NONVIOLENCE TOOLKIT
Responding to Violence From Within Our Ranks
Conflicts and disagreements are a normal part of life, whereas violence and destructive confrontations should never be.
It is common for people to have different perspectives on the same issue and to honestly disagree on tactics and actions. We have different personalities and myriad ways of expressing ourselves based on countless social and personal factors.
To avoid misunderstandings and to support nonviolent communication, it would be wise for a group to establish agreed-upon ground rules when it first comes together and to review them sporadically and, if necessary, alter them together. This effort can be sustained by reviewing, discussing and affirming the teachings of nonviolence, including the PLEDGE OF NONVIOLENCE, THE POWER OF NONVIOLENCE and THOUGHTS ON NONVIOLENCE, all in this TOOLKIT.
Violence and destruction of property can prevent a movement from growing. Research shows that when a movement is perceived as engaging in acts of violence and destruction of property, its core supporters may continue to support it, but people who were passively supportive or neutral move away in significant numbers.
Acts of property destruction allow authoritarians to focus on “law and order” by portraying the movement as dangerous, chaotic, and a threat to the public. Despite the best of intentions, certain forms of property destruction such as arson can deeply affect unintended targets, like property-owners and independent shopkeepers, while also risking hurting or even killing people. Acts of property destruction have the potential to decrease the loyalty of neutrals or people in the opposition from joining the movement. Most people will defect if they see your movement trapped in chaos or disorder.
Infiltrators and provocateurs can sabotage organizations and their actions. Be aware of the existence of infiltrators and provocateurs. They can be planted within your group by government forces (authoritarian regimes, police, etc.), by your opponents, by corporations or by other groups that support the status quo. They are there to urge activists to engage in violence, to take on reckless and destructive tactics and to incapacitate your group. They can become disruptive and verbally hostile at a meeting or at a pubic action if they don’t get their way. The goal is to discredit your movement, redirect focus away from your grievance to your violence, and to serve as justification for their own violence.
Other times, people want to use violence simply because they believe it is justified, or they are angry, or for protection, or for reasons unrelated to the movement’s goals. They should be listened to with compassion and respect, and encouraged to consider nonviolence in at least some of its forms and expressions.
This is when the PLEDGE OF NONVIOLENCE can serve a useful purpose: to control the violence within our own ranks. Infiltrators, provocateurs and those who cannot commit to nonviolence can be weeded out if they do not agree to the PLEDGE of NONVIOLENCE. If they cannot be nonviolent in their words and deeds and cannot remain nonviolent during an action, then they can be asked to not participate in the action, in further actions, or even to leave the group. The PLEDGE commits all to a code of behavior that treats everyone, both within and outside the group, with respect and care. Focusing on the PLEDGE OF NONVIOLENCE provides a means to deal with those who disagree with the philosophy and methods of nonviolence while expecting the best from all.