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This Policeman *Refused* Orders To Shoot At Demonstrators. He Knew His Kids Would Be In The Crowd.

She studied military science and the ways that blowing things up with violence makes way for change. And she used to think that real change (especially the kind you want to make over an oppressive, Hunger Games-y regime or evil dictator-type) *required* that sort of violence......that it was naive to think that non-violence would work. But she was *so* wrong. And she's telling everyone.

She's basically putting herself out of business by proving that nonviolence makes the most difference. But she's doing it anyway. Because she looked into it, and she's right.

I'm just gonna throw in some of the charts that showed up in this talk:


OooooOoo, OK. That's a lot of failure from the violence stuff.

WHAT?

Let's listen to the story of a dad who found himself in the middle.

SO.

Aside from reflecting on how great nonviolence is just alone in our little corner in our own little chair, what *do* we do?

Some ideas.

FIRST: Teach your kids (and yourself about nonviolence and nonviolent movements). She wants us to imagine a world where Gandhi and MLK are in the *FIRST* chapter of the history books and not just thrown in as an afterthought.

I never realized until now just how much my textbooks DID focus on battles and laws and not on the massive civil disobedience and people's movements that preceded them.

I'll get you started. Here's a song about a nonviolent, resistance movement called People Power movement. It happened in the Philippines, and it toppled the Marcos regime.

This song is from the musical "Here Lies Love," and David Byrne (of the Talking Heads) wrote it with Fatboy Slim.

NEXT: Get to pressuring those elected officials who fund violent revolutions around the world. It's *proven* that nonviolence works better for everyone AND that it increases the likelihood that there's a more democratic endpoint in the long run, so wouldn't it be nice — if our nation's money has to go toward revolutions and movements around the world — if it went toward nonviolent ones?

I would feel very naive and silly, almost "Kumbajah" ridiculous, saying all of this if it wasn't PROVEN that nonviolence just works better. If you're still a little skeptical, that's OK! Listen to the video above, then think about it.

And if you're as moved as I was, the best thing you can do is tell people about it, share the video, and speak up. There's strength and power in doing just that.

Community

How to end hunger, according to the people who face it daily

Here’s what people facing food insecurity want you to know about solving the hunger problem in America

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Even though America is the world’s wealthiest nation, about 1 in 6 of our neighbors turned to food banks and community programs in order to feed themselves and their families last year. Think about it: More than 9 million children faced hunger in 2021 (1 in 8 children).

In order to solve a problem, we must first understand it. Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, released its second annual Elevating Voices: Insights Report and turned to the experts—people experiencing hunger—to find out how this issue can be solved once and for all.

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“It’s important to know that he’s been unemployed since 2021,” the woman wrote on Reddit’s AITA subforum. “He receives benefits. It’s also important to know that he’s extremely lazy. He doesn’t cook, clean, or help out in any way. I was nervous about leaving her home with her father, but I had no choice.”

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Her 12-year-old son was getting ready to play Fortnite with a friend and told him he’d be ready in 15 minutes once he finished his chores. When the boys started playing the game, he told the friend he was in charge of dusting and sweeping the stairs, to which the friend responded, “It’s a good thing my parents don’t make me do girl chores.”

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A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that women who have a strong circle of friends are more likely to get executive positions with higher pay. "Women who were in the top quartile of centrality and had a female-dominated inner circle of 1-3 women landed leadership positions that were 2.5 times higher in authority and pay than those of their female peers lacking this combination," Brian Uzzi writes in the Harvard Business Review.

Part of the reason why women with strong women backing them up are more successful is because they can turn to their tribe for advice. Women have to face different challenges than men, such as unconscious bias, and being able to turn to other women who have had similar experiences can help you navigate a difficult situation. It's like having a road map for your goals.

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Downey shared a video in May of 2022 in which he chats with a couple of squirrels on his porch while feeding them and offering them water. That video received over 26 million views and kicked off a whole series of videos showcasing the adorable antics of Richard, Maxine, Hector, Consuela, Norma (may she rest in peace), and Hood Rat Raymond. He's built Richard a house, rescued Maxine's babies, mourned Norma's transition (to wherever squirrels go when they die) and more.

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Library of Congress

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