In an earlier post, I argued that we observers of international affairs are responsible for critical thinking when consuming the news. This is particularly true when reading stories about political violence published in mainstream news outlets in the country where I live currently, the U.S. In this second part of my argument, I highlight news outlets that courageously report on alternatives to war, as well as nonviolent resistance to the war in Ukraine. I also discuss specific ways readers can collectively defy militarism in terms of how they consume media. […]

Amid the horror and uncertainty of war, concerned world citizens flock to the media. We cling to our screens, apps, papers, and radios to make sense of astonishing tragedies, to know how to respond, and for reassurance that things will be under control soon. In such moments, it is vital that we not suspend our critical assessment of the stories we are sold. As I’ve been emphasizing to my university students since the Russian government began its full-scale, unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine: notice the narratives. […]

In 2020, youth climate activists collaborated on nonviolent actions in more than 40 countries, staged climate strikes on every continent, and developed mutual aid networks to cope with the Covid-19 crisis. However, perhaps their most outstanding accomplishment has been mainstreaming the links between the global pandemic, structural oppression, and the post-colonial social order that is making the planet uninhabitable. […]

Given the scale, intensity, and compounding effects of climate change, it has never been more important to defend the environment. To make matters more urgent, resource conflicts are becoming increasingly deadly in the past couple of decades. This is why people refer to environmental activism nowadays as a “suicide mission,” especially in countries that emerge from colonialism with commodity-dependent economies and weak political institutions. […]