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November Surprise? Here WE Come.

Editor's Note From Rivera Sun

Like many, I'm a bit concerned about the upcoming US elections. Fortunately, activists, organizers, and pro-democracy groups are mobilizing to prepare for any eventuality.  Here's some basic tips:

  1. Vote (Did I really need to say that?)
  2. Become an Election Defender and learn how to use nonviolent de-escalation to counter anyone who may show up with intimidation, belligerence, or violence. Here's where to find out more about that >>
  3. Have patience. Counting the votes fully will take some time. It's worth it. (Tell all your friends - and enemies - to chill out and count every vote.)
  4. Defend democracy and elections, not just your favorite candidate. (It's seriously not all about Trump. Anchor your comments and actions in fairness, democratic process, and counting all those votes.)
  5. In case of coup ... get ready to shut things down.

In this special edition of Nonviolence News, I've included 13 specific examples of ways you can take action (below) if Trump loses and refuses to leave office. I'm emphasizing dispersed actions - things you can do without getting beaten up by cops or alt-right thugs or the pandemic - but there are many more types of actions that you could take. My colleagues from Hold The Line have also crafted this helpful guide to brainstorming tactics.

Also, here are a few groups organizing and training in case of "November Surprise".

Lastly, if you are a nonprofit or have a newsletter, you can help defend the elections by doing exactly what I'm doing right now: talk about the crisis, offer grounded responses, and give clear, factual, non-partisan advice. If you run a nonprofit, here's a handy guide for nonprofits on "10 Actions Nonprofits Can Take To Support Democracy">>

I'm hoping November is the most boring election in US history. But if not, I hope we're already to take organized, disciplined, and effective nonviolent action to make sure the election results are tallied and upheld. Our fellow humans from around the world have stopped coups and ousted dictators, defended elections and won democracy. It is from them that these strategies and tactics come. Honor their work by learning them . . . and using them.

Rivera Sun, Editor

PS Did you miss the amazing Nonviolence News round-up this week? 
Click here to read the most recent Nonviolence News issue>>

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Be Prepared: When a coup attempt is underway, we have to act swiftly to counter it. A power-grabber will attempt to consolidate their position quickly. It is vitally important that we ask sectors of society (faith leaders, NGOs, media, politicians, military members, businesses, organizations, teachers and students, courts and lawyers, and public figures) to stand with the people in demanding that the results of the election be upheld. Here's a good read on how nonviolent struggle can thwart coup attempts>>
General Strike: No work. No school. No shopping. No banking. No events. No sports games. Are you ready for this? Why should business-as-usual continue if democracy is in crisis? If Trump loses and refuses to leave, we should all be prepared to disrupt ordinary activities until he stands down and stands bye-bye.
Pots-and-Pans Protest: Make some noise. A lot of noise. We need everyone to know that drastic action is required. Pots-and-pans protests (cacerolazos) are used around the world to sound the alarm. This photo shows a street demonstration, but the pots-and-pans protest can also take place from the safety of your house or apartment window. This is good to know in times of pandemic and alt-right violence. This is a good tactic to invite your grandma, neighbor, and friends with kids to do. 
Car Caravans: Car caravans - or even honking our horns en masse at the top of the hour - are a good way to stay relatively safe and get the word out that we, the People, want everyone to take action. You can also use cars to slow down traffic to a crawl. 
Walk Out: Plan a daily (or more) walk-out at work, school, and events. Hint: this also works on Zoom, folks. This is a good tactic to use if you think your fellow students, workers, or citizens need a little nudge in order to take action. Show up. Interrupt the regularly scheduled event. Walk-out. Gen X and Gen Z are masters of this tactic, having used it to protest everything from overtesting to gun violence to climate change to racism. 
Overpass Banner: This is something you can prepare right now. Get a bedsheet. Paint a banner. #ProtectTheVote or #CountAllVotes or #DefendDemocracy are all good slogans. Identify a local overpass bridge. Connect with 2-3 friends. Make a plan of action for Election Week. This is a good way to break through media silence, feelings of isolation, or the sense that everyone is fine with the coup. (We're not. You're not.)
Bike Protest: Why march when you can ride? This type of protest is socially-distanced and covers a lot of ground. The one pictured above happened during the George Floyd Protests. It involved 10,000 people and stretched for 4 miles. 
Worker Strike: What's your workplace? (Or your industry or network?) Are you prepared to go on strike to defend the elections? You should be. Strikes and boycotts are some of the best ways to put economic pressure on elites to uphold democracy. If Trump refuses to leave after being voted out, we're going to need workers of all backgrounds to strike. For example, I'm a novelist. I work alone. But I know tons of other writers and have been preparing them to stop working and join the resistance if needed. You can do the same.
School Strike: A climate denier turned dictator in the US is no laughing matter. If the results of the election are ignored, students, teachers, and staff should be prepared to hold a school strike at every level of education. 
Go Slow Strike: Sometimes, we can't strike. If so, then consider the tools that come to us from countless worker struggles. You can go slow and organize coworkers to do the same. You can "work-to-rule", becoming such a stickler for details that it bogs down the whole workplace. You can hold lightning or flash or quickie strikes - stopping work for short periods of time. Rush hour is a particularly good time for this. 
Lunch Hour Protests: If you can't leave work, use your lunch hour to take action. Consider organizing others to do the same. This is something you can prepare for and start talking about now. The more we talk about it, the more we're ready to take action if needed.
Cancel Holidays (ahem, Black Friday, I mean you): We need powerful elites and groups to leverage their influence to uphold the elections ... or just back down from supporting Trump if he loses and tries to stay in office. If this drags into Thanksgiving week, the largest shopping day of the year should become a prime target for citizen boycotts. A coordinated action would make business elites pressure politicians to end the crisis. This is the kind of pressure that we, as citizens, need to be prepared to apply.
Flags: I personally think that if Trump tries to disregard the election results, it's time to flip the flags, cry for help, and be honest that our nation is in crisis. Remember how Bree Newsome climbed the flagpole to take down the Confederate Flag at the statehouse? One kind of direct action you might consider is flipping the flag in high visibility locations. (Check your local laws, folks, some federal buildings may have high penalties for this. Others, not so much. You can also BYOFlag and display it upside down.) If democracy is in crisis, the United States is in crisis.
Learn From Struggles In Other Places: Okay, this isn't a tactic exactly. It's more of a helpful pro-tip. While we in the US may not have faced a crisis of democracy like this, our fellow human beings have. Belarus is in the midst of an eerily similar upheaval; they just inaugurated the opposition leader in a street "Peoples Inauguration" while the guy who probably stole the election inaugurated himself in secret. If you want to hear from organizers in the Philippines who lived through the People Power Revolution or one of the main strategists for Serbia's Otpor! that ousted the dictator Milosevic, or one of the #GambiaHasDecided organizers who survived massacres, torture, and imprisonment as they resisted their dictator . . . our friends at Nonviolence International put together this mindblowing panel of people who have been in our shoes and resisted. Watch part one here and part two here.

Remember: we have more power than we think. Let's use it. In solidarity, Rivera
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Want to talk about more ideas? Don't miss our Oct 9th "Nonviolence News Happy Hour Conversation". We'll likely share more thoughts at our next online conversation. This is where Nonviolence News readers gather to discuss what's happening, share ideas, and reflect on nonviolence (and the news) together. Here's where to find out more and register>>
Nonviolence News shares skills and stories to help us navigate these times. If this special report gave you ideas for action, please support us! Donate here>>

Author/Activist Rivera Sun has written many books and novels, including The Dandelion Insurrection and The Way Between.  She is a nationwide trainer in strategy for nonviolent movements and her essays are published in journals across the country and around the world. You can find out more about her at: www.riverasun.com 

 

Nonviolence News is a sister project to Nonviolence Now. Nonviolence Now is a campaign that is intended to introduce and share stories of nonviolence, and to ignite the potential of principled nonviolence globally. They place thought-provoking nonviolence images in unlikely spaces and connect people who might be leaning toward violence with an alternative. 

 
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