NP Terrorism and Nonviolence

[John Lundy]

Thanks, Doug.

On Wednesday, 26 September 2001 08:52, Doug Millison [SMTP:nopynching at yahoo.com] wrote:
> http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11565
> 
> Terrorism and Nonviolence 
> Arun Gandhi, The M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence
> September 24, 2001
> 
> "When in despair I remember that all through history
> the way of truth and love has always won; there have
> been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they can
> seem invincible, but in the end they always fall."
> --M.K. Gandhi 
> 
> Understandably, after the tragedy in New York and
> Washington, D.C. on September 11 many have written or
> called the Gandhi Institute to find out what would be
> an appropriate nonviolent response to such an
> unbelievably inhuman act of violence. 
> 
> First, we must understand that nonviolence is not a
> strategy that we can use in times of peace and discard
> in a moment of crisis. Nonviolence is about personal
> attitudes, about becoming the change we wish to see in
> the world. Nonviolence is about building positive
> relationships with all human beings -- relationships
> that are based on love, compassion, respect,
> understanding and appreciation. 
> 
> Nonviolence is also about not judging people as we
> perceive them to be -- that is, a murderer is not born
> a murderer; a terrorist is not born a terrorist.
> People become murderers, robbers and terrorists
> because of circumstances and experiences in life.
> Killing or confining murders, robbers, terrorists or
> the like is not going to rid this world of them. For
> with everyone we kill or confine, we create another
> hundred to take their place. What we need to do is
> dispassionately analyze both the circumstances that
> create such monsters and how we can help eliminate
> those circumstances. Focusing our efforts on the
> monsters, rather than what creates the monsters, will
> not solve the problems of violence. Justice should
> mean reformation and not revenge. 
> 
> We saw some people in Iraq and Palestine and I dare
> say many other countries rejoicing over the tragedies
> at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It
> horrified us, as it should. But let us not forget that
> we do the same thing. When Israel bombs the
> Palestinians we either rejoice or show no compassion.
> Our attitude is that they deserve what they get. When
> the Palestinians bomb the Israelis we are indignant
> and condemn them as vermin who need to be eliminated. 
> 
> We reacted without compassion when we bombed the
> cities of Iraq. I was among the millions in the United
> States who sat glued to the television and watched the
> drama as though it was a made for television film.
> Thousands of innocent men, women and children were
> being blown to bits and, instead of feeling sorry for
> them, we marveled at the efficiency of our military.
> For more than ten years we have continued to wreak
> havoc in Iraq -- an estimated 50,000 children die
> every year because of sanctions that we have imposed
> -- and it hasn't moved us to compassion. All this is
> done, we are told, because we want to get rid of the
> Satan called Sadam Hussein. 
> 
> Now we are getting ready to do this all over again to
> get rid of another Satan called Osama bin Laden. We
> will bomb the cities of Afghanistan because they
> harbor the Satan and in the process we will help
> create a thousand other bin Ladens. 
> 
> Some might say, "We don't care what the world thinks
> of us as long as they respect our strength. After all
> we have the means to blow this world to pieces since
> we are the only surviving super-power." I question
> whether we want other countries to respect us the way
> school children respect a bully. Is that our role in
> the world? If a bully is what we want to be then we
> must be prepared to face the same consequences that a
> school-yard bully faces. On the other hand we cannot
> tell the world "leave us alone." Isolationism is not
> what this world is built for. 
> 
> All of this brings us back to the question: How do we
> respond nonviolently to terrorism? 
> 
> The consequences of a military response are not very
> rosy. Many thousands of innocent people will die both
> here and in the country or countries we attack.
> Militancy will increase exponentially and, ultimately,
> we will be faced with other more pertinent moral
> questions: What will we gain by destroying half the
> world? Will we be able to live with a clear
> conscience? 
> We must acknowledge our role in helping to create
> monsters in the world, find ways to contain these
> monsters without hurting more innocent people, and
> then redefine our role in the world. I think we must
> move from seeking to be respected for our military
> strength to being respected for our moral strength. 
> We need to appreciate that we are in a position to
> play a powerful role in helping the "other half" of
> the world attain a better standard of life not by
> throwing a few crumbs but by significantly involving
> ourselves in constructive economic programs. 
> 
> For too long our foreign policy has been based on
> "what is good for the United States." It smacks of
> selfishness. Our foreign policy should now be based on
> what is good for the world and how can we do the right
> thing to help the world become more peaceful. 
> 
> To those who have lost loved one's in this and other
> terrorist acts I say I share your grief. I am sorry
> that you have become victims of senseless violence.
> But let this sad episode not make you vengeful because
> no amount of violence is going to bring you inner
> peace. Anger and hate never do. The memory of those
> victims who have died in this and other violent
> incidents around the world will be better preserved
> and more meaningfully commemorated if we all learn to
> forgive. Let us dedicate our lives to creating a
> peaceful, respectful and understanding world. 
> 
> Arun Gandhi founded the M. K. Gandhi Institute for
> Nonviolence in 1991 in honor of his grandfather. He
> writes and lectures on nonviolence throughout the
> world
> 
> 
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