Non-Violent Communication as a Tool for Fomenting Social Change
By loraxina
@loraxina (4)
United States
January 29, 2008 3:02am CST
I would love to hear people's thoughts on the potential for Non-Violent Communication (NVC) to contribute to activism and social change work. What role can compassionate, non-judgmental listening and self-expression have in creating a world that cares for everyone's needs? What role can these play in addressing issues like racism, sexism, classism, the destruction of our planet, and war - among others?
Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.
1 response
@egeckardt (8)
•
10 Aug 09
NVC can work, but I think it plays into the hands of the establishment when a group binds themselves to this as an ideology. Gandhi said that their was nothing passive about his resistance, rather it was a tool that worked. When the establishment knows that a group is going to use NVC, they can plan it and control it. A group has to use civil disobedience at some point, because laws are devised to control dissent. Freedom of speech zone and assembly permits must be ignored for a demonstration to really be effective. And if peaceful protests do not affect change than the people must do something else. Strikes can be effective, as can product boycotts, but it is very hard to create a mass movement with the media we have.
