#laughtivism

[creature-wizard]

For scholars of authoritarianism, the success of “weird” is no surprise. That’s because humor has long been one of the most effective weapons of anti-authoritarian politics. Behind the facade of their omnipotence, most strongmen are brittle and insecure personalities. They don’t mind being called evil, but being ridiculed is a different matter.

...

Humor can have a crucial role in the work of mobilization and civic education to keep those democratic rights. “Laughtivism,” as Serbian democracy activist Srdja Popovic has called it, views humor as more effective than anger in highly polarized situations. When we laugh together, fear and distrust lessen, which is the opposite of what authoritarians want. That, too, is why such leaders can’t take a joke.

[bleeding-star-heart]

[woohooligancomics]

Hey, Hooligans! A few months back I had this little dust-up with professional Internet troll and arguably the most hated man in comics lately, Richard Meyer, which was great for me, gave me tons of material for satire. Basically he and his fans can't handle their own medicine. I pushed back the relaunch of our Laugh It Forward Kickstarter because I wanted to get this off my to-do list first.

I've had some pretty good feedback on it so far!

"I love what you’re doing... like Swift meets a calm Bill Hicks, you use your comedy to expose the animal trappings of human nature. Ego, fear, ignorance, etc... You have a unique voice and perspective." - Eric Hailey

"oh...mygod. I... LOVED it xDDD Even lovey is sitting to the side, having no idea what I pulled up and says 'I love this guy, he's hilarious' and we're both just laughing our asses off." - Punkocalypse

I put it in my Twitter rotation with a bunch of Carlin-esque descriptions like:

"Meyer says jokes bring people together, so in that spirit, I think the world would be better off if he were butfucked to death by a pack of rabbid hyenas. ;P #satire"

or

"Meyer says jokes bring people together, so in that spirit, I think the world would be better off if someone force-fed him 50 gallons of Ebola-tainted whale jizz. ;P #satire"

Those descriptions make more sense a few minutes into the video, they're basically Meyer's idea of satire. Thanks in advance for the likes and let me know what you think!

- Sam

[monsterimprov]

@rogueimprovla: “Art is the heart's explosion on the world. Music. Dance. Poetry. Art on cars, on walls, on our skin. There is probably no more powerful force for change in this uncertain and crisis-ridden world than young people and their art. It is the consciousness of the world breaking away from the strangle grip of an archaic social order." -Luis J. Rodriguez, Poet/Journalist Break away & create art that matters this Saturday, 9/24 on Zoom or in-person in Filipinotown with Rogue Leaders Mirage Thrams (Second City, Blackverse) and Michael Sielaff (Laughtivism, WASP)! This artivism (art + activism) workshop will take place from 2-5pm in Michael Sielaff's apartment in Filipinotown. Please RSVP for the address. Bring snacks to share! We will also set up Zoom so if you can't make it in-person, you can still participate. Here's what's up: Mirage and Michael will start with an introduction to social conscious art- what it looks like, its impact locally, nationally and internationally, and showcase a variety of mediums to create it. Then we'll shift gears and brainstorm ideas and passion-points to create the beginnings of your very own artivism project. We'll be using improv, storytelling, tableau, news articles, and writing exercises as a catalyst for your art (i.e. sketch comedy, poetry, improv, storytelling, drawings/paintings, music) to spread awareness and encourage action about social issues* you're passionate about. *Social issues can include but are not exclusive to political commentary. As "social" being the focal point, we will be exploring what changes you'd like to see in the interaction between people. Examples: Assumptions/advantages based on race, gender, age, ability; jealousy; ego; image obsession; status; language barriers. Ultimately: How can we treat each other better? Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87470266697?pwd=a2dGMnYyNjBTcXhONHBKcUtRdXIwdz09 Meeting ID: 874 7026 6697 Passcode: 489517 IMPORTANT: As we navigate meeting up again in-person, we request that EVERYONE who decides to RSVP take a PCR or Rapid Test before. PCR tests are free and Rapid tests are free with insurance! Email RogueImprovLA@gmail.com for more info https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci36Ib5rGQK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[krimsteve]

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A post shared by Steven Krimmel (@stevenkrimmel)

Preview of the super fun and funny new Laughtivism LA sketch. Social Climate Weather Team! Watch the full sketch on the Lawah Dawah page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawahdawah/videos/1524225431016252/ Thanks for having me on the weather team @aaronlamarrburleson ! And awesome job to the rest of the team @russellcurry , @catherinejkaine , @rachel_the_reyes , @elizabethfranco, and Carmen Kartini Rhode! And @butcherbirdstudios ! #lawahdawah #laughtivismla #keepitreal #butcherbirdstudios #socialclimateweatherteam #comedy #sketch #sketchcomedy #diversity #funny #social

[rfo-ona]

Наша борьба. Часть 9: Лафтивизм

Laughtivism — от англ. laughter (смех) + activism (активизм). Под этим термином понимают стратегическое использование юмора и насмешливое отношение, чтобы подорвать авторитет противника и завоевать доверие аудитории. В видео показаны преимущества юмора.

Серия роликов от Сербского центра прикладного ненасильственного действия и стратегий (CANVAS), посвящённая созданию неформального сообщества. Весь курс состоит из 10 частей. К каждому видео прилагаются русские субтитры.

Мы считаем информацию, которая представлена в этих роликах, очень важной и полезной для наших сторонниц и вообще всех активисток, стремящихся к построению организованного массового женского движения в России.

За информацию спасибо Наталье Барановой из «Теплицы социальных технологий».

[perfurt-blog]

New Post has been published on https://24-7news.dk/complete-guide-to-a-killer-confidence/

Complete Guide to a Killer Confidence

The University will kick off its fall semester lecture series this Wednesday, with the Yes Men. Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum, a.k.a. the Yes Men, will appear on campus Wednesday, Aug. 26. Their event will kick off the University Lecture Committee’s fall slate. The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Second Floor Ballroom at the Iowa Memorial Union. Doors open at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The Yes Men

As the Yes Men, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno’s brand of “laughtivism” has kept them in the headlines for nearly two decades. They have made three feature films the most recent, The Yes Men Are Revolting, was released in the summer of 2015. Their online Action Switchboard website was also recently launched as a platform for participatory direct action. By injecting humor into serious subjects, they provoke laughter and debate from audiences.

“We are HAPPY to be invited to this event! We hope students enjoy our speech and The movie!”

In conjunction with the evening lecture, a free screening of The Yes Men Are Revolting, followed by a question-and-answer session, will take place at 3 p.m. at FilmScene downtown. Other upcoming lectures for the fall semester include:

Nina Totenberg, National Public Radio legal affairs correspondent, will present The Supreme Court and Its Impact on You at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9, in the Main Lounge of the IMU. This lecture is presented by the UI College of Law as part of their Lecture Series and with support from the Public Radio and the UI Public Policy Center.

Retired CIA analyst Ray McGovern and former FBI agent and whistle blower Coleen Rowley will present Intelligence not Mistaken but Fixed for War at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28, at the Englert Theatre in downtown City. This lecture is presented in partnership with Veterans for Peace and with support from the Center for Human Rights.

Terry Gilliam, screenwriter, film director, animator, actor, comedian, and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, will appear at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, in the Main Lounge of the IMU. This lecture is presented with support from FilmScene, the Obermann Center for Advance Studies, and the Bijou.

We understand the difficult decisions that legislators face this spring to put THE UNIVERSITY on the road to recovery

Public universities are large-scale incubators of the human capital that is essential to drive progress, presidents and board chairs said. They met with House Speaker, Senate President, House Republican Leader, Senate Republican Leader and the governor’s chief education adviser. Combined, public universities enroll nearly 200,000 students and send about 50,000 graduates into the workforce every year, each and every one an economic engine for the state and beyond, presidents and board chairs wrote in a letter shared with members of the General Assembly.

Deparment of Labor

The letter cites a recent Economic Policy Institute study that found high-wage states are overwhelmingly those with a highly educated workforce. According to a 2014 U.S. Department of Labor report, workers with a bachelor’s degree earn 65 percent more than workers with a high school diploma.

The earnings gap is nearly double for workers with a master’s degree and almost 140 percent more for workers with doctoral or professional degrees. Public universities provide the broad-based education in liberal arts and humanities that produces well-rounded, civic-minded citizens.

Presidents and Board of Trustee chairs representing nine public universities met face-to-face with top legislative leaders Tuesday to urge support for higher education funding in the state’s fiscal 2016 budget. University President arranged the afternoon of meetings to make the case that proposed funding reductions for public universities would damage a key engine for the state’s economic growth and competitiveness.

“OUR proposal INCREASES funding for higher education BY 30% for the Following fiscal year”

Presidents and board chairs added in their letter to legislators: We believe that maintaining a robust, sustained, and predictable level of state support for our universities is absolutely essential for the future wellbeing and economic prosperity of our state. “Universities leverage state support by attracting more than $1.2 billion in external funding that supports the state’s economy today and fosters groundbreaking research-based innovation that creates the new businesses and jobs of tomorrow, the letter says.

Office of Career Services

More than 60 employers looking to hire students and alumni will be at the 25th annual All Majors Career Fair at the University. The fair, hosted by the UIC Office of Career Services, is from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at UIC Student Center East.

The free event is open to UIC students and alumni only. Students should bring their i-card for admission. Prospective applicants from any major will have the opportunity to gather information about companies and learn about full-time, part-time and internship positions from hiring officials. Representatives of firms from industries such as technology, engineering, financial services and education will be at the fair, as well as those hiring for jobs in criminal justice, management training, food service, retail and health care.

Applicants at the University Aula

For more than 30 years, the University Lecture Committee has brought some of the world’s greatest thinkers to the UI campus. Speakers have included an impressive roster of national and international figures in science, politics, business, human rights, law, journalism, and the arts. The series is funded through student fees with additional private support, as well as campus and community partnerships.

The relief is only applicable to federal student loans’not the private ones into which thousands of Corinthian students were reportedly lured, allegations that are the subject of a pending federal lawsuit. That means American taxpayers are liable for millions of dollars to cover the cost of the relief’or more. As The New York Times reported on Monday, the government has never before opened debt relief to such a potentially large pool of students.

If every one of the approximately 350,000 students who took out federal loans to attend a Corinthian campus in the last five years applied for and received the relief, according to the Times and other news outlets, the cost could be as high as $3.5 billion. A recent in-depth Senate investigation found that taxpayers in a single year had invested $32 billion in for-profit colleges.

[snowgall]

According to the Pixar philosopher James P. Sullivan, laughter is 10 times more powerful than scream. Nothing breaks people’s fear and punctures a dictator’s aura of invincibility like mockery — Popovic calls it “laughtivism.” Otpor’s guiding spirit was Monty Python’s Flying Circus, a television show its members had grown up watching, and its actions were usually pranks.

Popovic writes about a protest in Ankara after the Turkish government reacted with alarm to a couple kissing in the subway. Protesters could have chosen to march. Instead, they kissed – 100 people gathered in the subway station in pairs, kissing with great slobber and noise. You are a policeman. You have training in how to deal with an anti-government protest. But what do you do now?

[cahi-iu]

Sophia McClennen on Latin American Cinema and Globalization - Thursday, March 1, 4:00pm, Indiana Memorial Union Oak Room

Sophia McClennen is Professor of International Affairs and Comparative Literature at Penn State University, and founding director of Penn State’s Center for Global Studies. She has written two books on satire and U.S. politics and media: Colbert’s America: Satire and Democracy and Is Satire Saving Our Nation?: Mockery and American Politics (co-authored with Remy Maisel).

McClennen’s studies of satire and politics hone in on the unique capabilities of satire in shaping a new generation of informed and involved citizens—while also being simply funny. Drawing off this work, McClennen will participate in “Laughtivism,” a discussion on the role of satire in contemporary politics along with Serbian activist Srdja Popovic on Friday, March 2, at 7:30 pm (Fine Arts Auditorium, FA 015).

In addition to her recent work with political satire, McClennen’s research engages with diverse forms of media and cultural production, including extensive work on Latin American cinema. McClennen has taught and conducted research throughout Latin America, and held a Fulbright faculty award in Peru in 2002 for her studies in Latin American film.

While in Bloomington, McClennen will give a lecture on “What Can Latin American Cinema Teach Us about Globalization?” on Thursday, March 1, at 4 pm (Oak Room, IMU). Her talk will focus on issues she takes on in her forthcoming book, Globalization and Latin American Cinema: Towards a New Critical Paradigm.

Studying the case of Latin American cinema, McClennen analyzes one of the most public - and most exportable - forms of postcolonial national culture to argue that millennial era globalization demands entirely new frameworks for thinking about the relationship between politics, culture, and economic policies. Tracing the full life-cycle of films and studying blockbusters like City of God, Motorcycle Diaries, and Children of Men, this talk argues that neoliberal globalization has created a highly ambivalent space for cultural expression, one willing to market against itself as long as the stories sell.

[sienamaxwell-blog]

Prompt #4 Representing GMOs

Part 1

     If I were trying to re-frame someone’s understanding around why the GMO industry is worth knowing about, I think I would discuss its record of environmental and chemical poisoning. This topic seems like a very important one because everyone can imagine this type of poisoning happening in their town or to themselves or a loved one. It is also connected to many other issues. I will be discussing this reframing using the documentary, “The World According to Monsanto.”

     Firstly, Monsanto does not discriminate when it comes to who they poison. They hurt those in the global south a great deal but they also hurt the people in their own backyards. For some people, it may be hard for them to put themselves in the shoes of people who are on the other side of the world, but Alabama is much easier to imagine and much more difficult to ignore.

     I would begin by discussing what happened in Anniston, Alabama. It is important to know that Monsanto manufactured a series of products which were eventually deemed unacceptably toxic in their application. These include the DDT insecticide, Agent Orange and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB). Monsanto buried these PCBs in housing areas in Anniston Alabama for almost four decades, without telling them. Eventually, Anniston residents began to link the chemical to increased incidents of cancer, brain defects, children with reduced IQs, thyroid issues, and sex hormone issues. Residents also had to abandon their homes. Not only is this devastating for the people but it is also extremely bad for the environment. Monsanto does not care what it hurts as long as it is making money.

     Moreover, Monsanto cannot even claim ignorance as their records indicate that they knew PCBs were highly toxic. They have records that state exposure to PCB provokes systemic toxic effects and acne formed skin eruption, along with stating that two workers developed hepatitis. Although it may be easier to dispute the fact that the food Monsanto develops is not good for us, it is impossible to dispute records that state what happened to employees and impossible to debate the fact that they did poison the ground and the people in Anniston. Monsanto was actually convicted and forced to pay 7 million dollars in damages.  

     Another reason as to why Monsanto’s chemical and environmental poisoning is so important to consider when judging the company and their GMO’s is that it relates to so many other awful practices that they do in other fields. For example, Monsanto is famous for their “Round-up” product. Round up has been proven to be harmful to the environment but they sold the product with the word “Biodegradable” on it so people thought they were not harming the environment. Specifically, they said that it “leaves the soil clean and respects the environment.” This was eventually deemed false advertising as only 2% broke down after 28 days. Monsanto will say whatever it wants even though the claim could be totally false. Because of this claim, environmentally minded farmers could have been poisoning the environment unwillingly, which they normally would not have done. Not only are they lying and harming the environment but Roundup is also highly toxic and affects cell division. Scientists agree that it can lead to cancer. Moreover, proper testing has never been officially sanctioned so we really don’t know what damage it could be causing.

     And the list goes on: in 1989, Monsanto genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone under brand name Posilak. One veterinarian from the FDA wrote that data had been suppressed and manipulated. What they ended up finding was that there were dramatic, physiological changes in the animals that were given the hormone shot. There was also the case in 1989 where the genetically engineered L-Tryptophan killed dozens of people and made hundreds and hundreds sick through a syndrome called EMS. Thirty-seven people died and more than a thousand people were disabled. Even the head of the FDA James Maryanski said that they cannot rule out genetic engineering as a cause.  

     Another type of environmental and chemical poisoning that Monsanto has been producing for years is 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T). This was the main ingredient in Agent Orange, the defoliant used in the Vietnam war which not only destroyed so much vegetation but killed and disfigured so many people along with affecting the generations to come. Even 40 years later, the dioxin is still claiming victims. It provokes cancer and serious genetic malfunctions. Although the Vietnamese people took the brunt of injuries, it was not only them who were harmed. Many U.S. soldiers, along with doctors and nurses, and volunteers were affected by the poison.

     Lastly, to convince someone I would tell them that if they care about people and if they care about themselves, then they should think twice about GMOs and Monsanto. We are not feeding more people nor are we feeding them healthier food. All we are doing is poisoning the ground, poisoning ourselves, and possibly generations to come. If we even want to have a ground to debate on in 100 years, we need to treat the planet and the people better.

Part 2

           The type of public means that I would use to try and change someone’s mind would be to attempt something like a media hoax, the type of thing that the Yes Men are known for doing.  The Yes Men are two guys, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, who infiltrate conferences, produce fake newspapers, and do various other things in order to expose the wrongdoings of miscellaneous, mostly corporate evildoers. They also record everything to get it out to the world through social media, news channels, and they’re own movies. In their own words, the Yes Men call their work “’laughtivism’ because, it’s funny. And it’s activist: the theory is, [they’ll] laugh bloodsuckers into oblivion and thus save the world.” I’m not saying that this would always be the best option but I do believe there is something truly powerful in laughter and satire and it has the power to make people think.

           In the case of Monsanto, I think that being able to imitate one of their executives, similarly to how they imitated someone from the WTO, would be very powerful. For example, if they were to apologize on National television for poisoning the planet or a whole town, it would be very eye-opening.  Or if they simply said what they truly thought, that they are trying to make money and it doesn’t really matter to them whether they are actually feeding anyone or not, this is our capitalist society! The people who have the power get to make the rules. This would leave people shocked, and would hopefully grab people’s attention. These hoaxes generally spark conversation about whatever “wrongdoing” they are trying to expose and they usually get people really angry. I think this topic of Monsanto should make people angry. It is typically angry people who get things done. Individuals have tried to reason with Monsanto. They’ve tried the legal route of taking them to court but nothing really seems to have changed. I think if a hoax like something the Yes Men could do, happened to Monsanto, it could make a difference.

This link includes the Yes Men’s video of the debate while imitating the WTO (at around 18:30). It is a good example of what I would be going for! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmuF3SJhWI4

[bleeding-star-heart]

[woohooligancomics]

Punching Nazis: A Handy Guide!

We all enjoy Punching Nazis, but it's important to do it right! You don't want to go off half-cocked and punch some random grandmother because she mentioned being a vegetarian and by god, Hitler was a vegetarian, so they're all the same! No, we need to approach Nazi punching with a little more care and introspection. So let's step back and focus on the fundamentals.

First, many people will tell you that it's not okay to punch a Nazi, because violence of any kind is never acceptable. We should only ever use our words. So, is it okay to punch a Nazi? I'll let Aamer Rahman answer this one.

Now that we've established it's okay to punch a Nazi, I think we have to ask ourselves one other important question before we move on to who to punch and when and how to punch them. As with anything we do, we should ask ourselves why. Why do we punch Nazis?

This question is slightly harder to answer, but I'll direct you first to an excellent Twitter thread from Anthony Oliviera.

I just finished a PhD diss abt "reason" in relation to the public sphere so w apologies I might risk a short thread re: punching nazis -

— Anthony Oliveira (@meakoopa) January 23, 2017

The TL;DR of Anthony's thesis is that by punching the Nazis we let them know that their racist ideas are simply not on the table (or under it or really even anywhere in the dining room or the house). That way, we can continue on to actual civil discourse, without wasting a lot of time arguing the pros and cons of slavery, genocide, or even the mass-deportation of people from their home country, because some douchebag thinks the devil needs more advocates!

Ultimately we punch Nazis because it works. I know some people will tell you that it doesn't, but history shows that the more we stand up to Nazis, the less power they have in the world. And when I say Nazis, I include KKK members and other non-trivial racists. The original Klan was a terrorist gang formed after the Civil War to destroy whatever victory the north had won, and their white-supremacist ideology was very similar to the Nazis of WWII. So in history from at least the Civil War forward, we see periods when Nazis rise up and cause a lot of harm, but determined and sustained opposition from good people like us always puts them back in the fringe where they belong.

Now who do we punch? Nazis obviously, but how do we identify them? If I really wanted to punch a Nazi, I could do that on any day with a short road trip to Wisconsin. I don't because I think it's a little late to punch the original Nazis who have one-foot in the grave already. Are they causing problems? Maybe, but in general, I think the best solution to racism from senior citizens is to give them more tapioca and be patient.

Let's not go driving around looking for Nazis to punch anyway, since we really shouldn't be chasing people down to assault them. We want to wait until they're stirring up shit in our own neighborhoods. In fact, lately Nazis like Richard Spencer always deny that they are Nazis, since we've thankfully made their attitudes unpopular. To be fair, even the WWII Nazis, members of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, didn't call themselves Nazis; it was an insult invented by their opposition. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe some of them don't realize they're Nazis. So what are the signs?

If you wear a Hitler mustache (known in Germany as the "toothbrush" or "snot stopper"), you might be a Nazi. Let's not punch just yet. Maybe they're an actor playing Hitler, or a hipster who thinks the style of depression-era silent-film comedians will be the next fad they'll have to ditch once it's popular.

If you complain about the absence of a White Entertainment Television network (which would necessarily be porn), or a white version of Kwaanza, you might be a Nazi. Let's not punch just yet, maybe they're just a douche.

If you cosplay as a white fence post or carry a Nazi swastika flag, you might be a Nazi. Lets not punch just yet. Maybe they're performing historical reenactment.

If you hand out obviously fake white genocide flyers, you might be a Nazi. Let's not punch just yet, maybe they're dumb enough to believe the flyers were real and ran off more copies themselves. And to be fair, we need to allow free speech -- if they want to argue that white people are being targeted for extinction, let them make their case. Then maybe ask them what local or federal laws are specifically preventing white people from fucking enough to have a comparable number of children.

If you have a swastika tattoo on your neck, you might be a Nazi. Let's not punch just yet. Maybe they're suffering from severe mental illness, are a good guy who's trying to remove the Nazi stink from an ancient religious symbol, or a friend saw them passed out drunk and decided that would be a funnier practical joke than the usual penis tattoo.

If you say "Hitler was chill, y'all! And that six-million Jews thing was so overblown," you might be a Nazi.

"Hitler was chill, y'all! And that six-million Jews thing was so overblown. It's okay to imprison and murder a couple hundred thousand people based on their race or religion, right? As long as it's not in the millions, what's the fuss? Checkmate, snowflakes!" https://t.co/HzA0k1MqCI

— Samuel Isaac Dealey (@datafaucet) December 28, 2017

Now we're in punch-worthy territory. Maybe before we punch, ask how large a genocide has to be to no longer be chill. See if he ever realizes this is a heap paradox.

If you say veganism is the only ethical dietary choice, you might be a... y'know what? Punch away. Go nuts!

If you hadn't noticed until this point, this is obviously satire. I use the expression "punching Nazis" as a metaphor; one that I'm not at all opposed to making literal under certain, infrequent circumstances like self-defense. But certainly, under no circumstances should any of us allow them to drag the conversation into arguments for or against separatism, mass deportation, or ethnic cleansing, as these subjects are simply unacceptable. In most cases, ridiculing Nazis is far more effective than punching them. So let's go, "punch some Nazis."

Thank you for sharing yourself!

- Sam

P.S. If you believe that laughter is a moral imperative, help us make people's lives better with comedy by joining our newsletter below, and you'll get a copy of our first book free. :D

[kristinegerolaga]

#FBF to getting to perform for this first time on the Second City Hollywood stage and with @laughtivism one of my favorite teams ever!!! Huge thanks to @aaronlamarrburleson and @catherinekaine for having me again and for giving me the chance to work on some hilarious sketches with some hilarious folks ☺️And huge thanks to @j8nnii for coming to support!!!! (at Second City Hollywood)

[bloodygranuaile]

“ The folks in my book group wanted something a little more action-oriented than Necessary Trouble, so for this month we read Srdja Popovic’s Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World.

Popovic was one of the founding members of Otpor!, the Serbian student resistance movement that overthrew Slobodan Milosevich in the late ‘90s, and since then has helped run CANVAS, the Centre for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies, which trains pro-democracy activists across the world. So it’s clear that he’s got a track record of success in the subject.

The book is short and clearly written to be as accessible and entertaining as possible, each chapter dedicated to a specific principle or strategy—stuff like “make oppression backfire” and “have a vision of tomorrow”—and illustrating it with a lot of anecdotes from either Otpor! or other resistance movements that Popovic has worked with. Case studies range from the Israeli cottage cheese boycott of 2011 to the overthrow of the dictator Gayoom in the Maldives in 2008. A number of these stories are surprisingly delightful—the Israeli cottage cheese boycott was just the most bonkers thing; I actually laughed out loud reading about it—and in several cases this is by design. Popovic is a great proponent of what he calls “laughtivism,” or what I would more likely call “TROLLING FOR REVOLUTION” or possibly “meme warfare.” “

[krimsteve]

New super fun and funny Social Climate Weather Team Laughtivism LA sketch. Watch the full sketch on the Lawah Dawah page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawahdawah/videos/1524225431016252/ Thanks for having me on the weather team @aaronlamarrburleson ! And awesome job to the rest of the team @russellcurry , @catherinejkaine , @rachel_the_reyes , @elizabethfranco, and Carmen Kartini Rhode! And @butcherbirdstudios ! #lawahdawah #laughtivismla #keepitreal #butcherbirdstudios #socialclimateweatherteam #comedy #sketch #sketchcomedy #diversity #funny #social