John Farley’s MisInformation Desk

The fact that the philosophy of non-violence is a form of civil disobedience should reduce the intelligent human to tears. The fact that it doesn’t frightens me. Non-violence should be the status quo. It should be the bar, the standard on which the character of a society is founded. Rather, it is a fringe notion carrying with it the stigma of weakness, and at it’s extreme, psychosis.

Civil disobedience has become so far removed from this society that no one knows how to go about it. It’s true that we have witnessed a sharp increase in protests both domestically and worldwide, but the fact of the matter is that protests do not work. Protests lack the fundamental quality of disruption. They are planned for months with the help of local authorities to ensure that everything runs smoothly. A protest is a pageant, a parade. It is not undermining anything, it is simply another form of entertainment for the mass media to showcase. The goal of a protest is to send a strong statement to the offending authority, but the authority in question views a protest as nothing but a group of misguided liberals out for a walk on a sunny day.


For me, civil disobedience conjures romanticized images of a young student standing in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square, or a group of young blacks sitting steadfast in an all-white coffee shop. These are simple actions that have profound effects on the course of history.

What can we do today? The powers-that-be have become far more crafty and clever regarding their propaganda, or “public opinion,” campaigns. They can create a threat that doesn’t exist. They can cover up the ones that do exist, pushing the tide of popular opinion in any direction that serves the interests of themselves and their associates.

The first and simplest act of civil disobedience is to change one’s perspective from an “us and them” mentality to a more universal notion of humanity. This point of view alone can have a far reaching effect on the world. When we stop thinking of the world as separate states divided by boundaries of land, culture, and race, and begin thinking of a single humanity made up of differing ideas with common goals, we begin to open ourselves to the essence of what it means to be human. Once we can view all humanity as such, we can begin to focus on ways of turning the tables on authoritative rule that has separated us in so many ways. This shift of consciousness is as simple as it is profound.

Another simple act of civil disobedience is to inform oneself. Nothing goads a governing body like an informed populace. The governments of the world spend billions of dollars each year on public relations to keep you as misinformed, or at least as confused, as possible (please see Toxic Sludge is Good For You, Stauber, John & Rampton, Sheldon). You must take it upon yourself to learn to read between the lines of the mass media onslaught. You have to become, perish the thought, an “intellectual,” studying on your own, reading dissident material banned from reading lists. You have to unglue yourself from the television and conventional periodicals. Nearly everything you see, hear, and read is written by a public relations firm trying to sway your opinion to favor their client be it a multinational corporation or a multicorporation government.

Now that the fundamentals have been laid out, we can begin to focus on disobedient actions that serve the purpose of disruption and calling attention to our cause. You have to start with information dissemination and organization. Strength in numbers! Power to the people! etc, etc. You not only have to read dissident material, but you must contribute to it. The open exchange of radical ideas is our best weapon. I need not delve to deeply into the various outlets for dissident thinking. You’ve managed to find your way here, you obviously have access to the internet. Use it for more than shopping.

Another interesting method of civil disobedience, and my personal favorite, is something we call ‘playful sabotage.’ Most people think of sabotage as terrorism, but this is far from the case. Sabotage can be fun for everyone and can help get your message across with out all of the bloodshed that comes along with terrorism. The primary tenets of playful sabotage are non-violence (naturally) and surprise. In fact, any act of civil disobedience today must carry with it an element of surprise. Playful sabotage is different from other forms of civil disobedience in that it often includes a humorous element, an element of humility and jest. An example might include infiltrating a neo-conservative delegation and placing anti-war whoopie cushions on the chairs. Another example might be blanketing an area filled with Bush supporters with pamphlets depicting the atrocities in Iraq (then again, they’ll probably just laugh).

Other methods of disobedience include more traditional actions like breaking unjust laws. One hits pretty close to home for me and that includes possibly going to Canada to get drugs for any loved ones who might need them, or ordering painkillers online because an ailing relative has been cut off under GW’s aggressive pharmaceutical laws. The drug policies in this country are horrendous and need to be reversed, for legal and illegal narcotics. Any time you can break a drug law, please do so. It is true, I do know people who have gotten themselves into trouble from ordering painkillers online or putting too much cocaine up their nose, but the lesson there is ‘don’t overdo it.’ You’re just giving the lawmakers more fodder for their unjust laws. That’s the case with anything, though. Drugs, drinking, food, excercising; don’t overdo it. But I digress. This is a topic for another forthcoming discussion on laws.

With so many reasons and methods to undermine authority, I could go on about this for a long time, but that’s one thing we don’t have. I just wanted to get some ideas out there for people to start kicking around. I’ll expand upon this article time and again, but right now, we need to take stock of our resources, organize our manpower, and take a stand against a society that no longer recognizes us. Who’s with me???

Posted on October 17th, 2007 by John Farley
Filed under: Trepidation