Voices for Creative Nonviolence
 | ||
| Protesters wear shirts reading "Non-Violence Is Our Strength" |
Between 1990 and 2003, the United States and United Nations impose
brutal economic sanctions that challenge the livelihoods of
Iraqi people. Soon after, peace activists join to start
Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a group that is active in non-violent
brutal economic sanctions that challenge the livelihoods of
Iraqi people. Soon after, peace activists join to start
Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a group that is active in non-violent
resistance to U.S. war-making. Members of VCNV draw
experiences from those who are directly influenced
by corrupt governments and the negative impacts of war.
 |
| Kathy Kelly in Afghanistan to experience living in a war zone |
When
2005-present
Where
Chicago, Illinois
Practitioners
Voices for Creative Nonviolence
Kathy Kelly
Further Insight
Contributors
Jake Pemberton
By bringing issues back home, members of VCNV make it difficult for people to ignore the problems at hand, and encourage more to speak up and fight for a just cause. "Where you stand determines what you see", a belief that members of VCNV, as Kathy Kelly describes, work by. If Kelly and her colleagues can reveal the facts about the consequences of war in the faces of the uneducated, they will see a new world and gain (or change) their stance on the issue.
As a means of educating those who do not understand the full scope of how U.S.-waged wars impact human lives, VCNV applies tactics that help to communicate their message. Although many of the activists have been arrested or visit war zones, Kathy Kelly does not advocate a violent approach to protest, "if it's good for the goose it's good for the gander. Total nonviolence is the best way to go." However, the nonviolence is strategic. Kelly protests in ways that are responsible and even-keeled, but knows when it is time to escalate her participation in a protest. Such escalation has gotten her arrested, hog-tied, and sent to prison multiple times, but has also helped her portray the importance of her movement and convey her message. Although, escalation is not essential, especially when the protest is, as Kelly describes, out of the ordinary or unusual. VCNV activists spend much of their time living in villages of war zones, protesting and fighting to help the people living in chaos. Some might think the simple act of Americans protesting in Afghanistan, Yemen, or Iran is unusual, and they are correct. Kelly explains how she and other activists have fasted in foreign countries as a way to protest in an unusual way, and how it progresses their efforts: "We’ve done 30-day fasts, 40-day fasts, and 28-day water-only fasts. I think when they see a group of U.S. people fasting they think 'well, they’re pretty weird, we don’t really get them, but we’re not afraid of them. They’re obviously trying to do a good thing." She believes protesting in a way that seems out of the ordinary adds to the image of how important and serious a movement is. VCNV members, for example, fasted in Iraq in front of a government building for thirty days in protest of economic sanctions that directly resulted in the deaths of nearly half a million children under five-years-old. Through the fast, Kelly believes, the activists were allowed more access to move about the country, communicate their cause, and eventually lift such sanctions.
As an organization, Kathy Kelly perceives Voices for Creative Nonviolence as a source of information for those who do not understand the murderous consequences of U.S.-waged wars. Through nonviolent, sometimes unusual tactics, these activists collect experiences and moral power in the face of danger to fight for a cause they deeply believe in. The actions of such peace activists do not seem like much, but sometimes all it takes is simplicity, "a simple actions awakens altruism," Kelly explains. "it makes people want to help. If we don't care about political will, then we're left with rage and despair, and society can't flourish in the face of rage and despair."
Theories Used
Anti-oppression (212)
Hamoq & hamas (236)
Pedagogy of the Oppressed (246)
Why It Works
If you can stay disciplined and not act out with violence while advocating change, others will respect the movement and feel comfortable to understand it. Once understood, more will join and realize the importance of the movement, and eventually realize why success is essential.
Tactics Used
Strategic Nonviolence (88)
Do something ususual
Key Principles at Work
Bring the issue home (106)
Escalate strategically (134)
New Principle at Work
Never let inconvenience interfere with acting in accord with your deepest beliefs
Work comes easy when it is convenient, and for many people, it is time to quit when such work pushes them out of their comfort zone. This does not hold true for Kathy Kelly or members of VCNV, as they find it essential to never allow inconvenience limit their drive to create a better world. Kelly has been arrested, hog-tied, and imprisoned three times, has lived in war-zones and along refugees, and has participated in month-long fasts. All of which would be regarded as inconvenient to anybody, but that does not stop Kelly from acting in accord with her deepest beliefs.
Voices for Creative Nonviolence (VCNV) was founded in 1996 by a group of peace activists in an apartment kitchen. The group began as "Voices in Wilderness", and worked to lift the corrupt economic sanctions against Iraqi people. When the activists realized they had not made progress over the years, they changed the organization's name in 2006 to what it is today, expanding their message to combat corrupt governments and U.S.-affiliated war. Fed up with people around the globe dying and living in turmoil due to the consequences of wars and bombings, members of VCNV set out to portray the message that the consequences are not worth the gains of war: "What we bring to the efforts to stop wars is literacy; I find people are illiterate. They just don't know about the consequences of wars the U.S. is waging," the organization's co-coordinator, Kathy Kelly, claims in an interview.
But how can a small group of activists educate an entire country about the negative consequences that come with war, and how they overcome the overall gains? Members of VCNV work towards this by visiting war zones and living in such places for periods of time.While they live in war zones, the activists will learn the stories of villages; what the people have gone through and how war has directly impacted their lives. VCNV members will take such stories back to the U.S. and illustrate the experiences they learn to audiences in the attempt to educate the negative consequences of war. They believe bringing the issues back home will educate American citizens about the true impacts of war, thus evoking public emotion, sparking the conversation, and hopefully progressing the movement against U.S.-waged wars.
By bringing issues back home, members of VCNV make it difficult for people to ignore the problems at hand, and encourage more to speak up and fight for a just cause. "Where you stand determines what you see", a belief that members of VCNV, as Kathy Kelly describes, work by. If Kelly and her colleagues can reveal the facts about the consequences of war in the faces of the uneducated, they will see a new world and gain (or change) their stance on the issue.
As a means of educating those who do not understand the full scope of how U.S.-waged wars impact human lives, VCNV applies tactics that help to communicate their message. Although many of the activists have been arrested or visit war zones, Kathy Kelly does not advocate a violent approach to protest, "if it's good for the goose it's good for the gander. Total nonviolence is the best way to go." However, the nonviolence is strategic. Kelly protests in ways that are responsible and even-keeled, but knows when it is time to escalate her participation in a protest. Such escalation has gotten her arrested, hog-tied, and sent to prison multiple times, but has also helped her portray the importance of her movement and convey her message. Although, escalation is not essential, especially when the protest is, as Kelly describes, out of the ordinary or unusual. VCNV activists spend much of their time living in villages of war zones, protesting and fighting to help the people living in chaos. Some might think the simple act of Americans protesting in Afghanistan, Yemen, or Iran is unusual, and they are correct. Kelly explains how she and other activists have fasted in foreign countries as a way to protest in an unusual way, and how it progresses their efforts: "We’ve done 30-day fasts, 40-day fasts, and 28-day water-only fasts. I think when they see a group of U.S. people fasting they think 'well, they’re pretty weird, we don’t really get them, but we’re not afraid of them. They’re obviously trying to do a good thing." She believes protesting in a way that seems out of the ordinary adds to the image of how important and serious a movement is. VCNV members, for example, fasted in Iraq in front of a government building for thirty days in protest of economic sanctions that directly resulted in the deaths of nearly half a million children under five-years-old. Through the fast, Kelly believes, the activists were allowed more access to move about the country, communicate their cause, and eventually lift such sanctions.
As an organization, Kathy Kelly perceives Voices for Creative Nonviolence as a source of information for those who do not understand the murderous consequences of U.S.-waged wars. Through nonviolent, sometimes unusual tactics, these activists collect experiences and moral power in the face of danger to fight for a cause they deeply believe in. The actions of such peace activists do not seem like much, but sometimes all it takes is simplicity, "a simple actions awakens altruism," Kelly explains. "it makes people want to help. If we don't care about political will, then we're left with rage and despair, and society can't flourish in the face of rage and despair."
Theories Used
Anti-oppression (212)
Hamoq & hamas (236)
Pedagogy of the Oppressed (246)
Why It Works
If you can stay disciplined and not act out with violence while advocating change, others will respect the movement and feel comfortable to understand it. Once understood, more will join and realize the importance of the movement, and eventually realize why success is essential.
“First they ignore you,
then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win” – Mahatma Ghandi.
Strategic Nonviolence (88)
Do something ususual
Bring the issue home (106)
Escalate strategically (134)
New Theory Used
Education is key
Kathy Kelly and VCNV believe that the key to a successful movement is to educate the illiterate. The peace activists understand that many people may not comprehend or even know about the issues that VCNV is involved with. But they also believe that this "blindness" can not be an excuse to allow such wrong-doing to occur. By visiting war zones and learning the stories from refugees and those who live in such places about how U.S.-waged wars have directly ruined their lives, they can bring such experiences back to Chicago and help other realize what is going on.
New Principle at Work
Never let inconvenience interfere with acting in accord with your deepest beliefs
Work comes easy when it is convenient, and for many people, it is time to quit when such work pushes them out of their comfort zone. This does not hold true for Kathy Kelly or members of VCNV, as they find it essential to never allow inconvenience limit their drive to create a better world. Kelly has been arrested, hog-tied, and imprisoned three times, has lived in war-zones and along refugees, and has participated in month-long fasts. All of which would be regarded as inconvenient to anybody, but that does not stop Kelly from acting in accord with her deepest beliefs.
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