)
Do not let child do what it wants (child will feel stuck, trapped and frustrated, and will behave increasingly dysfunctionally and compulsively, although these dysfunctionalities will not necessarily be easily traced to your behaviour)
Do not let child say what it wants (child will develop communication and behavioural dysfunctionalities as it keeps trying to meets its needs)
Let child say what it wants and then ignore or deny it (child will develop communication and behavioural dysfunctionalities commensurate with frequency of occurrence)
Define child’s needs and wants for it (child will develop a warped sense of what it needs and wants)
Deny child simple pleasures (child will become addicted to seeking pleasures beyond those that meet its genuine needs)
Never allow child to have its preference (child will become obsessed with getting its own way in all contexts)
‘Give’ to child on condition that it allows you to control it (child will learn that the purpose of giving is to gain control over others)
Never tell child how you are feeling (child will learn to fear its own feelings as well as your feelings)
Never talk about feelings (child will learn to fear talking about its own feelings and the feelings of others)
Do not love child (child will feel that it is unlovable and will not develop the capacity to love itself and to love others)
Behave as if you do not need love (child will feel as if its love is worthless)
Behave as if love does not exist (child will not develop the capacity to love or it will learn to suppress and give up using its capacity to love)
Do not value child (child will learn to not value itSelf and to not value others or the Earth, and will behave accordingly)
Do not acknowledge child’s help or positive contribution (child will feel lack of acknowledgment as a disincentive to help or contribute)
Do not show your greater security or happiness when child helps you (child will feel the futility of trying to facilitate change for the better)
Do not let child interrupt you even when it needs attention for something important (child will learn to fear those who pay close attention to themselves and what they are doing, and may develop a compulsion to interrupt or even violently interfere with people who do this, particularly their own spouse and children, in order to get attention for themselves)
Conspicuously behave as if you are superior to child (child might become sycophantic of ‘authorities’)
‘Play the hero’ to child (child will be disempowered so that it cannot defend and protect itself)
Play a ‘Poor me, I need help’ role with child (child will learn to sympathetically assist powerless and dysfunctional people like yourself)
Tell child ‘You are only a child’ (child will develop a low sense of Self-worth and Self-love)
Convey to child by attitude, words and/or deeds that it was ‘an unwanted accident’ (child will feel enormous fear and pain – of which it will suppress its awareness – at not being wanted and loved, and will not develop the Self-worth and Self-love necessary to expect to be involved in loving relationships and, for example, will probably choose an abusive spouse)
Treat child as unimportant (child will feel unimportant and will treat others as unimportant)
Treat child as insignificant (child will feel insignificant and will treat others as insignificant)
Project negative perception of child at child (child will develop a negative perception of itSelf, others and life generally)
Do not respect child (child will learn not to respect itSelf while, paradoxically, contriving ways to get it from others)
Do not be thoughtful of child (child will learn to be not thoughtful of others
Do not like child (child will not experience what it means to be liked and, therefore, will not learn to like others)
Be inconsiderate of child (child will learn to be inconsiderate)
Be dishonest with child (child will learn to be dishonest)
Do not be compassionate with child (child will learn to not feel compassion)
Do not empathise with child (child will learn to not feel empathy)
Do not sympathise with child (child will learn to not feel sympathy and, later, to not recognise sympathy when it is offered)
Do not respect child e.g. child’s personal space (child will learn to not respect itSelf and others)
Do not respect child’s natural dignity (child’s natural dignity will be worn away)
Do not cooperate with child (child will learn to not cooperate with others)
Do not trust child (child will learn to not trust itSelf and others)
Do not trust child’s judgment (child will lose trust in its own judgment)
Do not show faith in child (child will lose faith in itSelf)
Do not be loyal to child (child will not learn to be loyal)
Do not care about child (child will learn to not care about itSelf and/or to not care about others)
Do not care about child’s things (child will learn to not care about its own things and/or to not care about the things of others)
Do not care about child’s thoughts and feelings (child will learn to not care about itSelf and others)
Never be kind to child (child will not learn to feel what it means to be treated kindly and, therefore, will not learn to be kind to others)
Never be nice to child (child will not learn to feel what it means to be treated nicely and, therefore, will not learn to be nice to others)
Ignore child (child will develop one or more compulsive attention-seeking behaviours, such as compulsive talking, and will be unable to give attention to others; it might even treat others as if they do not exist)
Dysfunctionally/compulsively seek child’s attention and/or distract child from paying attention to itSelf (child will lose capacity to focus intently on itSelf)
Try to persuade child (child will be scared that it is not allowed to choose freely)
Complain about child (child will be caused fear, pain, anger and/or sadness as it tries to respond to your powerless and dysfunctional behaviour)
Demand child’s time to do tasks for you (child will not learn to manage its time in accordance with its own Self-will, it will learn to resent helping others and it will learn to demand the time of others)
Cajole child into doing what you want it to do, for example, to eat what you want it to eat (child will become fearful that it is not allowed to act out its own Self-will)
Manipulate child into doing what you want out of fear of dealing openly and powerfully with conflict (child will learn to fear conflict too and will learn to manipulate others as a result)
Blame child (child will learn to avoid responsibility)
Condemn child (child will learn to condemn others)
Insult child (child will develop a low sense of Self-worth and will learn to insult others)
Deride child (child will develop a low sense of Self-worth and will learn to be derisive)
Mock child (child will be scared out of clearly explaining itself)
Goad child into behaving in a way that will allow you to justify to yourself getting angry with it (child will be caused enormous pain, anger and confusion as it grapples with this mindbender)
Be sarcastic with child (child will develop a low sense of Self-worth and will learn to be sarcastic with others)
Embarrass child (child will feel embarrassed at trying its best and will learn to embarrass others)
Humiliate child (child will feel humiliated at its ‘failure’ and will learn to humiliate others)
Shame child (child will feel ashamed and will learn to shame others)
Taunt child (child will develop a low sense of Self-worth and will learn to taunt others)
Tease child (child will develop a low sense of Self-worth and will learn to tease others, particularly younger children and pets)
Snub child (child will experience enormous fear, pain, anger and/or sadness, and develop a low sense of Self-worth)
‘Shut out’ child unless it does what you want (child will be scared into suppressing awareness of its own Self-will and submitting to yours)
Give child unsolicited advice (child might learn to rely on others rather than work out what to do for itself)
‘Motivate’ child to do what you want and pretend that child is doing what it wants (child’s natural capacity to listen to, and act on, its own Self-will is warped and, eventually, destroyed)
Guilt-trip child into doing what you want (child will learn to feel guilty for acting out its natural Self-will)
Moralise with child (child’s natural morality will become warped)
Judge child (child will lose faith in its own judgment, particularly about itSelf)
Deceive child (child will experience fear and pain, its awareness of which it will probably suppress, and will learn to deceive others)
Trick child in a nasty way (child will experience fear and pain, its awareness of which it will probably suppress, and will learn to trick others)
Be nasty to child (child wiild (child might learn to ‘tiptoe’ around you in an attempt to avoid your ‘bad temper’ and will become fearful of acting out its own will)
Hate child (child will develop a low sense of Self-worth and might learn to hate others)
Lie to, manipulate and/or force child to make it believe your opinions (child will learn to fearfully submit to your view and to lie to, manipulate and/or force others to make them believe its opinions)
Take credit for child’s achievements (child will feel enormous pain and fear at being treated as if it does not exist as a separate individual with its own capacities)
Exaggerate the importance of your role/contribution to the child’s achievements (child will feel scared that its own contributions to its achievements are not valued and will learn to overplay its own contributions while diminishing those of others)
Point out child’s inconsistencies and faults while ignoring your own (child will probably become as hypocritical as you)
Point out child’s inconsistencies and faults while denying your own (child will probably become as dogmatic as you)
Always adamantly and vehemently deny your dysfunctional behaviours (child will feel angry and powerless)
Always divert child’s attention from your dysfunctional behaviours, particularly by focusing on any functional or dysfunctional reactive behaviour of the child or others in response to your dysfunctionalities (child will feel frustrated and powerless)
Lie to child (child will learn to lie)
Lie about child (child will feel enormous fear, pain, anger and/or sadness at this denial of its existence and it will have difficulty holding onto its sense of Self)
Do not believe child when it naturally tells the truth (child will learn to lie in an attempt to be believed)
Do not believe in child (child will not learn to believe in itSelf)
Ridicule/belittle child (child will lose confidence in itSelf and learn to ridicule/belittle others)
‘Put down’ child (child will develop a low sense of Self-worth and learn to ‘put down’ others)
Be impatient with child (child will learn to be impatient with itSelf and others)
Be abrupt with child (child will learn to fear that there is no time or freedom for it to consider and choose what it wants to do and will learn to be abrupt with others)
Be irritable with child (child will become fearful of your irritability and will develop dysfunctionalities in response, possibly including irritability with others)
Be devious with child (child will learn to be devious)
Be jealous of child (child will learn to be jealous)
Be resentful of child (child will learn to be resentful)
Be callous with child (child will learn to be callous)
Be cruel to child (child will learn to be cruel)
Repeatedly criticise and/or thwart child’s initiatives (child will learn to quit easily rather than become determined)
Tell child what to do (child will lose capacity to be decisive and to take initiative)
Routinely tell child that it is wrong (child will develop a negative self-perception and become afraid to admit that it is wrong)
Never apologise to child (child will not learn to apologise)
Accuse child of not being itSelf (that is, of not having a mind of its own) if it doesn’t do what you want (child will feel enormous fear and pain as it struggles with this mind-bender and desperately tries to hold onto its sense of Self)
Approve and/or disapprove of child (child will become addicted to seeking approval and avoiding disapproval)
Reward, ‘discipline’ and/or punish child (child’s capacity to use its own thoughts, feelings and judgment to make choices will be distorted or even destroyed)
Contradict child’s complaints, criticisms, condemnations and ‘negativity’ by offering ‘reasonable’ explanations for why things did not work out as child hoped/wanted or by telling child to ‘focus on the positive’ (child will feel unheard and unconsciously suppress its awareness of its natural frustration and anger that would guide it to behave differently in future)
Criticise child (child will become, for example, hesitant and indecisive, as well as critical)
Patronise child (child will develop a low sense of Self-worth and will probably, therefore, patronise others)
Interfere with child’s natural feelings and then its projected feelings (child will learn to suppress awareness of its feelings)
Project that child is lazy (child will end up not trying because its efforts to help are not recognised and acknowledged)
Project that child is greedy (child might become fearful of seeking to have its legitimate needs met or it might become resentful of the accusation and greedy as a dysfunctional response)
Project that child has nothing (no friendship, love or care) to give and then treat it accordingly (child will feel worthless and powerless, and will become resentful of giving, that is, ‘selfish’)
Require child to behave in ways that do not cause you to have ‘unpleasant’ feelings (child is caught in a paralysing and horrendously painful trap requiring it to suppress the feelings that drive its natural Self-will or suffer punishment for not submitting to your will)
Deny responsibility for your own feelings by projecting that child is causing them and blaming it for doing so (child is dysfunctionally caused confusion as well as fear, pain, anger and /or sadness)
Project that child does not love you (child will feel enormous pain and confusion)
Project that child is ‘getting in my way’ (when it was actually your parents) and thus control its behaviour (child will be compelled to suppress its awareness of its feelings, including its anger, about this projection and control, and will thus develop a powerless and dysfunctional behavioural response, such as whingeing and/or getting in other people’s way)
Project that child is attacking you and retaliate by attacking child (child will feel pain and blame at not knowing why it has been attacked)
Project that an activity in which child is engaged (such as waving its fork in the air) is deliberately intended to hurt you and attack it in ‘retaliation’ (child is caused enormous pain and confusion as it grapples with this mind-bender)
Project that an accident in which child is involved (such as cutting itself) is deliberately intended to hurt you and attack it in ‘retaliation’ (child is caused enormous pain and confusion as it grapples with this mind-bender)
Do not meaningfully negotiate with child (child will not learn to meaningfully negotiate and will learn, for example, that things get done by telling others what to do)
Do not share with child what it is reasonable to share (child will become obsessed with claiming resources from others that is not reasonable)
Expect/require child to ‘help’ you (child will learn to feel resentful of genuine, open-ended requests for help which leave it truly free to accede to or reject as its own will directs)
Never willingly do anything for child (child will become obsessed with having people do ‘little things’ for it)
Routinely deny child’s reasonable requests (child will learn to be devious, in one or more of a variety of ways, in trying to get its genuine needs met)
Resent child asking for help (child will become afraid to ask for help and will learn to force others to do what it wants done instead)
Always react to child’s requests with irritation (child will become afraid to ask for what it needs and might copy irritated – that is, fearful – response to requests from others)
Refuse to help child (child will lose its capacity to seek help when it is functional to do so)
Indicate that you do not want to help child (child will learn to believe that it is unworthy of help)
Convey to child that it is wrong to ask for help (child will be scared out of asking for help when it needs it and should have it)
Pretend that you are responding to your child’s request for help when you are really just doing what you want (child will grow up with a distorted perception of what help really is)
Do not listen to child when it asks for help (child will be terrorised, that is, child will become terrified, child will become terrified of asking for help and child will unconsciously ‘learn’ not to ask for help)
Terrorise child out of asking for what it needs/wants, for example, by screaming at it when it asks for something (child will become terrified to ask for what it needs/wants, and will develop dysfunctional behaviours – such as hinting, signalling, lying – in order to try to get it)
Help child when it does not need it and/or has not requested it (child will become dysfunctionally dependent)
Chronically interfere with child’s natural efforts to do things for itSelf (child’s capacity to become self-reliant will be destroyed: child is now enslaved)
Force child to say that it is grateful (child will become incapable of gratitude even in situations in which this would be a natural, functional response)
Require child to ask for what it needs and then say ‘no’ (child will become fearful both of taking what it needs for itSelf and of asking for what it nesituations in which this would be a natural, functional response)
Require child to ask for what it needs and then say ‘no’ (child will become fearful both of taking what it needs for itSelf and of asking for what it needs from others)
Require child to seek permission (child will become fearfully obedient at expense of its own Self-will)
Terrorise child into obedience (child will become fearfully obedient rather than powerfully cooperative)
Never acknowledge, in any way, the genuine needs of the Self of the child (child will become terrified that it is not allowed to be itSelf and will then become self-obsessed to the exclusion of all others)
Value disintegrated behaviours of the child rather than caring about the Self of the child (child will learn that it is valued for what it does, not loved for who it is)
Withhold/withdraw love from child (child will become fragile and vulnerable)
Intellectualise relationship with child or otherwise remain emotionally distant from child (child will learn to fear emotional intimacy)
Do not give child anything (child will not learn to give and will probably become greedy)
Be miserly with child (child will learn to be miserly with others)
Deny child’s material/financial needs (child will develop a warped sense of its material needs and how to meet these)
Control child’s access to material resources (child will become addicted to material resources)
Deprive child of resources or overload it with inappropriate resources (child will become addicted to resources it does not need)
Do not provide opportunities for child to experience nature (child will not develop a sense of valuing, appreciating and nurturing the natural world)
Express your fear of nature (child will learn to fear and behave exploitatively towards nature)
Express your prejudicial fear of women instead of feeling your genuine fear of the specific individuals (male or female) who actually frightened you (child will learn to fear and behave prejudicially towards women, and will develop a negative self-image if it is a girl)
Express your prejudicial fear of men instead of feeling your genuine fear of the specific individuals (male or female) who actually frightened you (child will learn to fear and behave prejudicially towards men, and will develop a negative self-image if it is a boy)
Express your prejudicial fear of another racial group instead of feeling your genuine fear of the specific individuals who actually frightened you (child will learn to fear and behave prejudicially towards this racial group)
Express your prejudicial fear of homosexuals instead of feeling your genuine fear of the specific individuals who actually frightened you (child will learn to fear and behave prejudicially towards homosexuals)
Feed child unhealthy food e.g. food that is not organically or biodynamically grown, food that is unnaturally fatty or sweetened (child will develop unhealthy dietary habits and possibly chronic ill-health)
Go to bed after it gets dark (child will learn to believe that living in a permanent state of sleep deprivation is normal and appropriate adult behaviour)
Give child toys with which to play (child will acquire unnatural and useless capacity to manipulate irrelevant synthetic products rather than learning to use natural artefacts for life-enhancing ends)
Teach child to play competitive games (child will learn to compete rather than to cooperate)
Touch child inappropriately, ‘clutchily’, non-relaxedly or otherwise fearfully (child will sense your fear and develop a dysfunctional behavioural response)
Never touch child affectionately (child will develop dysfunctional attitudes and/or behaviours in relation to touch, perhaps including fear of its own body)
Imprison child in school (child will be terrified into suppressing awareness of its own Self-will – and the phenomenal fear, pain, anger and sadness this causes – as it is required to submit all day every day to the will of teachers)
Imprison child in school (child will learn to suppress its awareness of endless insufferable boredom)
Imprison child in modern house/school (child is structurally denied capacity to develop self-reliance)
Force child to sit in chairs for long periods e.g. at school (child will develop postural, movement and/or physiological dysfunctionalities)
Teach child, that is, require child to do something that you want precisely as you prescribe (child’s natural interest, initiative and creativity in learning something new is crushed as it fearfully, mindlessly and powerlessly imitates you; it will also learn, and this is reinforced by experience at school, that learning requires mindless copying)
Routinely convey message to child through attitude, language and/or behaviour that child is a failure (child will experience enormous fear, pain and anger which, unless expressed, will later manifest as vindictive behaviour in ‘defence’ of its now-warped sense of self)
Ignore and prevent expression of child’s natural anger (child will learn to take violent revenge on innocent parties)
Try to control child’s thoughts and/or feelings (child will lose faith in its own thoughts and/or feelings, and learn to try to control the thoughts and/or feelings of others)
Control child’s behaviour (child will learn to control the behaviour of others)
Scream at child either occasionally or routinely (child will learn to shut down its awareness of, but cannot shut out the effects of, the fear and pain this causes)
Harass child (child will learn to fearfully submit to harassment and learn to harass others)
Harass child when it has done nothing wrong and then scare it out of being angry about this (child will be compelled to suppress awareness of its anger and might react by deliberately behaving in a way that people find offensive and then responding with derision, perhaps by laughing, when they complain)
Punish child when it has done nothing wrong and then scare it out of being angry about this (child will be compelled to suppress awareness of its anger and might react by delighting in getting innocent people into trouble)
Threaten, intimidate and/or punish child, e.g. by screaming at or hitting child, if it does not do what you want (child’s fear and self-hatred will increase each time it submits to your will by suppressing awareness of its own, and it will learn to threaten, intimidate and/or punish others)
Threaten, intimidate and/or punish child to make it accept your perception of itself, others and reality generally (child will lose control of its own mind and become a fearfully obedient slave full of unconscious self-hatred)
Behave threateningly much of the time so that child lives in a permanent state of fear (child will develop a range of behavioural, anatomical and/or physiological dysfunctionalities possibly including such problems as chronic muscle tension, constipation and an inability to relax and/or sleep)
Frighten child into submission by using threats and punishments but also some inducements (child will learn that it is futile to resist violence and to fearfully placate violent people by ‘helping’ or collaborating with them in the dysfunctional ways that they require)
Threaten child with punishment if it does not collaborate with you in abusing other children (child will learn to fearfully betray others to avoid punishment of itself, thus deepening the child’s unconscious sense of self-hatred)
Threaten child with death using words, tone of voice and/or deeds (child will be terrorised)
Hit child routinely (child will develop a range of emotional, behavioural, physiological and/or postural dysfunctionalities)
Sexually abuse child (child might learn to fear sex or become addicted to it, depending on the nature and context of the violence)
Hold child responsible for your well-being (child will learn to hold others responsible rather than to take responsibility for itself)
Take revenge on child for what your parent(s), teachers and/or other adults did to you (child will powerlessly learn to not hold the responsible person accountable and to take revenge on innocent parties)
Inflict emotional and/or physical pain on child (child will initially experience this pain but will progressively learn to suppress its awareness of the pain as it is denied opportunities for feeling it; child will also learn to inflict pain on others)
Repeatedly force child to do things that don’t meet your actual needs and never feel satisfied with or grateful for what child has done for you (child will feel the pointlessness of helping and then fail to help others who genuinely need and can use it)
Force child to do what you want (child’s unconscious fear and self-hatred will increase each time it submits to your will; it will also learn that relationships are based on dominance and submission, not cooperation, and it will behave either dominantly or submissively in all social contexts depending on the situation)
Keep pushing and pushing child to do what you want (child will be terrified that it is not allowed to choose freely and will behave increasingly dysfunctionally)
Go berserk at child when it tries to help you using its own initiative (child will become terrified of taking independent action to help anyone)
Blast child for doing things you don’t want and never give positive feedback for anything it does for you (child will try to avoid blasts and will become indecisive and incapacitated by lack of positive feedback)
Threaten or attack child to convey what you do not want it to do and then fail to give it credit for avoiding doing these things in future (child will experience ongoing loss of energy as it restricts its own life for your benefit and will experience confusion, powerlessness, anger and resentment at the lack of acknowledgment and gratitude for what it is giving up)
Force child to act against its own will (child will learn to be coercive)
Force child to do something that it finds terrifying because you are too frightened to defend it and also too frightened to accept responsibility for feeling your own fear (child will be terrorised)
Force child to do something that is terrifying for it because you are too frightened to do something less terrifying but also too frightened to accept responsibility for feeling your fear about this (child will be terrorised into doing something beyond its capacity and will learn that putting someone else ‘in the rat cage’ is the way to deal with situations in which it lacks the courage to do what feels frightening)
Treat child as a slave (child will learn that it is worthless and treat other people as worthless too)
Never accept responsibility for your mistakes and failures (child will learn to evade responsibility for its mistakes and failures)
Harp on child’s mistakes and failures (child will learn to fear mistakes and failures, and to dogmatically refuse to acknowledge them, rather than learning to perceive mistakes and failures as valuable learning experiences)
Punish child when it does something ‘wrong’ (child will learn to fearfully deny responsibility for its wrongdoing rather than learning to fearlessly and functionally try again)
Punish child for making mistakes (child will learn to fear making mistakes and will learn to evade responsibility for them rather than learning to powerfully regard them as valuable learning experiences)
Force child to accept the blame for your mistakes and failures so that you can avoid responsibility for feeling the fear and pain this causes you (child will suppress its awareness of enormous fear, pain, anger and/or sadness, and learn that avoiding responsibility by blaming someone else – rather than some combination of retraction, apology, compensation and renewed effort – is the way to deal with mistakes and failures)
Bribe child with, for example, confectionary and toys, to make it do what you want (child will learn that bribery is one way of getting what it wants and that this is an acceptable way of doing so)
Blackmail child, for example, by threatening to withhold something it needs if it doesn’t do what you want (child will learn that blackmail is one way of getting what it wants and that this is an acceptable way of doing so)
Extort attention, energy and/or time from the child (child will learn that extortion is one way of getting what it wants and that this is an acceptable way of doing so)
Steal child’s attention, energy and/or time to use for your own purposes, for example, to listen to your compulsive talking or to do a task for you (child will learn that stealing is one way of getting what it wants and that this is an acceptable way of doing so)
Deny child’s truth/reality and force it to believe your projection, for example, that child caused your feelings which are actually a projection from your own childhood with your parents (child will be caused enormous fear, pain, anger and/or sadness that, if suppressed, will cause child in turn to endlessly project these feelings onto future interactions with innocent parties such as siblings or, later in life, other adults and, of course, its own children)
Present a positive picture of child’s life while ignoring and/or denying the negative experiences that are a part of it (child will learn to suppress its awareness of negative aspects of its reality and to act in denial of these, rather than to be aware of and respond intelligently and powerfully to them)
Ignore and/or deny child’s experience and/or distract child from focusing on its own experience (child will learn to ignore, deny and distract itself from the reality of its own experience and, therefore, from social and ecological reality)
Be intolerant of child and its unique ways (child will learn to fear its natural Self) Every time that a child is terrorised into surrendering control of its own mind in order to act on the will of another, its unconscious fear, self-hatred, powerlessness and inclination to use violence increase. Thus, the child is taught to be violent towards itself, others and the Earth through an unending sequence of parental and adult behaviours (entailing 9 acts of commission and omission) that, individually, might easily be overlooked or even dismissed as insignificant. In brief, the child’s natural Self suffers death by a thousand ‘invisible’ cuts.
….. will be CONTINUED
The violence inflicted by human adults on themselves, each other and the Earth is an outcome of the visible, invisible and utterly invisible violence inflicted on them as children.
Member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment and has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence.
He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981.
He is the author of Why Violence?
Robert J Burrowes PhD
There is a long history of anti-war and peace activism. Much of this activism has focused on ending a particular war. Some of this activism has been directed at ending a particular aspect of war, such as the use of a type of weapon. Some of it has aimed to prevent a type of war, such as ‘aggressive war’ or nuclear war. For those activists who regard war as the scourge of human existence, however, ‘the holy grail’ has always been much deeper: to end war.
There is an important reason why those of us in the last category have not, so far, succeeded. In essence, this is because, whatever their merits, the analyses and strategies we have been using have been inadequate. This is, of course, only a friendly criticism of our efforts, including my own. I am also not suggesting that the task will be easy, even with a sound analysis and comprehensive strategy. But it will be far more likely.
Given my own preoccupation with human violence, of which I see war as a primary subset, I have spent a great deal of time researching why violence occurs in the first place – see ‘Why Violence?’http://tinyurl.com/whyviolence and ‘Fearless Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice’. http://anitamckone.wordpress.com/articles-2/fearless-and-fearful-psychology/ – and by taking or teaching strategic nonviolent action in response to many of its manifestations.
Moreover, given that I like to succeed when I work for positive change in this world, I pay a great deal of attention to strategy. In fact, I have written extensively on this subject after researching the ideas of the greatest strategic theorists and strategists in history. If you are really keen, you can read about this in The Strategy of Nonviolent Defense: A Gandhian Approach.http://www.sunypress.edu/p-2176-the-strategy-of-nonviolent-defe.aspx
However, because I know that most people aren’t too interested in scholarly works and that nonviolent activists have plenty of worthwhile things to do with their time, I have recently been putting the essence of the information in the book onto two websites so that the strategic thinking is presented simply and is readily available.
One of the outcomes I would like to achieve through these websites is to involve interested peace and anti-war activists from around the world in finalizing the development of a comprehensive nonviolent strategy to end war and to then work with them to implement it.
Consequently, I have been developing this nonviolent strategy to end war and I invite you to check it out and to suggest improvements. You can see it on the Nonviolent Campaign Strategy website.https://nonviolentstrategy.wordpress.com/
If you are interested in being involved in what will be a long and difficult campaign, I would love to hear from you.
You might also be interested in signing the online pledge of ‘The People’s Charter to Create a Nonviolent World’ http://thepeoplesnonviolencecharter.wordpress.com where the names of many nonviolent activists who will work on this campaign are already listed.
Ending war is not impossible. But it is going to take a phenomenal amount of intelligent strategic effort, courage and time. Whether we have that time is the only variable beyond our control.
