Nonviolent Resistance

1 – Everything You Wanted to Know about Islam but Were Afraid to Ask. Bring your questions and an open mind! Rabia Terri Harris will introduce Islamic thought, answer questions, and discuss common stereotypes about Muslims. What are the major divisions within Islam? What is the attitude of Islam toward other religions and toward atheists? Does Islam encourage violence? What is jihad? Can Muslims be pacifists? (see keynote description for biographical information)

2 – Resisting Religious Fascism. This workshop will cover the rise of theocratic theology within the Christian Church. Rich Lang will explore his thesis that Christianity is being co-opted to serve the expansion of Corporate Empire. (see keynote description for biographical information).

3 - Military Recruiting: Telling the Truth. A discussion of the status of the counter-recruiting movement locally and nationally, JROTC and high school recruiting, conscientious objectors, and the possibility of a draft. Action steps will be explored. Marion Ward is on the Board of Directors and is a founding member of Washington Truth in Recruiting. She is active with Veterans for Peace

4 - Nonviolent Peacekeeping Abroad and at Home. The Nonviolent Peaceforce is an international effort to create a standing professional corps of unarmed civilian peacekeepers. Learn what we can do in our local communities to apply the practice of nonviolence and build an infrastructure capable of supporting broader nonviolent actions. Nick Mele, Communications Director for the Nonviolent Peaceforce, was a career foreign service officer with the US Dept of State. David Berrian is a Peaceforce coordinator.

5 – Immigrant Dreams - A View into Yesterday and Tomorrow. We will discuss the denial of the rights of many by a government fighting against terrorism. This will be a sharing of history and experience for us all. Magdaleno Rose-Avila, Executive Director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, has a 40 year career working on behalf of the poor and those needing civil and human rights protection.

6 - Labor, Nonviolence, and War - The Experience of the Labor Movement with Nonviolence. Labor in the US has a long history of using nonviolent tactics, with mixed results, but also has often refused to "turn the other cheek" when confronted with employer violence. We will consider the implications of these domestic and international contradictions for coalition work between the peace and labor movements. Active in the peace and social justice movements since the ‘60s, Paul Bigman has been a full-time union organizer for over twenty years, most recently with the ILWU. In 1971 he was sent to prison for public non-registration (draft resistance).

7 - Lakoff Language Framing 101. Based on Lakoff’s activist handbook "Don’t Think of an Elephant". Lakoff teaches: tell the truth as you see it, tell it forcefully, straightforwardly and articulately, with moral conviction and without hesitation, and tell it from the perspective of your values. This is how conservatives have controlled political debate and this is how progressives can take it back. With 27 years experience in newspaper pre-press, print production, advertising and market research interviewing, Marge Brando’s activism has centered around union, political and community organizing.

8 - Organizing to Undo Institutional Racism. Focus on white privilege, institutionalized racism, and internalized racism, with a view towards building an antiracist movement. We will discuss local organizing efforts where people can connect to strengthen our network. Delila Leber, of the Coalition of Anti-Racist Whites (CARW), is involved in various Seattle area multiracial organizations. She attended several People's Institute undoing racism trainings.

9 - The Implications of Peak Oil: Challenges and Solutions. Get ready for the world-wide Oil Peak! This workshop will focus on inland and offshore wind-turbine, tidal, and solar panel electrical generation as the energy sources of origin. Mark Wilson served in the US Marine Corps as an artillery meteorologist. He is a founding member of Western Washington Veterans for Peace #92, and was a candidate for the US Senate, WA ‘04.

10 - Nonviolence Training 201: Peacekeeping and Privilege. Despite best intentions, we often replicate the very patterns of power we try to change. Explore through interactive exercises how rank and privilege may impact how we are perceived and how effectively we act as peacekeepers. Ellen Finkelstein is the Staff Organizer for WWFOR and has been doing nonviolence trainings for 20+ years.

11 - Towards Reconciling Differences. How should FOR members deal with disagreements that touch core values? Addressing our own disagreements is a first step towards working effectively with those outside FOR. We will participate in a process for talking about difficult issues, focusing on abortion as one such issue. Fred Korn was one of the student organizers of the National Teach-In on Vietnam in 1965. He taught philosophy for 20 years and later worked for Boeing for15 years, assisting large and small groups to communicate and work together more effectively.

12 - Nonviolent Resistance to War in Iraq: Staying a Hopeful Course. In this highly participatory workshop, we’ll consider how specific strategies of nonviolent resistance might be used most effectively to end U.S. involvement in death and destruction in Iraq. How might we broaden and deepen our resistance? Marcia Mullins, co-chair of the WWFOR Area Committee, is an original organizer of Sound Nonviolent Opponents to War. She compiles and manages the SNOW calendar and listserv with 1,500 subscribers.

13 - Putting ‘A Force More Powerful’ Videos to Work. These videos highlight major political struggles in the 20^th century where non-violent resistance brought about significant change (the Nashville Sit-ins, Gandhi’s March to the Sea, etc). We will explore issues and strategies raised, and consider ways this video series can be used to teach the power of nonviolent resistance to the uninitiated. Louise Lansberry has worked to encourage the use of ‘A Force More Powerful’ videos in churches, schools and neighborhood groups. She taught at Seattle Central Community College for more than 20 years.

14 - Considering War Tax Resistance. Opposed to the war we are funding? We have options. This workshop looks at the philosophy, techniques and consequences of War Tax Resistance. John Chisholm was a Vietnam War conscientious objector. He helped create the Axis of Peace WTR campaign encouraging redirection of symbolic amounts of income taxes to peaceful causes. He redirected $911.01 of his 2004 income tax to the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice.

15 - Claiming Right & Ending Corporate Rule. U.S. Constitutional law enables a minority to define for the many this nation’s public policies, economy and community. Minority rule is grounded in a legal framework that grants constitutional rights to property, invalidating inalienable human rights. This workshop develops two connections between non-violent action and the cessation of corporate rule: nonviolent challenges to the LAW, and nonviolent challenges to the LORE - that is, to the ‘received’ culture that encourages our complicity. Dean Ritz co-teaches the Seattle ‘Democracy School’ and co-produces the ‘Ethically Speaking’ radio show.

18 - Being Mahatma Gandhi in India. After bringing Gandhi’s words to US audiences for several years, Bernie Meyer brought his presentation to audiences in India in 2005. He’ll describe that experience, placed in the context of Gandhi’s vision and the present prospects for India and the U.S. A 40-year peace activist, Bernie is an active member of FOR and of the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action.

19 - Time Honored Words: Storytelling, Poetry, and Spoken Word Traditions as Part of Social Justice Education in Classrooms and Communities. Storytelling and creative writing inspire us to express deeply held beliefs around critical issues of war and peace. Spring-boarding from peace tales and poetry, this lively workshop invites your participation. Poet and storyteller Merna Ann Hecht works to support young people in becoming critical thinkers who can imagine and work toward a more humane world.

20 - Songs of Labor, Peace, and Justice. We will learn and sing songs from the labor, peace, and broader social justice movements, both historical and contemporary. Discover interesting background about the songs and the people who wrote them. You might even join "Lou’s Crew" to perform a rousing favorite on Sunday night! Lou Truskoff is a long-time labor and social justice activist, with a particular interest in the music and songs of these movements. He has been part of several groups that have performed this material. Lou was a founder of the Seattle Labor Chorus and still sings with the Chorus.

21 - Small Actions, Powerful Poems. "For every thousand people who say they are ready to do something big, there is at most one who is really ready to do something small. That is the root of evil and our source of hope" - from a German Quaker Bulletin. In this poetry writing exercise, we will share experiences of small actions that have lit up our lives. Out of this we will write short vivid poems, both as individuals and as a group. Ruth Yarrow retired as co-organizer for WWFOR at the end of 2004. Her haiku have been published in major haiku journals since 1979.