Courageous Resistance: The Power of Ordinary People
by Kristina E. Thalhammer, Paula L. O'Loughlin, Myron Peretz Glazer, Penina Migdal Glazer, Sam McFarland, Sharon Toffey Shepela, and Nathan Stoltzfus (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)
Andrew Rigby summarised the substance of the book, talking about courageous resisters, resistance by collectivities, and the different factors involved in courageous resistance.
Courageous resisters are defined as those who act against injustice and on behalf of others at significant risk or cost to themselves. Their actions usually result from conscious decisions and are sustained over time.
The factors facilitating courageous resistance relate both to the individual and to the external context. The individual’s orientation to authority is important – courageous resisters have a commitment to values rather than rules and roles. Their attitude to others is inclusive. Societal values, the nature of the institutions and the climate in both the domestic and the international sphere can be facilitating factors. External facilitating factors may include existing role models and networks that affirm the legitimacy of resistance and offer information, advice and resources to support action.
An example of courageous resistance by a collectivity is that of Le Chambon, in France, at the time of the German occupation. This was a close knit community, physically separated from others. The members were Protestants in a Catholic culture. They had experience of persecution and had developed a culture of independence and self reliance. There was strong community leadership. The external factors included anonymous support from outside sources: a German officer alerted them to raids and there was international support from Quakers and others.
Another example, mentioned in the group, was that of a Caribbean island which campaigned against an inappropriate external development initiative. The campaign took place within the context of an international climate of concern about indigenous peoples and it was successful.
The diagram below illustrates the factors affecting the process of responding to injustice.
The process of making choices at the cross roads was illustrated as below:
However, resistance does not always result from conscious decisions. People can also ‘drift’ into resistance. They make a series of small decisions, such as helping a trusted friend, unaware of the larger consequences. Eventually resistance becomes habitual. The examples of Wallenberg and Schindler were suggested as people who drifted or stumbled into a situation they had been outside. Their sense of duty and values outweighed other factors and shaped their actions.
In the discussion that followed, the role of fear, shame and anger was explored. In situations of violence and oppression it is remarkable that some people do overcome fear to risk taking action to resist. Those who are afraid to act may then feel deeply ashamed. One participant gave the example of a group of NGO workers who were members of the ethnic-Albanian majority in Kosovo. After the NATO action, when Serb or Roma people were being attacked in public places, they were appalled and sickened but felt unable to intervene for fear of inviting injury to themselves. Through a series of workshops they built enough trust among themselves to own these experiences and the shame that went with them, and to discuss ways in which they might find the courage to act if the situation arose again, by preparing themselves psychologically and identifying ways of reducing the risk involved.
Fear may be multi-faceted. It may be disabling and lead to passivity. Responses may depend on how much is at stake. Fear of the alternative, if no action is taken, may outweigh current terrors. The risk is assessed and, if there is even greater fear of what might happen, this leads to resistance. Fear may also be driven out by anger. The example was given of Southern Rhodesia under Ian Smith, where there was a powerful silent anger. In South Africa people said ‘We are fighting for our dignity’. This was stronger than fear.
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