The 3.5% rule has become a mantra. But not one example that generated that number comes from American history — and our history has something to say about why that matters.

In this video, I explore what Erica Chenoweth’s research actually shows, why importing it into American resistance without asking hard questions is a problem, and what the anti-slavery movement, Reconstruction, the labor movement, and the Civil Rights Movement tell us about what it actually takes to challenge entrenched power in this country.

The 3.5% crowd is offering Goldilocks Resistance — not too radical, not too passive, just right. A magic number. A formula. But the people who’ve changed this country didn’t have a formula. They had a willingness to be ungovernable.

Watch the video. Then do the reading yourself — Chenoweth’s “Why Civil Resistance Works” is worth your time. But ask the question she doesn’t: how does this apply to us? What have the people who run this country’s politics learned about absorbing dissent? And what does that mean for anyone serious about resistance now?

The 3.5% Rule and Goldilocks Resistance: What Our History Really Tells Us About Effective Opposition