Shut It Down

I doubt that readers who are not already activists will have heard of Lisa Fithian who, as it says on the back of this powerful book 'has shut down the CIA, occupied Wall Street, disrupted the World Trade Organisation and stood her ground in Tahir Square. This must be the ultimate handbook for would-be activists, containing as it does vivid 'stories from a fierce, loving resistance' from over three decades all campaigns, along with detailed instructions on strategy, planning, occupying space, creation of banners and even on how to prepare for arrest (Lisa views jails as places designed to break the spirit). Her overall aim is to dismantle structures and processes of oppression, while creating structures and processes of liberation. It is important to note the degree of structural violence and oppression already embedded in our systems and assumptions, which she details with respect to the US, especially as embodied in the current president and his attitudes – in the supremacy of whiteness, patriarchy, capitalism and Christianity, with cultural values supporting individualism, materialism, paternalism and violence (p. 143). The status quo is maintained by cooperation and networks of fear, while resistance and refusal to co-operate opens up a space for change.

It is here that Lisa draws on insights from chaos and complexity theory in the context of building up networks of relationships between activists. She rightly believes that 'crisis is necessary to bring about fundamental or radical change' and that the edge of chaos 'is the moment for space that precedes deep shifts in power.' This generally involves intentionally creating a crisis, as she extensively illustrates from her own experience. There are also dangers arising from government infiltration where an agent provocateur can incite a group to violence which then gives the authorities an excuse for a crackdown. I found the classification of power derived from Starhawk extraordinary useful: Power over, Power within, Power within and Power under corresponding respectively to imposing your will on others, solidarity, inner power as in courage, and acceptance of institutionalised repression.

The courage and integrity of the author are quite remarkable and inspirational. One example from the penultimate chapter is her involvement in Standing Rock, a situation that embodied settler colonialism and the presumption of the superiority of capitalist values (p. 241). Here, the indigenous Lakota values were in evidence: prayer, respect, generosity, honesty, compassion, humility and wisdom – these are the transformative values we now need to embody in building relationships of trust based on real human needs for love and belonging. The current story gives precedence to power over with its reciprocal power under, while our pressing imperative is to imagine and create anew – stories that create patterns of power with, that go beyond protest to protection, defending the sacred and opening the heart. The author sums up her powerful message on the final page: 'We are so lucky to be alive. We are on this planet to evolve, to fulfil our potential, to love ourselves and one another, and to be of service to the greater good.' What more need one say?