Guidelines for Conducting Vigils The Lakes Region Peace and Justice Group is committed to nonviolence during all public events, including vigils. A nonviolent response involves words, tone of voice, gestures and postures are peaceful and non-threatening to the other person. We have maintained a peaceful presence on this corner since December 8, 2001. The following are some guidelines for conducting vigils that are consistent with our peaceful approach. We recognize that participating in a vigil may be a new experience for some folks and hope you find this information helpful. General Guidelines for all current vigils: Participants are invited to gather with us briefly for a moment of centering before we begin. We let each other know if we arrive feeling particularly anxious or upset, and people in our group provide support to each other as needed. Support may be in the form of speaking quietly, a gentle touch on the arm or shoulder, or moving between people. These have been effective strategies we have used to help each other remain calm when an interaction has gotten us upset.   Please respond peacefully in a conversational tone of voice when approached by a pedestrian or spoken to by a driver/passenger in a motor vehicle.   Peaceful non-verbal responses such as smiles, waves, peace signs, nods are great!   Direct eye contact invites interaction, so please use it wisely. Maintaining direct eye contact for an extended period of time can be viewed as threatening or challenging to the other person. Scanning faces is a good way of staying tuned into the people coming by.   Everyone has the right to express any sentiment they wish on their signs or through props. Please express any reservations you have about someone's message directly to the other person in a respectful manner.   If you are approached or spoken to in an aggressive manner, please do not shout back, move toward the person/vehicle, or gesture in any way that might be interpreted as threatening. Shouting can be counter-productive, and may be considered disturbing the peace, which could result in the group being asked to leave the area.   We do not need a permit to stand here, but we are required to keep the crosswalk area open and avoid blocking pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk. We also must ensure drivers at the stop sign are able to see vehicles coming around the corner from Pleasant Street (to our left as we face up Main Street.) Again, if we do not respect these requirements we can be asked to leave the area.   In the event of counter-protesters, we respect their right to share the sidewalks and will move ourselves as needed to avoid conflict. We will distance ourselves physically from anyone who is not behaving in a peaceful manner. Ongoing Saturday Vigils - 11 to Noon We would like to avoid creating a "gauntlet" effect for drivers approaching the stop sign, so we've chosen not to line both sides of Main Street at/opposite the stop sign. We want to continue to use areas on both sides of the street, so please ask someone if you are unsure where's a good place to stand.