Democracy Now!
by Matt Meyer. What does it take to break a “crime of silence”? That was the stated purpose for Bertrand Russell’s original 1966 International War Crimes Tribunal on the Vietnam War, just as it was for last weekend’s New York session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine. Though some activists see such public reviews as
by Matt Meyer. Amidst occupations and uprisings, mass mobilizations and stirring campaigns this year, the question of how to best connect our ideals with more pragmatic considerations has been a constant refrain. Discussions about tactics and their philosophical underpinnings have gotten particularly heated. Often these debates have been based as much on rhetoric and theory
by Matt Meyer. Between July 26 and 30, in Johannesburg, South Africa, peacemakers from 12 countries throughout Africa met to share experiences and birthed a new, continent-wide African Nonviolence and Peacebuilding Network (ANPN). As part of a War Resisters International (WRI) initiated African Nonviolence Trainer’s Exchange, the gathering was hosted by South Africa’s Ceasefire Campaign,
by Matt Meyer. With a curfew imposed throughout the northeastern Nigerian province of Plateau following the July 7 massacre of over 20 civilians, and then a subsequent attack killing prominent politicians, the issues of security, democracy and peaceful change in that West African country ring through all parts of its dense population. Violent acts of
by Matt Meyer. The dry air crackles with heat as temperatures climb to record highs for the fifth day in two weeks. The land seems poised for devastation. The unrelenting force of the wildfires spreads from village to village, causing the population to flee in search of shelter in safer parts. The people seem overwhelmed
by Matt Meyer. Since my long-standing engagement with the Puerto Rican peace movement, it has been hard to celebrate the Fourth of July. Never too keen on “bombs bursting in air,” I nonetheless think that there is much to celebrate in the 18th-century movement of the thirteen colonies against British imperial policy, but so much
by Matt Meyer. Today, father, is father’s day, And we’re giving you a tie. It’s not much we know, It’s just our way of showing you We think you are a regular guy. You say that it was nice of us to bother. But it really was a pleasure to fuss, For according to our
by Matt Meyer. As we evaluate the successes and errors of past organizations in order to shape more effective movements today, it is vital to be careful and precise about what lessons remain relevant. Certain organizations, such as the Black Panthers, have amassed so much interest and subsequent mythology that it is often particularly difficult
by Matt Meyer
When contemplating “The Marriage of Gandhi and Che,” the subtitle of my contribution to the new book Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution, I was originally thinking of something frilly with lace — perhaps an off-white gown of appropriate drama.
The title of Todd Gitlin’s new essay for The Nation—“Will Occupy Embrace Nonviolence?”—is enough to fill activists both young and old with worry. In addition to the fear that Gitlin may be providing simplistic prescriptions to the complicated contemporary movement, it is also true that Gitlin has some ahistorical blind spots regarding the false dichotomy
