Plain

The Plain are an ex-Amish urban movement of mortals that exercises an idea known as Radical Pacifism.

Overview
The Plain are an urban movement born out of the online blog written by a small group of ex-Amish young adults in Philadelphia. Born “plain” and raised with ideals like humility and nonviolence, a group of adventurous friends took advantage of their teenage years of “freedom” to explore the big city outside of their rural home in Pennsylvania. At 18, they decided against joining their Church, feeling that sharing their beliefs with the urban world of “the English” was more important than their simple lives. Seven hard-working youths strong, the Plain shared an apartment and worked odd jobs while exploring the city and deciding what parts of their upbringing held up to their new life, and what needed to be discarded.

They came quickly to one simple idea. To be not conformed to this world, the urban one, the Plain had to resist the systemic violence poisoning the urban landscape. Their discussion groups, a sort of god-less church held in their apartment, caught the attention of a few other young men and women looking for another way to live. Soon, someone started blogging the group’s ideas, and branches have popped up in a few major cities. It’s entirely possible that the group won’t survive more than a few years based on its ideals, but for now, it’s having an impact.

Above all, the Plain believe in Radical Pacifism. It is not enough to believe violence is wrong. It is not enough to abstain from militarization. It is not enough to not be violent themselves: They must put their bodies and safety in the way of violence to make radical statements of proactive nonviolence.

Today, membership draws from idealists, iconoclasts of a certain bent, those raised in a shallow religious upbringing, or youths from cultures that have never condoned violence who could not, as a result, naturalize well to urban environments where violence is normalized.

They have no organization, having small “churches” or lone radicals observing based on teachings from the blog or other Plain.

Despite their roots, the Plain’s focus has moved away from avoiding worldliness. To be plain in an urban environment means blending well with the local culture. Whatever community the Plain live among, they try to dress the part. From hipsters with scarves to neighborhood boys in saggy jeans and hoodies, whatever will make them stand out the least. Because they have changed their definitions of community, however, there are no rules of uniformity. A group meeting at “church” might be a rather eclectic group as many walks of life are drawn to the message.

Likewise, the Amish culture of gendered obeisance has been shrugged aside in favor of obedience only to anti-violence. As the movement grows and matures, the idea of anti-violence is maturing and growing in sophistication as some members question if physical violence is the only thing they must stand up to, or if resistance to corruption and emotional violence is also necessary to change the world.

Merits

 * Plain Reader·: The mortal reads the Plain Blog and has been deeply inspired by its preaching, deciding to try to devote her life to radical nonviolence, no matter what harm it might mean to her body. This is about what good it'll do her soul.


 * You Are Being Recorded·: When acts of violence might break out, sometimes the best way to deescalate is accountability. A Plain with this Merit can take out a cell phone, video camera, or other live recording device and announce loudly "You are being recorded," or something similar, reminding the participants there are consequences for their actions.


 * I'm Bleeding on You·: It's difficult to punch a guy who is in your face telling you he won’t fight back. Plain use a series of demands and accusations to force an actor to see and be aware of the violence they’re committing. "You are breaking the nose of another human being. That crack you heard was my nose. I am bleeding. You did this to me." The Plain’s unflinching observations of violence against him are chilling to say the least.


 * Phantom Pain·: Facing the reality of human abuse can have devastating effects, especially when it is a Plain you are harming, and she is laying out for you in clear language what you’ve done. A Plain with this Merit can inflict phantom damage on an assailant. The damage is technically lethal, but appears as exhaustion or stress. The assailant does not bleed, rupture, or hemorrhage as the Plain does. She just feels like she is. The injuries suffered are psychological.


 * Most Infected Thing I've Ever Seen·: Because of their willingness to put their lives on the line, Plain sometimes suffer from the very real and lingering effects of violence. Some wounds will never really heal. But on the other hand, they seem to manage carrying on when others would be hospitalized or dead. How do they do it? They don’t even know.


 * Over Before it Started·: Sometimes, it’s not the act of violence that matters so much as the consequences. A Plain with this Merit can focus the narrative away from inflicting  violence and onto dealing with it. In a violent encounter with someone intent on causing harm to others, the Plain can intervene. Instead of rolling out the violence, blow by blow, the Plain declares that all violence is inflicted on him, instead.


 * The Consequences of Violence·: Most of the time, the Plain make their points through their blog or community outreach. Converts come willingly to a gospel of society free of crushing, normalized  violence. Sometimes, the weight of the Plain’s point of view is a thing inflicted on unwilling assailants as a direct result of their violence.  Anyone who does direct, physical harm to a Plain who is not responding in kind now takes on the burden of nonviolence.


 * The Push· to ·: A Plain acting to protect others steps forward, and with each step, her would-be attackers are driven backward, away from those the Plain would protect. She needs to say no words, no threats, simply step forward and drive them back.