There is no need to watch a role model be non-violent in order to figure out that non-violence is a good thing. Is there?
Yesterday, someone suggested to me that followers of Jesus are called to be witnesses to non-violence. They must resist injustice with non-violence because Jesus told us to do so. That is what it means to be a witness. You do something with reference to someone else.
My friend also described this as an entirely different approach than for me to use non-violence because I think it works. I can see that. It is not that flattering to me when I am non-violent but say under my breath, “He he … this non-violent response will get ’em. That’ll show ‘em.”
So, we either resist our oppressor in a non-violent way because our role model tells us to do it that way. Or we resist our oppressor by non-violence because we have figured out that it works.
But isn’t it worth more for us to be non-violent when we are able to figure it out on our own? Doesn’t that make us people of integrity, whereas just doing it because so-and-so tells us is less authentic? Why be non-violent because someone asks that of us?
Related Posts:
- Is Violence Another Word for Power?
- When Can You Say Your Husband Raped You?
- Can Violence Be Beautiful?
Photo: ttstam
