SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
nonviolence
Peaceful Protest—Not Polarization—Is the Recipe for Saving Our Democracy
Nonviolent movements attract a big tent—and based on research from the many successful nonviolent resistance movements against authoritarianism worldwide, we need a big tent now.
Nov 18, 2025
On a cloudy Wednesday in mid-April, Jared and Laurie Berezin, a couple in their 40s from Maynard, Massachusetts, pulled their car into the Macy’s parking lot at the Burlington Mall. Carrying a sign that said, “Just Say No To Harassing Immigrants,” the two stood by themselves outside Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s New England Regional Headquarters.
One week later, there were five people. Six weeks after that, there were 60. Earlier this month, at the 29th consecutive Wednesday protest, there were more than 700.
Singing and chanting, the crowd of grandmothers, ministers, war veterans, nuclear physicists, retirees, and many others offered hope and support as a handful of immigrants arrived for their deportation hearings. Using bullhorns, they decried injustices happening inside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility where hundreds of immigrants, many with no criminal records, have been detained for multiple days since January.
This is what peaceful—and pluralistic—civil disobedience looks like. And it’s happening all over Massachusetts—and the country. Polarization has no place in these protests. Respect for due process and the law does.
No Kings and protests like Burlington’s remind us that when we come together in solidarity, we can do amazing things.
In October, No Kings Day was touted as one of the largest peaceful protests in US history, second only to the first Earth Day in 1970. Here in Boston our organization, Mass 50501, estimated over 100,000 gathered on Boston Common to stand in solidarity for our Democratic Republic and against the rapid rise of President Donald Trump's authoritarianism.
As an organizer, I am often asked why there is so much energy and commitment to nonviolence behind this ever-growing national movement. There are two reasons: a deep devotion to the values this country was founded on. And the knowledge that history shows peace is more powerful and effective than other means in achieving change.
As a mother and an educator, I will not associate myself with violent protests. Nonviolent movements attract a big tent—and based on research from the many successful nonviolent resistance movements against authoritarianism worldwide, we need a big tent now.
We make space for all as long as we can remain respectful of each other and work together to hold up the tentpole of democracy. This is a perfect reflection of what our country was founded on.
That is why protests like Burlington’s last and lead to positive impacts such as the Burlington Town Meeting’s overwhelming vote in October for a resolution demanding that ICE end overnight detentions and overall “inhumane” conditions.
“Burlington should never be complicit in unlawful or inhumane detentions,” Town Meeting member Phyllis Neufeld, the resolution’s author, told a throng of protesters outside the ICE facility last month. “We are now on record demanding change.”
When our United States was formed, it was by people from different backgrounds and religions who were willing to work together to oust a British King and create a new political order founded on personal liberty and justice for all.
But our democracy has not always worked well for all people. Our history is rife with periods of systemic divides: Think of the Gilded Age and the Jim Crow South.
As happened then, we are now witnessing firsthand how easy it is to create wedges between us. This is exactly what has been exploited by this administration. Those who follow history know that this divide did not start with our 47th president, Donald Trump. It began nearly three decades ago when politicians such as Newt Gingrich decided to stop trying to reach across the aisle and instead use derision and polarization for power.
The United States of America—the country known for individualism—has been manipulated into teams of red and blue. Our politicians are elected to fight for the needs of all of their constituents, but now they vote down party lines instead of finding compromise and solutions on important issues such as affordable housing and healthcare.
Meanwhile, Americans are paying higher prices for goods and losing their benefits and social safety nets. Many of us are watching our neighbors being dragged away by masked men. Bills and blood pressure are up, while empathy and mental health are down.
This is the authoritarian playbook. They want us fighting each other. It makes us easier to control. No Kings and protests like Burlington’s remind us that when we come together in solidarity, we can do amazing things. We are building communities and rekindling our sense of belonging.
It is time to reunite. This will take work and daily action, but there is a place for everyone in this movement. We are writing American history right now—what will your story be?
Keep ReadingShow Less
Why Abolition Matters in This Moment
The crises of our generation demand a holistic approach that acknowledges the interconnectedness of systems of oppression and the need for a collective movement that dismantles state violence at all levels.
Oct 22, 2025
It feels like the world is spinning out of control as militarized violence, climate chaos, economic inequality, and authoritarianism escalate. At the same time, I've been inspired by an expanding sense of global solidarity, epitomized by the thousands who traveled to Egypt for the March to Gaza this past June and the millions who watched in real time as the Global Sumud Flotilla attempted to break Israel's siege this month. Amid escalating violence, the repression of civil rights, and the incarceration of peaceful protesters worldwide, there is a growing people's movement for transformative action that connects the dots between militarism, corporate capitalism, and the climate crisis.
In this context, I've been planning the logistics for World BEYOND War’s annual global #NoWar2025 Conference on October 24-26 with the feeling that this year's theme of abolition is especially timely. The crises of our generation demand a holistic approach that acknowledges the interconnectedness of systems of oppression and the need for a collective abolition movement that dismantles state violence at all levels. Abolition invites us to reimagine safety and security beyond punishment, control, and state violence.
Abolition is a project of liberation, a collection of goals, ideas, practices, strategies, campaigns, and movements aimed at abolishing institutions and forces of violence—from police and prisons to war and colonization. It’s an act of refusal, a rejection of the violent status quo. And a commitment to build something much better, together.
Admittedly, abolition can be a daunting concept. And in the face of encroaching state violence and authoritarianism, there can be an impulse to play it safe—to appease, or to attempt to reform. But the systemic issues we face necessitate a rethinking of the system itself, a paradigmatic shift away from the corporate capitalistic framework that fuels the inequities of our time. This starts first with daring to imagine what an abolitionist future could look like. The work of World BEYOND War challenges us to make that mental leap. Otherwise, we can get stuck in cycles of piecemeal reforms that never address root causes and upend the institutions that perpetuate violence.
The #NoWar2025 Virtual Conference on October 24-26 will be a key moment to come together across borders and movements to explore abolition as a visionary and necessary approach to dismantling systems of violence.
Importantly, dismantling violent and oppressive systems does not mean that society is left in a vacuum without support. On the contrary, abolition necessitates creating community-led nonviolent systems that center common security, meaning, “No one is safe until all are safe.” These models already exist and can be learned from and replicated.
Costa Rica abolished its military. South Africa ended apartheid (but work continues for reconciliation and reparations). Many Indigenous peoples around the world have long employed ancestral and liberatory practices beyond prisons, policing, and punishment while other communities are trying new models of violence interruption programs, nonviolent deescalation, community self-policing, court diversion, restorative and transformative justice, and much more right now.
Beyond a failure of imagination, a key impediment to abolition is the misuse of billions of our tax dollars. When we call for defunding the police and slashing the military budget, those funds must be adequately redirected toward meeting people’s basic needs and establishing robust systems for common security. To discount frameworks like unarmed civilian defense, violence interruption programs, and restorative justice processes as being unfeasible at scale overlooks the fact that most of these programs are grassroots driven with little funding. Imagine what we could achieve with the $1 trillion per year currently spent on the US military alone.
The #NoWar2025 Virtual Conference on October 24-26 will be a key moment to come together across borders and movements to explore abolition as a visionary and necessary approach to dismantling systems of violence, including police, prisons, militaries, and borders, while cultivating communities rooted in justice, care, and collective well-being. Join us.
Keep ReadingShow Less
'We Will Not Back Down,' Says Indivisible as Trump Aims FBI, IRS at Liberal Groups
"Let’s call this what it is: A baseless attempt to chill free speech and scare people away from exercising their constitutional right to protest an authoritarian regime."
Oct 10, 2025
The pro-democracy group Indivisible is among those speaking out against the Trump administration's reported targeting of progressive and liberal organizations with various government agencies, including the FBI and IRS, as part of what critics call an "authoritarian playbook" by President Donald Trump that seeks to criminalize dissent, chill free speech, and frame nonviolent protest and opposition as "domestic terrorism."
In-depth reporting by Reuters named Trump's far-right, xenophobic White House advisor Stephen Miller as "playing a central role" in the internal effort to wield the power of federal agencies at a variety of organizations that the administration claims—contrary to all available evidence—are funding or orchestrating violent protests and political attacks.
Granted anonymity to speak more freely about the internal mechanics of the operation, Reuters' reporting is based on discussions with "three White House officials, four Department of Homeland Security officials and one Justice Department official to produce the first comprehensive account of how decisions are being made, forces deployed, and operations coordinated in the crackdown."
"Trump wants to scare people away from exercising their constitutional rights. We won’t let him succeed. Don’t let this smear distract you. The best response to attacks on our rights is to exercise our rights. That means showing up in huge numbers on October 18."
According to Reuters, "Miller is deeply involved in reviewing government agencies' investigations into the financial networks behind what the administration labels 'domestic terror networks,' which include nonprofits and even educational institutions, a White House official said."
In response to [a Reuter's request], the White House highlighted seven political protests in 2023 and 2025 that included acts of violence directed against law enforcement officials, and two incidents of vandalism at Tesla dealerships this year as well as half a dozen social media posts celebrating the damage.
It named nine liberal groups, donors or fundraising organizations that it said helped finance or plan protests where the violent incidents occurred.
While the second White House official stressed that the organizations were not necessarily potential targets, the material provides insight into the administration's thinking.The list includes Soros' Open Society Foundations; ActBlue, the funding arm of the Democratic Party; Indivisible, a grassroots coalition opposed to Trump policies and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a Los Angeles-based group.
"The goal is to destabilize Soros’ network," a third White House official said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Soros's network of charitable organizations rejected any claim by Trump or the White House officials that its operations have anything to do with violent conduct or promoting violence.
"Neither George Soros nor the Open Society Foundations fund protests, condone violence, or foment it in any way," the spokesperson said. "Claims to the contrary are false."
Other groups named by the White House officials were two Jewish-led advocacy groups, IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace, both of which have organized protests and nonviolent sit-ins to oppose the genocide in Gaza being carried out by the US-backed Israeli government.
Citing the Reuters reporting, Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin said in a social media thread Thursday night that the fact a looming crackdown on groups opposed to Trump and his far-right agenda is coming less than two weeks before "before the largest peaceful protest in modern American history is absolutely intentional." On October 18, massive protests are planned nationwide as a follow-up to the "No Kings" day of action that took place in June, bringing an estimated one million people into the streets against the Republican Party's authoritarian lurch under Trump.
According to Reuters, "Miller is taking a 'hands-on' role in investigating the funding of nonprofits and educational institutions and is sharing recommendations from Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with Trump and other top advisers," as well as sharing information with the joint terrorism task force.
"We don’t have all the details, but it appears Trump’s regime is gearing up to smear us with ludicrous accusations that we’re somehow tied to violence at protests—a claim that’s as false as it is predictable," said Levin. "Let’s call this what it is: A baseless attempt to chill free speech and scare people away from exercising their constitutional right to protest an authoritarian regime. We have been committed to nonviolence from the very beginning. It’s a core principle, not just a talking point."
"We will not back down," Levin said in the post. "Trump and Miller can lie, smear, and threaten all they want. They will lose."
"By floating false allegations of violence," he concluded, "Trump wants to scare people away from exercising their constitutional rights. We won’t let him succeed. Don’t let this smear distract you. The best response to attacks on our rights is to exercise our rights. That means showing up in huge numbers on October 18."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular