Category: Pondering Peace
Responding to Tyranny
For the last couple of weeks my focus has been riveted on the news coming out of Minneapolis. Perhaps it is because I spent a couple of my childhood years living in south Minneapolis, not far from where there has been intense ICE activity and Renee Good was killed. Perhaps it is because the aggressiveness and violence of ICE actions are increasing to an alarming level. We have family and friends who live there, and they corroborate what we see in the news.
ICE agents in full tactical gear, with masked faces, and carrying guns are roaming neighborhood streets, looking for immigrants they can detain and deport. Those they stop are often treated brutally, with no regard to their civil rights or personal safety. Doors are being rammed in and people being dragged out of their homes and taken away without judicial warrant. Yet only around 5% of those detained have violent criminal convictions, with almost 75% having no convictions at all. As Minneapolis residents seek to look after their neighbors by keeping watch, alerting them to ICE agents with whistles, recording encounters, and protesting ICE’s presence, they frequently are also becoming victims of political violence. Those living in Minneapolis describe their experience as similar to living under military occupation.
Many who are just trying to live their lives are getting caught up in the chaos. One African American family with six children in the car were on their way home when they encountered ICE agents, who threw a tear gas cannister under their car. The explosion lifted the car which denotated all the airbags and released tear gas into the car. By the time they got their six-month old baby out, he was no longer breathing. Fortunately, he was revived with CPR, but the long term effects are not known.
A Hmong-American man and U.S. citizen, whose family came as refugees from Laos decades ago, was taken away at gun point by ICE agents after they broke down their home’s door. Ignoring cries that he was a citizen and not allowing him time to get dressed, they took him into subfreezing temperatures wearing only his boxers, crocs, and a light blanket he grabbed.
A five year old boy on his way home from preschool was detained with his father and sent to a detention center in Texas. They were legally in the United States, having filed as asylum seekers when they crossed the border. Other children and teens have also been detained. And a video caught an ICE agent spraying a yellow chemical irritant directly into the face of a protestor who was already pinned to the ground. These is just some examples of the reckless disregard for human life that is characterizing the lawless actions of these ICE agents. The actions of these federal agents are heartless and cruel, and the situation that has resulted can aptly be described by the word ‘tyranny,’ which is “cruel and oppressive government or rule.”
There is also increasing evidence of efforts by our current administration to collapse our democracy into a tyrannical authoritarianism. We are in a time of “authoritarian breakthrough,” which political scientist Maria Stephan describes as “a short window in which a would-be authoritarian regime attempts to rapidly consolidate power, eliminate checks on their power, and operate with impunity.” In a recent webinar, she described the typical actions of authoritarian regimes. They engage in federal law enforcement overreach, give license to lawbreaking, deploy the military domestically, and direct investigations against critics. All of this describes well what is occurring not only within Minnesota, but across our nation.
So, as people of faith and conscience, what should be our response to such authoritarian tyranny? In two words, I believe it must be nonviolent resistance. Especially during this time when authoritarian power is being consolidated, it must be resisted or things will get worse. But in order for our resistance to align with faithfully following Jesus, it must be nonviolent.
Large portions of the Bible were written by people living under tyranny, and we find people of faith responded with many instances and forms of nonviolent resistance. Midwives defied Pharoah and saved Jewish babies. Esther disobeyed royalty rules and used her position in the Persian king’s household to save her people from genocide. The prophets called various kings to account, sometimes at great risk to themselves. And by his life and words, Jesus demonstrated how to resist nonviolently the tyranny being experienced under Roman rule.
For most of the history of this country, African Americans have lived under the tyranny of enslavement, white supremacy, and Jim Crow. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. approached Scriptures from such a context and therefore understood that the words and life of Jesus demonstrated how to live under such tyrannical conditions. Linking together Jesus’ message of love with the methodology of Ghandi’s nonviolence, he taught and then led a movement that showed how nonviolent resistance can confront tyranny and bring about change that leads to greater justice.
The principles of nonviolence that Dr. King taught remain important in our struggle against tyranny. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University briefly summarizes these principles as found in King’s book Stride Toward Freedom. “First, one can resist evil without resorting to violence. Second, nonviolence seeks to win the ‘friendship and understanding’ of the opponent, not to humiliate him. Third, evil itself, not the people committing evil acts, should be opposed. Fourth, those committed to nonviolence must be willing to suffer without retaliation as suffering itself can be redemptive. Fifth, nonviolent resistance avoids “external physical violence” and “internal violence of spirit” as well: “The nonviolent resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent but he also refuses to hate him” (85). The resister should be motivated by love in the sense of the Greek word agape, which means “understanding” or “redeeming good will for all” (86). The sixth principle is that the nonviolent resister must have a “deep faith in the future,” stemming from the conviction that “The universe is on the side of justice” (88). Understanding and living out these principles of nonviolence will not be easy. It will take courage, spiritual strength, and a community of solidarity. But they are guideposts to help us resist tyranny in ways that are faithful to following the way of Jesus. People in Minnesota and other places who are nonviolently resisting tyranny being perpetrated by ICE also offer us models of faithful response and resistance.
There are places in this country that do not yet feel the full impact of what is happening. For them, this is time when they should be getting ready. Now is the time to be building connections with groups who are similarly minded in wanting to safeguard all lives and protect democracy. There are many organizations one can consider joining, but I decided on Indivisible and invite you to do the same. Indivisible is a nationwide movement of everyday people organizing on the ground in all 50 states to stop the rise of authoritarianism in the United States and to build a real democracy. Each week co-founders and directors Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin analyze what is going on and talk about how to respond in What’s the Plan? Local Indivisible groups then provide opportunities to join them in engaging in action. Such groups are being organized in most communities across this nation.
This is a time to get prepared and trained so that you are ready to nonviolently resist when the need for you to do so comes. One place to start would be to view the videos of the Interfaith Nonviolent Civil Resistance Training put on by the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University, which Jim Wallis founded and directs. They may be found here: Interfaith Nonviolent Resistance 101 training and Answering the Call: Interfaith Nonviolent Civil Resistance 201
And finally, now is also the time to prepare ourselves spiritually and to deepen practices of centering prayer and grounding ourselves within God’s love so as to respond in ways that align with our values and faith.
In the coming months, the Buttry Center for Peace and Nonviolence will be exploring faithful responses to tyranny. We will turn first to the Rev. Dr. Daniel Buttry for understanding and wisdom. He will be speaking about “Faithful Action: For Such A Time As This” on zoom on Thursday, February 12th at 12-1 pm (Central time). Dan Buttry served for many years as a global peace consultant with the American Baptist Church’s International Ministries. He has worked with people in many different repressive situations to bring about greater justice and reduce conflict. He therefore has a global perspective that will help us better understand what is happening in our country and the experiential knowledge of what faithful action as Christians entails. He has recently written a Resisting Authoritarianism Bible Study Guide for faith groups to use. You may register for this zoom event here.
This is a kairos moment – a time when decisive action is needed. May we as people of faith respond in ways that meet the challenges of such a time as this.
Rev. Ruth Rosell, Ph.D.
Director of the Buttry Center for Peace and Nonviolence
Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology Emerita
Central Seminary, Overland Park, KS
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
Cover image AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)