Now, for those who think that firebombing Tesla dealerships is a better tactic than nonviolent protests, I would remind you of the world-changing work of Gandhi and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. And I would also tell you about the work of Harvard political scientist Erica Chenoweth and her colleagues. To Chenoweth’s surprise — shock, actually — she discovered that over time, nonviolent protests are far more successful than violent ones.
Between 1900 and 2006, she says, campaigns of nonviolent civil resistance were twice as successful as violent campaigns. She also came up with the so-called 3.5% rule: No government can withstand a challenge from around 3.5% of its population without accommodating the movement.
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To hit the magic percentage, about 11 million Americans would have to rise up. In 2017, nearly half a million people protested Trump at the Women’s March in Washington. Around the United States, between 3.2 million and 5.2 million people joined in, which amounts to between 1% and 1.6% of the population.
I could be wrong, but it seems to me that twice as many Americans are now upset enough to take to the streets.
The goal is not to overthrow the government. The goal is to awaken the small-d democratic instincts of a Republican-dominated Congress that has actively ceded its power to Trump. And the only way they’ll snap to is if they begin to fear for their jobs.
Column: Americans aren’t waiting for the Democratic Party to take on Trump
The Democratic Party hasn’t found a way to meet Trump’s authoritarian moment, but if enough voters take to the streets in peaceful protest, change will come.
Column: Americans aren’t waiting for the Democratic Party to take on Trump – Los Angeles Times
