Active Nonviolence
"Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good" (Romans 12)
"Nonviolence is not primarily a tactic. It is a way of living and being and expressing the truth of your soul in the world." (Daniel Berrigan)
"There is so much focus on the distinction between nonviolence and violence, between nonviolent people and violent people. But in reality it’s not that easy to take sides like that. One can never be sure that one is completely on the side of nonviolence or that the other person is completely on the side of violence. Nonviolence is a direction, not a separating line. It has no boundaries." (Thich Nhat Hanh)
"Violence is any behavior, attitude, policy, or condition that diminishes, dominates, or destroys God’s creation."Four Approaches to Violence
- Avoiding violence – cover your ears with your hands; close your eyes; turn away.
- Accommodating violence – extend both arms, elbows bent, palms facing up
- Countering violence – extend both arms, elbows bent, both hands in “stop” position
- Active nonviolence – extend one arm, elbow bent, palm up; extend other arm, elbow bent, hand in the “stop” position. The message of the “two hands of nonviolence” is as follows:
- With one hand (in the “stop” position), you say, “Stop what you are doing. I refuse to honor the role you are choosing to play. I refuse to cooperate with your demands. I refuse to build the walls and the bombs. I refuse to pay for the guns. With this hand, I will interfere with the wrong you are doing.”
- With the other hand (palm up), you say, “I won’t let go of you or cast you out of the circle of my concern. I have faith that you can make a better choice than you are making now, and I will be here when you are ready. Like it or not, we are part of one another.”
(inspired by activist Barbara Deming)
Rice Bags Defeat Nuclear Weapons
In the 1950s, the interfaith peace organization Fellowship of Reconciliation launched an ambitious campaign to challenge the American people and government to look beyond politics and feed those who were hungry. They organized a “Feed Thine Enemy” program, in which tiny bags of rice were sent to President Dwight Eisenhower at the White House with the message concerning famine in China, “If thine enemy is hungry, feed [him].”
It flopped. No one in the White House acknowledged the existence of the campaign. Hostility grew between the United States and China.
However, a crisis arose over the possession of islands disputed by China and Taiwan. Twice the generals advising President Eisenhower recommended pre-emptive nuclear strikes against China, and each time Eisenhower turned to his aides and asked how many bags of rice had come in. Thousands, he was told.
In deference to the opinion of so many people, Eisenhower cited the bags of rice as the reason he ruled out nuclear weapons in this situation.
Video Clips:
Online Information:
For Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi on nonviolent action and civil disobedience, visit http://www.gandhi-king-season.net/g-nonact.htm
For current nonviolent actions and campaigns, see http://paxchristiusa.org/category/calendar/regional-events/
For culturally appropriate nonviolent methods for social change and international peace, see http://nonviolenceinternational.net
For a glossary of nonviolence, visit http://www.oregonvolunteers.org/media/uploads/glossaryofnonviolence.pdf
For a description of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), visit www.cnvc.org/Training/NVC-Concepts
For frequently asked questions about nonviolence, visit www.mettacenter.org/resources/faq
