Power
What is Power? How does it work? Power is the ability to act. Power is not good or bad. It is how you use it and toward what end. Power unchecked or unaccountable can corrupt – it can also reveal… Power is not a zero sum game – there is not a limited amount. Power is not set, it is relational. People power has the ability to alter the relationship. Exercising our power consciously can manifest the outcomes we desire. There are different kinds of power: Power Over – that’s what the boss or state use Power With – horizontal organizing, that what we need to model and build Power Within – every single one of us has...
Fear
In this section: Power & Liberation Creating Liberation Exercises on Power Anti-Oppression Resources “Where there is fear – there is power” Starhawk Fear is “expectation with alarm” Fear is a normal, instinctive response to a perceived threat Fear is largely based on pondering a possible future or the what-if’s of the past, whereas the power to make change is in the present. Fear is often a little voice inside you head that wants you to avoid things that are uncomfortable – confrontation, speaking in public etc. That little voice can create monsters in your imaginations Fear has a physiological base. There are chemicals in our head that stimulate three primary fear reactions – crying, freezing or aggressive response....
Exercises on Power
This exercise helps people deepen their analysis of the society they are living in. You want to lead them through a process that starts by asking people why they are active, what they want, why they came. Solicit this; see if anyone says to build power. If not, after harvesting some reasons from the group, ask if anyone is doing it to build power? I believe that building power is really at the core of our work if we want to manifest all the things people articulated as to why they are active. Next, ask the group who has power in our society. Create a list Money State, Government, elector’s People etc The people have power and potential...