Civil Movements are Often Practiced
In The Power of Moments , the authors describes a campaign in one city in the US to remove segregation, specifically the whites-only lunch counters. Here’s the surprising aspect of that (successful) movement: “What’s less well-known about this story is that the demonstrators didn’t just show courage. They practiced it. They rehearsed it.” Huh? A civil rights leader from the era, James Lawson explains: “The difficulty with non-violent people and efforts is that they don’t recognize the necessity of fierce discipline and training.” Lawson taught the crowd “how to behave”, how to avoid breaking other laws, how to step-in for others, even how to dress for the occasion! But he didn’t stop there: he had them engage in role-plays. He got in white friends to come in, to crowd the protestors, to try and provoke them, even push them a bit. “The simulated attacks were brutal but essential… (Lawson wanted to teach them how to) suppress the natural urges to fight back or run away.” ...