Given our situation, I'm putting some effort into learning about non-violent resistance movements and how they work. This weekend I read a short analysis of Poland's Solidarity movement, which successfully ended communism in that country. Some thoughts: /1 It took a long time. Communists stole elections in 1946, and finally relinquished power in 1989. That's 43 years of resistance effort. And for the first 34 of those years, Solidarity didn't even exist; Poles spent that time consolidating various social forces into a movement. /2

I read King's letter for the first time a couple of nights ago, thanks to this recommendation. As is well known, King writes, in part, on the question of civil disobedience and the moral duty to violate unjust laws—and to accept the legal consequences of violating them. /1

https://twitter.com/NBFreeProject/status/1423449355571404801

I believe many of us will face this question in the very near future, and here's why. Although we've lived for decades in a mostly liberal, rights-respecting society, this is changing swiftly. /2

Just struck me that the escalating conflict between the Deep State and populism is a kind of internal Thucydides trap. The Deep State felt it was the permanent hegemon and was surprised by the emergence of a challenger. Now it overreacts to every event, ratcheting toward war. This cropped up because I've been pondering the "how did liberals turn into totalitarians?" question. I think part of the answer is that they frightened themselves with the Trump boogieman so thoroughly that all means to "stop him" became legitimate. Hence "punch a Nazi". /2

Numbers and stamina matter critically.

If only 5% refuse the vax pass, the System will roll over them smoothly. Refusers will be invisible.

If 35% refuse the vax pass, the System will strain and may, at points, seize up. People will notice the failures; resolve will weaken. Remember too that as nefarious as the vax pass is in conception, it is also a reckless gamble by the elites. What they are starting is not to cast some well-defined "out group" to the wolves, but to split families, split institutions, split *militaries* down the middle.