Promoting Nonviolence

Introduction to Violence and Nonviolence

The world faces significant challenges from armed conflicts and violence, with millions dying
daily from various causes, including starvation. In the face of direct or structural violence,
individuals generally have three response options:

Do nothing: This perpetuates the oppressive system due to fear, helplessness, or indifference.
Respond with violence: This perpetuates a cycle of hostility and carnage, even if motivated by
a desire for justice or self-defense. Violence breeds anger and bitterness.
Respond nonviolently: This seeks to liberate victims from silence and helplessness, fostering
understanding and solidarity. It aims to create a crisis that encourages negotiation.

What is Nonviolence?
Nonviolence, also known as ahimsa, is the refusal to harm other humans, recognizing life as
sacred and an absolute value. It is rooted in the belief that humans have the potential for change.

AKKAPKA (Action for Peace and Justice) defines nonviolence as:

A principle, way of life, or tool for change.

It values the human person as the highest created value that must not be destroyed.
Its aim is to seek truth, produce justice, and enable solidarity and reconciliation.
It seeks to liberate both the oppressed and the oppressor through moral persuasion, pressure,
and nonviolent direct action.

Principles of Nonviolence
Mohandas Gandhi's Beliefs:

As long as people accept exploitation, both exploiter and exploited are entangled in injustice.
Once the exploited refuse to accept the relationship and cooperate with it, they are free.
Nonviolence and cowardice are incompatible. Possession of arms implies fear or cowardice.
A person and their deeds are distinct. Hate the sin, not the sinner.
Fighting back with violence makes one the vandal, and the oppressors become the law.
"An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind."
Nonviolence is more powerful for converting the opponent and opening their minds to
reason.
The means used must be as pure as the ends sought; "two wrongs will not make one right."

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Beliefs:

Nonviolence does not aim to defeat or humiliate the opponent but to win their friendship and
understanding.
Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people.
 Nonviolence thrives on love, not hatred.
Nonviolence requires a willingness to suffer and remarkable discipline amidst provocation.
Suffering can educate and transform.

Despite these principles, oppressive situations like extreme poverty, human rights violations, and
inequity can foster hatred and anger, leading some, like Nelson Mandela, to believe that "force is
the only language that imperialists can hear."

Why Nonviolence?
Ethical and Moral Choice
Religious Traditions:
Jainism: "does not kill, nor cause others to kill, nor consent to the killings by others."
Taoism (Lao Tzu): "weapons are instruments of evil and not of a good ruler."
Buddhism: The precept "not to kill" is foundational, as everyone has "Buddha nature" and
no one has the right to take another's life.
Hinduism: Ahimsa is considered the greatest gift and highest teaching.
Islam: Taking one life without justification is considered as taking all of humanity's lives.
Judaism: Followers are urged "not to envy a man of violence and not choose any of his
ways."
Christianity: Those who use the sword are sooner or later destroyed by it.

Philosophical and Scientific Perspectives:

Gandhi stated, "Destruction is not the law of humans."
Sigmund Freud (1920) proposed aggression as an innate instinct to be diverted.
Konrad Lorenz (1966) suggested aggression serves an adaptive evolutionary function.
The
Seville Statement (1986)
countered the idea of inherent human violence:
War is not inevitable; some cultures have not engaged in war for centuries.
Violent behavior is not genetically programmed; genes provide potential actualized by
environment.
Humans do not have a "violent brain"; how we act is shaped by conditioning and
socialization.
Biology does not condemn humanity to war; humans are capable of inventing peace.
Responsibility for peace or war lies with individuals.

The Seville Statement supports Bandura, Ross & Ross's (1963) theory that aggression is
learned through socialization and can be unlearned. Humans, under normal
circumstances, prefer cooperation.

Practical Choice
Cost of Violence: The tools and effects of violence are extremely costly. In 2008, global
military spending exceeded $1.5 trillion, with the US accounting for 42%. This is vastly more
than the estimated costs to solve global issues like starvation ($19 billion annually) and
illiteracy ($5 billion annually).
Effectiveness of Nonviolence:
 Mohandas Gandhi's leadership led to India's liberation from British rule.
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s leadership resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting
Rights Act of 1965 in the USA.
Philippines: People Power Revolution (1986) overthrew a dictatorship; similar actions led
to the ousting of Joseph Estrada (2001).
Chile (1988): Nonviolent tactics helped defeat the "yes" vote for Pinochet's continued rule.
South Africa: Nonviolent action, led by figures like Nelson Mandela and Archbishop
Desmond Tutu, ended apartheid.
Central America (1987): Oscar Arias used dialogue and persuasion to achieve peace
accords, reducing casualties in Cold War proxy wars.

What is Nonviolent Direct Action?

Gene Sharp (2005) identified 198 methods of nonviolent action, categorized as:

Methods of Nonviolent Action

Nonviolent Protest and Persuasion:
Aims to create awareness of dissent.
Examples: Petitions, banners, posters, haunting officials, lobbying, singing, marches,
prayer rallies, mock funerals, vigils.

Nonviolent Noncooperation:
Presents difficulties to the opponent in maintaining the system's normal operation.
Examples: Consumers' boycott, general strike, civil disobedience.

Nonviolent Intervention:
Challenges the opponent more directly.
Examples: Sit-ins, fasts.

Goals of Nonviolent Action

According to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail":

Dramatize the issue: To put pressure on the adversary to confront the injustice.
Create tension/crisis: To force the adversary to open the door to negotiation.
Liberate victims: To free people from silence and helplessness, enabling participation in
change (e.g., Chile's overthrow of a dictatorship).
Gain attention and support: To draw the attention and support of the larger community, which
can hasten change (e.g., international protests against British rule in India).

Steps in Doing Nonviolent Direct Action

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change suggests these steps:
1. Collect Data: Ascertain that injustice exists through research and information gathering. (e.g.,
investigative journalism revealing President Estrada's wealth in the Philippines).
2. Raise Consciousness: Educate victims about their plight and the possibility of change. Also,
inform "adversaries" to potentially gain sympathy or aid in their conversion.
3. Organize Constituents and Build Coalitions: Form groups and prepare for nonviolent struggle.
This involves analyzing the situation, defining positions, and identifying responses. (e.g.,
formation of the United Democratic Front in South Africa).
4. Employ Methods of Nonviolent Action:
Utilize various creative methods.
Examples: Gandhi's burning of symbols, boycotts, marches; Civil Rights Movement's sit-ins;
MLK Jr.'s public assemblies; Chile's use of television infomercials; Philippines' use of
prayer; lobbying on issues like arms control.

Mechanisms of Change (Gene Sharp)

1. Conversion: The opponent adopts the nonviolent actionists' point of view.
2. Accommodation: The opponent, though not converted, agrees to some or all demands.
3. Nonviolent Coercion: The opponent is unable to continue the struggle because their sources
of power have been removed.
4. Disintegration: The opponent's power simply dissolves.

Teaching-Learning Ideas for Promoting Nonviolence

Teachers can foster nonviolence by:

Being a Role Model: Examining one's own language, behavior, recreation, and attitudes
toward war.
Establishing Classroom Rules: Collaborating with students to create and display rules for a
peaceful classroom.
Encouraging Cooperation: Promoting cooperative activities over competitive ones,
emphasizing the joy of participation over rewards.
Using Peaceful Conflict Resolution: Prioritizing peaceful techniques over punitive actions.
Affirming Good Behavior: Encouraging and rewarding positive actions.
Teaching Anger Management: Providing techniques like deep breathing, counting, or praying
when upset.
Telling Stories of Cooperation: Sharing narratives that highlight collaborative efforts.
Promoting Global Citizenship: Teaching love of country alongside concern for the whole
human community, discouraging narrow nationalism.
Discussing Peace Heroes: Balancing the study of war heroes with the stories of peacemakers
like Oscar Arias, Rosa Parks, Aung San Suu Kyi, etc.
Addressing Bullying and Violence: Speaking out and taking action against such behaviors.
Analyzing Nonviolent Struggles:
Watching films/documentaries on nonviolent movements and reflecting on leaders'
teachings.
Sample Questions: What principles resonate most? Are they practical today?

Researching Religious Teachings: Having students research major religions' views on

nonviolence and creating posters of favorite teachings.
Creating Nonviolent Campaign Materials: Allowing students to design posters, flyers,
 slogans, etc., against war.
Writing Letters to the Editor: Engaging in civic discourse on relevant issues.
Lobbying: Taking students to government bodies to advocate for issues like arms control.
Case Analysis and Role Play: Presenting scenarios of violence for students to analyze and
develop nonviolent action plans, then role-playing the tactics.
Interviewing Advocates: Having students interview nonviolent activists about their principles
and work.
Quote Matching Activity: Students identify the sources of quotes from various nonviolent
thinkers and activists.

Example Quote Analysis Activity

Directions: Find someone in class who knows the source of the following quotes. Ask this
classmate to write his/her answer and to affix his/her signature on your list. You are not allowed
to sign on your own list. A person may sign on your list only once.

1. "We cannot get a rose through planting a noxious weed."

Answer:
Signature:

2. "Weapons are instruments of evil, not the instruments of a good ruler."

Answer:
Signature:

3. "Anger creates anger. He who kills will be killed."

Answer:
Signature:

4. "Peace will not be achieved by nationalistic posturing and arms races but by addressing
fundamental human needs."
Answer:
Signature:

5. "The oppressor must be liberated as the oppressed for all had been robbed of humanity."
Answer:
Signature:

6. "The lack of concern for violence that happens in places far away from us is not nonviolence."
Answer:
Signature:

7. "The physical components of humans are more inclined toward what is peaceful, not what is
hateful or violent."
Answer:
Signature:

8. "Violence as a way of achieving...justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical

because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks
to annihilate rather than to convert...it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys
 community and makes brotherhood impossible. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates
bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers."
Answer:
Signature:

9. "Two wrongs will not make one right...we reap exactly as we sow."
Answer:
Signature:

10. "Do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you."

Answer:
Signature:

(Answer Key: 1. Gandhi, 2. Lao Tzu, 3. The Buddha, 4. Arias, 5. Mandela, 6. Dalai Lama, 7. Dalai
Lama, 8. MLK, Jr., 9. Gandhi, 10. Jesus)

Post-Activity Questions:

What does each quote tell us?

Would these teachings be applicable in contemporary times?

Conclusion: Nonviolence as a Practical Option

Nonviolence is a practical and viable option because it challenges the source of power. When
large numbers of people withdraw support and cooperation, power disintegrates. The
technological revolution facilitates awareness of global brutality, making it easier to mobilize
people against injustice through international media and NGOs. Governments are also more
inclined to impose sanctions on brutal regimes. These factors provide oppressed people with
greater latitude to oppose injustice nonviolently.