To engage in non-cooperation in one or more institutional pillars
Our goal together is to help you to engage in meaningful acts of non-cooperation for the “long war” (William A. Finnegan’s Rule #6).
We are building muscles that have atrophied due to pandemic protocols, technology, and our “busy modern lives” (which have been carefully designed by extractive systems to keep us from engaging meaningfully and collectively organizing).
This means, to be effective, non-cooperation action should:
- be mission-aligned
- be community supported (existing or new community)
- start small/easy and may grow or change over time
Congratulations! By finding us and this page, you’ve taken the first of many steps.
— Your neighbors at UP Indivisible
Step 1:
How to find your mission
Mapping your journey is critical. It will inform you of why YOU of all people decided to stand-up and take action in this very critical, very scary moment. It will also help you better identify what actions map the most closely to your mission, to make your efforts more sustainable.
Click the button to download the fillable PDF of the “How I was Radicalized by Decency” timeline template. You can either fill it out digitally or print it out to use ye olde pen or pencil.
If you get stuck, meet a friend or neighbor for a working coffee session.
Step 2:
Find (or build) your mission-aligned community
Non-cooperative activism isn’t just about individual passion; it’s about collective action. When people come together, they amplify voices and impact.
Community is also necessary for doing this work long-term. The community mapping activity (aka pod mapping) can help you identify caring and accountable communities who will support, challenge, and rejuvenate you as we do this work.
(The concept of “pods” was developed by the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective (BATJC))
Step 3:
Start with small/easy actions
The work you take on must be both sustainable and impactful. Like we say often, “consistency beats size!”
Taking small, consistent actions is important when starting out in non-cooperative activism because it builds momentum, confidence, and trust—both in yourself and from others.
Activism can be overwhelming, especially when facing big issues, but regular, manageable steps help you stay engaged without burning out. These actions add up over time, creating real impact and helping you grow your skills, relationships, and understanding of the needs of the community.
Plus, consistency shows commitment, which encourages others to join and builds a stronger movement.
Still need inspiration? Download an Action Bingo card:
- Action Bingo – Community Edition
- Action Bingo – Finance Edition
Still Stuck?
That’s Okay.
Remember, our “busy modern lives” have been carefully designed by extractive systems to keep us from engaging meaningfully and collectively organizing.
Here are two easy options:
- Take a like-minded friend for coffee (or happy hour).
- Tell them that you’re meeting for an hour and that you’d like their thoughts on what kind of actions you can take to build community and help you cope with what’s going on with the country.
- Bring a copy of one of the Action Bingo Cards as talking points:
- Action Bingo – Community Edition
- Action Bingo – Finance Edition
- When you meet each other, say “I’m setting a timer for both of us.”
- Before you both leave, set up a date to meet up again at regular intervals to check in. Perhaps, every other week?
- Why an hour? You’ll likely want to dump all of your trauma on each other and not get to the meet of the conversation.
- If you’re local to us, fill out our Contact Form. Where it says, “What are you interested in?” write, “Meet me for coffee”.
- One of us will meet you for an hour coffee at local spot in University Place
- We’ll help you get started so that you can meet another like-minded person (or two or three) to meet regularly and stay accountable to.
UP WA Indivisible 