028 symbolic sounds

methods of nonviolent protest and persuasion symbolic public acts
028 symbolic sounds banner

"Oral or mechanical sounds may be used to convey ideas in a conflict situation. The tolling or simple ringing of bells has often been used in this way, as in the example cited above in which James Madison and other Princeton students witnessed the burning of a letter they did not like, “while the college bell tolled funereal peals.”"...

((Sharp, Gene. The Politics of Nonviolent Action (p. 168). Albert Einstein Institution. Kindle Edition.))

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171 nonviolent interjection

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013 deputations

deputations

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172 nonviolent obstruction

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trending_up 8.9/10 as a pair
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140 hiding escape and false identities

hiding escape and false identities

trending_down 3.9/10 as a pair
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006 group or mass petitions

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trending_down 4.9/10 as a pair
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175 overloading of facilities

overloading of facilities

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High scoring campaigns using this method

Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method

Haitians overthrow a dictator, 1946

10.0/10

The Haitian President, Elie Lescot had been granted the powers of a dictator by his congress and was backed by the United States. He was representative of the mulatto ruling class during a time when black political radicalism was growing in Haiti. Le...

Los Angleles Justice for Janitors campaign for economic justice at Century City, 1989-1990

10.0/10

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) formed the Local 399 shortly after World War II. The Local 399 was a labor union for janitors which had reached its peak in the 1970s, but was struggling in the 1980s. During this time, the Local 399 f...

Croatians protest closure of radio station (Radio 101), 1996

10.0/10

In the 20th century, Croatia existed in several different incarnations. Until 1918, Croatia was part of Austria-Hungary, but with the dissolution of the empire, Croatia instead cofounded Yugoslavia with other Balkan states. However, like the Austria-...

Sunagawa farmers prevent expansion of Tachikawa Air Force Base, 1956-57

10.0/10

The Tachikawa Air Force Base (AFB) was a US airfield in western Tokyo. The US military and the Japanese government planned to use this airfield for transporting nuclear weapons. In order to accommodate for the larger aircraft needed to transport thes...

English residents and environmentalists prevent Heathrow Airport expansion, 2002 – 2010

10.0/10

The London Heathrow Airport was of the busiest airports in the world when the English government began to contemplate expansion in 2002. Considered to be one of the premier airports in the world, the English government wanted to preserve the airport’...

Greenpeace pressures Unilever, gains moratorium on destructive palm oil production in Indonesia, 2008

10.0/10

Palm oil is a versatile and inexpensive oil used in many products, from ice cream and cookies to soap and lipstick. Expansion of palm oil plantations is the leading cause of rainforest destruction in Indonesia. Unilever is the world’s largest consume...

Icelanders overthrow top power holders responsible for economic crisis (Kitchenware Revolution), 2008-9

10.0/10

At the dawn of the financial crisis, Iceland was controlled by the Independent Party, a right-wing party with decidedly neo-liberal economic policies. Over the past 19 years, banks had been privatized, regulations cut, and the corporate tax rate lowe...

Turkish People prevent shopping mall from replacing Istanbul's Gezi Park, 2013

9.5/10

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was first inaugurated as prime minister of Turkey in 2003 and enjoyed wide popular support, contributing to successive elections as prime minister. Erdogan gathered 47% of the vote in 2007, and he came into office in 2011 with 49...

South Africans successfully boycott buses in Johannesburg, 1957

9.0/10

In 1957, the Public Utility Transport Corporation (PUTCO) in South Africa raised the bus fare from 4d to 5d for commuters in Johannesburg. This was equivalent to 2 pennies or 1 shilling (15c) more that the South Africans would need to pay a week.\n\n...

Massachusetts residents block construction of Kinder Morgan Northeast Energy Direct pipeline 2014-2016

9.0/10

In September 2014, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (TGP), a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., proposed a 346-mile pipeline to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The proposal included two paths: a 220-mile “supply...

Low scoring campaigns using this method

Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method

Falkland Islander fishermen protest license fee increase, 2008

1.0/10

@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }\n\nThe Falkland Islands is an archipelago off the coast of Argen...

Iranians protest election results, 2009

1.5/10

Iranians turned out in large numbers to elect their President on 12 June 2009. The candidates included the incumbent and favorite of the religious authorities, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as three challengers: Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Mohsen Rezaee, and...

Yale University students protest sweatshop labor, 2000

1.5/10

On 1 March 2000, 400 Yale University students rallied to demand that their administration withdraw from the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and join the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC) instead. Both organizations focused on monitoring sweatshop labor an...

Luxembourgers general strike against Nazi occupation, 1942

2.0/10

In the 1940s, Nazi Germany under the government of Adolf Hitler was advancing its conquest of Europe during the Second World War. By May 1940, Luxembourg, a small neutral country bordering Germany, was placed under military occupation by forces of th...

Emelle residents protest Chemical Waste Management hazardous waste landfill 1978-1995

3.0/10

In 1978, Chemical Waste Management Inc. (CWM), a subsidiary of Waste Management Inc. (WMX), bought 300-acres of land near Emelle, Alabama for a hazardous waste landfill. Residents did not have the opportunity to protest the landfill prior to its cons...

Mexican students protest for greater democracy, 1968

3.0/10

In July of 1968, as the student-led uprising of May and June in France was fading away, a new one was just beginning in Mexico City. Students inspired by the success of the movement in France saw their own opportunity to bring more open democracy to ...

Channel Islanders resist German occupation in WWII, 1941-1945

3.5/10

The Channel Islands, two British territories, fell under German occupation in 1940 during WWII. The Islands politically took on a policy of “passive cooperation.” Fearing a German monopolization of oil, Britain interned German civilians living in Per...

Effectiveness profile

Success by Opponent
Corporation / Business 8.6
Government / State Body 7.0
Healthcare Provider 3.5
Judiciary / Legal System 7.7
Military / Police 6.1
Success by Theme
Success by Group Type
Success by Region
Success by Campaign Scale
Success by Goal Magnitude

Risk profile

Risk by region

Compared to the worldwide average for this method

Africa
skull
Lethal Force and Harm trending_down Below Average
personal_injury
Physical Assault (Non-Lethal) trending_down Below Average
gavel
Arrests and Legal Action trending_down Below Average
campaign
Intimidation and Harassment trending_down Below Average
lock
Restrictions on Rights and Freedoms trending_up Above Average
house_siding
Property Damage and Economic Reprisals trending_down Below Average
Americas
Asia
Europe

Risk by regime

Compared to the worldwide average for this method

Closed autocracy
Electoral autocracy
Electoral democracy
Liberal democracy