9 Nov, 2022
Seeking a vaccine against meanness and hate
When far right Canadian extremist David DePape smashed his hammer into a patio glass door to gain entrance into the San Francisco home Paul Pelosi shares with his wife
9 Nov, 2022
30 Oct, 2022
Hammers are for building, not harming
Antifa comes swarming into the street, hurling full soda cans at cops and at windows, believing they alone have the right to "burn it down," ala Pol Pot, start over, Year Zero.
1 Aug, 2022
My weekend with the good guys
You may find this shocking, but a little over a decade ago I spent a weekend learning how to shoot a handgun — under the auspices of the NRA. I wound up earning myself an NRA “personal protection in the home” certificate.
19 Jun, 2022
Embracing the complexity of peace
“Just imagine for once if we led the world in funding peace and not wars.” Just imagine! The words are those of Robert Weissman, president of the organization ...
24 Mar, 2022
The deep connections between democracy and nonviolence
In recent weeks, leaders and commentators here and abroad have rightly framed Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine as a struggle between autocracy and democracy.
7 Mar, 2022
Saving Ukraine, saving lives, saving ourselves
I teach nonviolence. Students ask, so, okay, and just how could Ukraine possibly resist Putin and a brutal invasion using nothing but nonviolence?
13 Feb, 2021
‘Whataboutism’ is not a defense
‘Whataboutism’ is not a defense by Wim Laven 749 words Published in: Anchorage Press, LA Progressive, Black News, Westside Gazette,...
13 Dec, 2020
How Portland Radicalized Me
Today I find myself in an untenable position. I run an online encrypted mental health service to serve the Portland protest movement...
2 Dec, 2020
Earth to Portland: Dispatch from the Nation’s Problem Child
We live in Portland, Oregon. As almost anyone in our town will tell you...
7 Oct, 2020
Be Prepared for Violent Fascists and Political Violence
In the days following the first Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden I observed two important lessons.
22 Sep, 2020
Naming the Violence
“There’s a term that was developed in the academic field of peace research, and it deserves far more currency in...
22 Apr, 2020
Trump is not a wartime president — and COVID-19 is not a war
“Using a war narrative to talk about COVID-19 plays into the hands of white supremacist groups. U.S. officials and the...
19 Mar, 2020
Social distancing? Peace and social justice demand more coming together, not more distancing
“”Social distancing” (or maybe more properly “appropriate physical spacing”) is something people everywhere need to practice in the near term...
22 Dec, 2019
Thanksgiving in spite of it all
“Why, in the era of the Worst President Ever, with racism and violence erupting with special virulence for the past...
31 Oct, 2019
Should you be afraid of the fascists in your community?
“I get accused of “being over-the-top” and using hyperbole by conservative friends and acquaintances with increasing frequency. This is caused,...