For many years I have appreciated — and used the methodology of — Marshall Rosenberg’s “Nonviolent Communication” as a way to resolve conflicts and move forward. You can learn more by reading his book titled Nonviolent Communication and by searching the web for that title and for his name. Also see some of his helpful YouTube videos. Years ago he came to Olympia twice, and I went to hear him each time.
Here is a useful quotation from him:
“Three factors in why some of us respond violently and some of us compassionately in similar situations:
- The language we have been educated to use.
- How we have been taught to think and communicate.
- Specific strategies we learned to influence ourselves and others.”
Here is another insightful quotation from G. Scott Brown, who is another strong supporter of nonviolence:
“Just imagine if all the energy that goes into fighting other people and reinforcing the belief in separateness was instead directed at showing respect for people. What if the five R’s of restorative justice—respect, relationship, responsibility, repair, and reintegration—were guiding principles of our activism?”
This short article supports using mediation to solve seemingly intractable disagreements: https://thefulcrum.us/employing-mediation-skills-to-tackle-seemingly-intractable-issues
A number of local communities (including Thurston County, Washington) have “dispute resolution centers” that train people how to mediate disputes and help people settle them in as close to “win-win” solutions as possible. These are useful within families, neighborhoods, workplaces, and many other settings. You can find out more at www.mediatethurston.org — and if you live elsewhere you can ask around in your own local community to find a suitable resource there.
Here is a proven formula for protecting the vote while keeping the peace: To prevent a stolen election we must win decisively at the polls and use disciplined nonviolent mass action to defend the legitimate results. Maria Stephan wrote the article I’m linking here. She co-authored Why Civil Resistance Works with Erica Chenoweth. See this: https://wagingnonviolence.org/2020/10/proven-formula-protecting-vote-keeping-peace/
