What history tells us about fighting repression

The US government is using unaccountable federal forces to violently suppress dissent and reinforce its power through force and fear.

- Elizabeth Shackelford, Tribune News Service

This behavior is designed to make the people feel powerless and the governing authority impenetrable. It may feel shocking in America today, but it's a common approach used by repressive regimes around the world. Pushing back on this is difficult and scary, but history has shown us how and under what circumstances citizens have built effective resistance. The good news is that the people across targeted US cities have been doing just that.

When and how do social movements succeed against abusive governments? We have many historic examples to draw on. Poland’s communist government brutally suppressed the Solidarity Movement during the 1980s as the country’s workers used protests, labor organising and labor strikes to fight for rights and freedoms. The 1980s saw a similar popular movement in Chile against Augusto Pinochet who had seized power in a military coup in 1973. Organized civil resistance grew, with regular protests involving widespread evening noise, honking horns and banging pots and pans in solidarity, and “lightning” protests that organised and dispersed quickly.