"Promises"

I had recently watched the documentary "Promises", about the Israeli-Palistinian conflict and it really got me thinking about the idea of social interaction. This film showed us that these people, especially the youth population, really only knew the negative or violent aspects of the other. These children are being raised in the middle of a war, living seperate, violent, hate-filled ways of life. When interviewed, the children initially wanted nothing to do with a more unified way of life. However, once an outside source was part of the equation, these children agreed to meet. They seemed somewhat shocked that they were able to intertwine and have fun so easily. By the end of the day the children had a much more open mind about their separate lives. They seemed to realize that they were all human beings and it was merely a war that was keeping them from living peaceful lives together. This type of interaction was able to essentially change a "segregated state of mind" into a more unifed, peaceful one. Also this dealt with only a small group, social interaction is a very powerful strategy.

Digital Resistance

When looking back at major efforts made or movements, there are certain characteristics that seem to apply to most. There are often leaders, groups that follow and support, media coverage, and specific locations that are key to the movement. This, of course, does not apply to every nonviolent movement, but many that we have looked at in class. We recently, however, discussed the idea of "digital resistance". This idea is one that I am not particularly "sold on" when dealing with nonviolent strategy. For example, we looked at a program called Second Life, where people can essentially "live a life" through a computer character. Along with personal activities, you can also do things such as protest and support certain causes. Outside of Second Life, there are other digital movements such as joining certain groups online or even just clicking to add a number on a website. I have a hard time grasping the actual accomplishments of this kind of movement. Are actions like these actually affecting the opposition? I had never even heard of Second Life until our class discussion, leading me to wonder how effective their character's protest actually is in the real world. Other examples of digital resistance could be hacking or redirecting online. This is also somewhat odd to me when viewed as a nonviolent act. Although no physical violence is being done, our society today views computer hacking as a very negative thing, regardless of the cause. Redirecting your opposition's website to porn for example, would negatively effect not only the company, but also the people that are trying to reach their website. After discussing the various definitions of violence and nonviolence, it is very difficult for me to view this as nonviolent.

Sharp and Burrows: Power

When thinking about the authors Sharp and Burrows, it is difficult for me to decide which side I really take between the two. More specifically, I find their thoughts on the center of gravity in society, or the "societal triangle" quite interesting. Both place the elites at the top of the triangle, with the people or numbers at the bottom. Sharp believes that "eliminating" part of the bottom, or people, will cause the entire triangle, or power, to topple over. Burrows, on the other hand, seems to think that the base of the triangle is not as important as the elite group and its surrounding elites. He claims that elites are reliant on other elites and not on the people power. When trying to apply these strategies or ideas to a personal situation, I would have to say that I agree with Sharp. A good example is a college or university. The elites would be the faculty and staff, and of course the numbers would lie in the students. When looking at a movement or the power on a campus, the students truly would have the power. Although college students are students for a reason, when it comes down to it, their tuition bills pay for the college and it's staff. Most often, students outnumber their professors. There are many situations where merely having the numbers and support show the power over the elites.

Burma, Ghanda, and Civil Rights

When reading the case study of Burma 1988, I learned that it shared many qualitites of other nonviolent movements. In the efforts to change the democracy/dictatorship situation that they were in, I found it interesting just how much impact Ghandi had on this movement. After visiting Burma three seperate times, Ghandi recommended nonviolent noncooperation as a strategy, much like the approach he himself displayed. There is also the similarity of self dependence, wearing the pinni, or handmade cloth, as was done in India.
This movement not only showed aspects of Ghandi, but it also put me in mind of the civil rights movement. The spark of this movement was the assault of three students, which the police refused to prosecute. This resulted in actions such as student protests and the growth of public demonstrations, widely used in the civil rights movement.
On paper, these actions resulted in success, but when it came down to it, there was still a sense of corruption in their government. This seems to be a trend in not only nonviolent movements, but movements in general; complete planned success is difficult to accomplish and in turn, is not always the outcome.