May 26, 2015
Word
A determined population can not only force a domestic ruler to flee the country, but can make a would-be occupier retreat, by the use of a formidable arsenal of tactics: boycotts and demonstrations, occupations and sit-ins, sit-down strikes and general strikes, obstruction and sabotage, refusal to pay taxes, rent strikes, refusal to cooperate, refusal to obey curfew orders or gag orders, refusal to pay fines, fasts and pray-ins, draft resistance, and civil disobedience of various kinds. ~~~ Thousands of such instances have changed the world, but they are nearly absent from the history books. History texts featuring military heroes lead entire generations of the young to think that wars are the only way to solve problems of self-defense, justice, and freedom. They are kept uninformed about the world's long history of nonviolent struggle and resistance. -- Howard Zinn in "Declarations of Independence," 1990
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1 comment:
Saddingly, that's only true if the despot needs the existing population.
In the case of the US, they could kill us all and repopulate by opening the borders to docile Hispanic peasants from Mexico and points south. Oppressed people learn early to keep their heads down.
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