Make Yourself Ungovernable

A Guide to Grassroots Civil Disobedience 

The time to act was yesterday. Since that’s no longer an option, the next best time is now.

Although power always belongs to the people, the longer a regime stands, the harder it is to dismantle. Prolonged oppression fosters the false belief that resistance is futile—a narrative passed down through generations. So the sooner you acquire the skills to challenge and depose a tyrant, the better.

A key strategy is to make yourself ungovernable. While a tyrant is willing to break the social contract of law and order himself, he fully expects that you will not. His authority depends on your compliance. This is why, as Peter Ackerman states in The Checklist to End Tyranny:

“...a civil resistance campaign must keep the prospect of noncompliance to the tyrants’ orders uppermost in the tyrant’s mind. One way to do this is to diversify by sequencing tactics of commission and concentration with tactics of omission and dispersion in order to stay in the fight and weather repression. As long as that capacity exists and is executed with increasing skill, the tyrant will eventually lose confidence that repression can be the ultimate weapon to prevent a loss of power. It is the existence of these strategic skills that explain why a civil resistance campaign is twice as likely to succeed as is a violent insurrection.”

In other words, you must be prepared to break the social contract in skillful, nonviolent, and unexpected ways.

Civil Resistance Strategies

A civil resistance campaign should be adaptable, evolving to counter disinformation, propaganda, and systemic chaos—tactics deliberately deployed by the tyrant to neutralize dissent.

Sociopolitical organizations like MoveOn, Indivisible, the NAACP, and the ACLU regularly execute concrete strategies, such as letter-writing campaigns, petition drives, and legal actions that are often effective. However, grassroots activism by individuals or small groups is equally vital.

Examples of Resistance Tactics:

• Spreading information: Write and distribute leaflets, pamphlets, or books in public spaces to reach opposition supporters who might otherwise remain uninformed.
• Public awareness campaigns: Post flyers and stickers exposing regime officials’ abuses of power. Satirical caricatures paired with messaging can be particularly effective.
• Holding leaders accountable: Confront elected representatives at public events, reminding them of their constitutional oath.
• Economic resistance: Boycott businesses that support the regime.
• Consumer blackouts: Organize days—or multiple days—where participants purchase nothing, disrupting economic stability.

The key is to be creative, persistent, and adaptable. The Albert Einstein Institution provides a comprehensive flyer detailing 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action—an excellent resource for strategy planning.

The Power of Public Demonstrations

Public demonstrations are a crucial element of a civil resistance campaign for several reasons:

• They break media suppression, giving the movement a visible presence.
• They build morale, reinforcing solidarity among dissidents.
• They weaken the tyrant’s image, making him appear vulnerable.

As protests grow, they present the tyrant with a dilemma: If he does nothing, he risks appearing weak to his base. If he uses force, he risks alienating supporters and neutral observers, many of whom may then begin sympathizing with the opposition.

And that’s the ultimate goal: to erode the tyrant’s power base, which consists of: government officials, security forces (police, military, intelligence agencies), hardline supporters, "double-thinkers (nominal supporters who may waver), and apathetic citizens. When these factions start defecting—particularly security forces—the tyrant’s hold on power begins to collapse.

The Cost and Rewards of Resistance

To be clear: at some point, the tyrant will use force. Imprisonment, physical aggression, and state violence are all possibilities. You must acknowledge these risks and prepare for the consequences of participation.

However, consider this: if you do nothing, you will never be safe. Taking action may bring hardship, but it also creates the possibility of changing history—for yourself and for others.

That said, while the tyrant may resort to violence, it is important not to respond in kind. Violence discourages potential defectors—people will not join a movement where they feel unsafe.

A Case Study in Nonviolent Resistance

During the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, college students in Nashville organized lunch counter sit-ins to protest segregation. Before taking action, they trained with experienced leaders who prepared them to endure the slurs and assaults they would inevitably face without retaliating.

On the day of the protest, Black and white students entered downtown cafés and sat together at the front counters. As expected, the waitresses refused to serve them. Also as expected, hostile patrons began to harass and assault them. Eventually, the police arrived and arrested the students. However, as soon as one group was removed, another group took their place. This cycle repeated until the jail cells were full.

The arrested students were defended by a lawyer whose home was later bombed. In response to this escalating violence, around 3,000 demonstrators marched to the mayor’s office. Under mounting pressure, the mayor publicly conceded that the lunch counters should be desegregated.

This example highlights the power of preparation, persistence, and nonviolent action in galvanizing support for a movement. It also reveals the ultimate weakness of oppressors—when enough people organize around a common goal, they can force even the most entrenched powers to fold.

Examples of Grassroots Resistance

Many organizations are already at the forefront of grassroots civil disobedience in response to the growing threat of tyranny in America. Here are a few recent examples:

• Quaker groups have filed lawsuits against policies that lift restrictions on ICE officials making arrests in houses of worship.
• Alt National Park Service (@altnpt.bsky.social on Bluesky) is a coalition of rogue park workers and supporters dedicated to protecting national parks from government overreach and environmental destruction.
• An independent news agency is redirecting the URL from a shutdown government webpage on reproductive health to an alternative site they maintain, ensuring continued public access to vital information.

To reiterate, the tyrant’s goal is to make you believe you are powerless. Your goal is to reveal his weakness. Expose his failed policies by every means possible. Demonstrate, disobey, and chip away at his support until his power base collapses.

Actionable Items:

✔ Develop a strategy using civil disobedience tactics (e.g., sit-ins, boycotts, strikes, public demonstrations, distributing leaflets and flyers).

✔ Organize and coordinate with clear objectives to expose the oppressor’s weaknesses. Provide training if necessary to ensure safety and discipline.

✔ Assess and adapt by analyzing results, refining strategies, and maintaining sustained pressure for maximum impact.

Up Next: Your Rights and Safety as an Activist.