The issue of nonviolent resistance in Liverpool
Dora wrote...
Gene Sharp wrote his From Dictatorship to Democracy in 1993 on how to challenge power, more particularly dictators. He ended his preface with “Nor should this analysis be interpreted to mean that when a specific dictatorship is ended, all other problems will also disappear.”
Four ladies from Toxteth showed us how a small group can protest a democratic elected counsel who’s choices have destroyed a lively community. “But we are only allowed democracy as long as we don’t have any power.” Although this sounds radical, their protest didn’t start off from an ideological point of view but from a necessity to live in a neighbourhood you are proud to go home to.
On the other hand, in another interview, one woman is hoping students will stand up against the tuition fee, “take action”. But as she said, a lot has shifted on to the internet and we all tick boxes on facebook and we sit back and ask where this is going.
“The effect of nonviolent struggle is not only to weaken and remove the dictators but also to empower the oppressed. This technique enables people who formerly felt themselves to be only pawns or victims to wield power directly in order to gain by their own efforts greater freedom and justice. This experience of struggle has important psychological consequences, contributing to increased self-esteem and self-confidence among the formerly powerless.” (Gene Sharp)