Nonviolent resistance vs. nonviolent lifestyle...

[Alecto]

Right now in my life, I'm pretty sure about where the line is for me and where I stand, but I'm curious about the rest of you folks: what role does nonviolence play in your worldview? To be more specific, is it merely the best means to enact positive socio-political change, or is it coupled with a pacifist outlook? If unrelated to a deliberate action, would you defend yourself if attacked?


(I'm looking into self-defense classes, hence the thinking about the subject)

[Vanessa White]

This is an interesting question, Alecto.

I try on a daily basis to keep my words, and thoughts, nonviolent as much as possible, and I am usually successful. If confronted physically, I am not sure how I would respond. However, if my child were the one that was being acted against, I know I would use whatever means necessary to protect her, violent or not. That is how fierce that love is.

[Zerbie]

Right now in my life, I'm pretty sure about where the line is for me and where I stand, but I'm curious about the rest of you folks: what role does nonviolence play in your worldview? To be more specific, is it merely the best means to enact positive socio-political change, or is it coupled with a pacifist outlook? If unrelated to a deliberate action, would you defend yourself if attacked?


(I'm looking into self-defense classes, hence the thinking about the subject)

I practice yoga. Ahimsa is the first principle one begins (trying) to practice in yoga. This is a lifelong practice. My attempts to adhere to my practice are the reason behind the activism. Soulforce work borrows from the tradition I follow, therefore it follows that Soulforce is rather closely aligned to my life.

"Himsa" means harming or hurting. "A" means absence of, or "non." A more accurate translation of ahimsa than 'non-violence' would actually be 'non-harming.'

Consider the self-defense question:

Putting the practice of ahimsa in the context of self-defense under attack. First, we need to understand that we have responsibility to ourselves as well as to others. If you're sitting at a café minding your own business when someone approaches you and throws a beer bottle at your body, not only might that injure you physically and emotionally, but it is an action that degrades the bottle-thrower. Resisting attack if possible, resisting harm, then becomes necessary in order to practice "non-harming."

Now change the context and place the above scenario into a circa 1960 sit-in, civil rights march, etc., and suddenly the situation becomes one in which turning another cheek is actually more practically effective than physically defending the individual self, in the long run. But an unprovoked assault absent of context? It would be an act of violence to submit to assault when one could defend oneself. We have to remember to count ourselves as potential recipients of violence by omitting to defend ourselves when necessary.

Vanessa uses an excellent word: "fierce." There are times when ahimsa requires us to be very, very fierce. We must keep practicing and learning to the best of our ability, to grow in our capacity to perceive with clarity what kind of response is called for at what time under what conditions.

[Alecto]

While I'm comfortable with what I am and am not willing to do, I didn't really have a framing for it that made sense. We pretty much agree on all the practicalities, but you have it framed in a way that does't seem arbitrary or conflicting: I hadn't seen it like that before. Thanks Zerbie!:love: