This week we’re circling back to the topic of non-cooperation, which we have also called resistance or disruption. We recently finished watching all three training sessions provided by One Million Rising, an Indivisible project, and we’ve been hashing out the ideas and examples they offered. The good news? You can watch them too or listen to our podcast for the highlights! They’re available for free, along with support materials, at nokings.org/rise.
The trainings lay out three levels of non-cooperation:
* Individual and small group actions
* Collective actions at the community level
* Mass actions like general strikes
It’s a framework that shows how even small steps, like changing your shopping habits or hosting a neighborhood gathering, can ripple outward into something much bigger.
One theme that stood out for us was the focus on gatherings. The trainings encourage people to bring others together, talk about the threats of authoritarianism, and commit to taking nonviolent action. Think of it as building “sleeper cells” of democracy—neighbors and friends practicing small-scale cooperation so we’re ready for larger collective action when the moment comes.
We also found it helpful to hear examples of how the “pillars” of society: business, labor, faith groups, media, education, and others—can be persuaded to resist authoritarian pressure. From Harvard alumni pushing their university to stand firm, to consumers boycotting companies like Target or Tesla, to California standing up against federal overreach, these are the levers of power that matter.
One of the sharpest examples came from the fight over Avelo Airlines, which profited from deportation contracts. If deportation flights become a successful business model, other airlines may follow. The call to action is clear: make Avelo a cautionary tale, not a trend.
And then there’s redistricting. As Democratic Texas legislator Gene Wu reminded participants, the erosion of democracy is happening slowly, piece by piece, and gerrymandering is one of the sharpest tools authoritarian-leaning leaders have. Here in California, Governor Newsom has put forward a measure to counteract Texas’s moves. From our perspective, the message is simple: we need massive turnout to show authoritarians we’re paying attention.
Finally, as always, the trainings encourage us to anchor our work in respect and empathy, even when we disagree politically. Resistance isn’t about uniformity—it’s about standing together in defense of democracy.
We’d love to hear what you think: have you tried watching the trainings? Do you see ways to bring your neighbors or friends into this work? Drop us a note and let us know.
And of course, stick around to the end of the episode for our Joyful Moments—because joy, like resistance, spreads when we share it.
Here are the Resource links we mentioned:
One Million Rising Landing page
State-by-state details about Redistricting
Ground Avelo Airlines Campaign
5 calls (for calling your congresspeople)
