Nonviolence is not weakness (or peace)
A lot of us who normally stay out of political stuff have seen enough in 2026. More people than ever are educating ourselves about our rights as Americans, and standing up for democracy and human decency.
The rage is real, and so are the risks. Fighting fire with fire only gives authority the excuse they’re looking for to turn weapons of war on civilians, immigrants, protestors, all of us. What can we do?
Nonviolent direct action is the most effective form of resistance, even against armed tyrants. It’s not just peaceful protest, in fact it’s deliberately disruptive and confrontational.
The goal is to make it hard for authoritarian rule — and the corporate powers that enable it — to violate people’s rights without consequences. To trip up business-as-usual for maximum loss, hassle, and delay.
Hitting the Mark in Minnesota
Take the coordinated efforts in Target stores around this MAGA-friendly corporation’s Minneapolis headquarters. In response to its policy of full compliance, people across the Twin Cities organized a nonviolent direct action tactic known as “Shop and Return.”
As seen in a widely circulated Facebook Live video, community members coordinated to purchase one item each — in this case, salt, as a nod to “melting” ICE — and then all return it to the store at the same time. More than 70 people lined up at Customer Service, with the line spilling into checkout areas and visibly congesting the store.
Why would they do this? What’s the point? There’s a lot going on here, let’s break it down.
First, they’re gumming up the works. If you’ve ever worked retail, you know how a sudden rush at Customer Service can throw an entire day off. Registers back up. Customers start complaining. Staff get pulled from the floor, which means shelves don’t get stocked, prices don’t get updated, and ripple effects spread through the store.
Second, the action is highly visible. A long line inside a store sends a signal. Some customers will turn away. Others will notice that something is going on. They’ll see that Target has managed to seriously upset its own neighbors — creating a negative association before anyone has even asked why.
Third, it opens the door to conversation. People naturally what to know what’s going on, so here’s a chance to inform and enlighten. And when these events are filmed and shared online, that message can travel far beyond the store itself. That tends to inspire people to get involved and spread the word even more.
Is this performative? Of course it is. That’s how nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience works.
Pressure Points Playbook
When people unite against power, there is always an audience. The action should be filmed. It should be shared widely. The idea is to persuade viewers, and to signal that people here are organized and paying attention.
People aren’t returning salt at Target because they want to show off how righteous they are. They’re doing it to educate, to activate, and to disrupt business-as-usual for a powerful corporate entity — and its supporters — as part of a broader pressure campaign.
Seventy people returning items at a Target store isn’t what gets the CEO to meet with organizers. What does, though, is thousands of people seeing the footage, getting angry, boycotting Target, and flooding the company’s social media and feedback channels. That’s how you build a public pressure campaign.
We can’t all be fighting in the streets — nor should we be. Not everyone can risk being brutalized by ICE, arrested, losing their job, or being targeted. Nonviolent direct action offers a diversity of tactics, allowing wider participation. Even small actions can make a difference.
As a result of the recent protests, Target’s chief executive met with protestors. Soon after, they joined more than 60 other Minnesota-based CEOs called for ICE de-escalation. The White House then reached out to Governor Walz and the mayor of Minneapolis, acknowledging that the current situation is “not sustainable.”
Such progress might not be very dramatic, but it all adds up. Reuters has since reported ICE has new orders to stop engaging protesters and limit arrests to immigrants with criminal charges or convictions. Who knows what else might change.
We tend to imagine resistance as smashing things or burning them down. And because nonviolent action doesn’t look like that, it’s often dismissed as toothless and timid. But boycotts, blackouts, strikes, and other defiant acts like Shop and Return are the best way we know to impact real change when symbolic protest isn’t enough.
Hats off to the coordinated effort in Minneapolis, and the brave protesters showing us all how it’s done. No telling when we may need to tap into their energy here.
Dig deeper at nonviolencetoolkit.com, and reach out to Indivisible Philadelphia for local training and mobilization near you! 🪧💪
Recipe for Revolution
Swarthmore professor George Lakey literally wrote the book on non-violent resistance. His classic “How We Win” highlights many tactics that were developed, tested, and taught right here in our region.
It’s science! The power of nonviolent movements comes from three things:
- Noncooperation with unjust systems
- Numbers (there are always more people than there are police)
- Self-discipline to remain nonviolent, even under pressure
⭐ The most successful campaigns foster social connection, solidarity, and a culture of learning rather than promoting a specific ideology.
What do you think? Please leave your comments below! Click the links (and watch the videos) for more information. As always, email us at editor@nwlocalpaper.com if you’d like to connect further or — even better — join us this March 28th at the next No Kings protest in Philadelphia.
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