WHY THIS ACTIVITY?
In the spirit of resisting through Disrupting and Disobeying, rural human dignity leaders across Oregon have been showing up on the streets consistently these last few months. These actions help remind us that we aren’t alone; that our neighbors and millions of others are in this with us. They break through fear and isolation, bring in folks who might otherwise stay on the sidelines, and show the regime that a large portion of the population is not okay with what’s going on. Loyalty to authoritarianism is based on fear of repercussion and the sense that the authoritarian regime is inevitable, so you better go along with it. Visibly showing that it isn’t inevitable and that many people are actually resisting can help create openings for the people who prop up an authoritarian to defect.
WHAT IS THE ACTIVITY?
Noncooperation is directly removing sources of the regime’s social, economic, and political power. Protests and demonstrations are just one of many powerful noncooperation tactics. The slide above includes other examples of noncooperation that people are engaging with right now. As the Trump regime moves to consolidate authoritarian power in this moment, we need to build out our noncooperation toolbox to disrupt this attempt.
This month’s Kitchen Table Activity is to learn and skill up as a group around noncooperation strategies and tactics.
HOW TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY
- Watch the recording of this recent Zoom training that addresses the moment we find ourselves in and lays out additional noncooperation strategies and tactics. This training was put on by a group called the Freedom Trainers as part of One Million Rising, a national effort to build the number of those trained in noncooperation to meet this moment.
- Get together with your Human Dignity Group
- Discuss: what stood out to you? What ideas came to mind about using these tactics locally?
- Plan: start mapping out what local action or campaign your group wants to take on, or how these strategies and tactics can fold into what your group is already doing.
- Join ROP’s office hours on Monday, August 11th, to make your plan to complete this KTA or to chat about anything else coming up in your local organizing!
- Register here.
- Let us know how we can support you, or report back on how it went! Email sidra@rop.org.
Kitchen Table Activism (KTA) is a monthly activity by the Rural Organizing Project. The idea is that small actions can lead to powerful collective results when groups of people gather to complete the same action across the state of Oregon. ROP works to keep each KTA easily achievable so that groups with other projects or groups with limited immediate energy can still complete the KTA each month.
