When does violence become ethical?
Sometimes you have to imagine in a radical way that makes you seem a little crazy, that puts you in an embarrassing light, in order to open up a possibility that others have already closed down with their knowing realism. I’m prepared to be mocked and dismissed for defending nonviolence in the way that I do. It might be understood as one of the
... See morenewyorker.com • Judith Butler Wants Us to Reshape Our Rage
The great political writers who also aspired to be good human beings, from George Orwell on the left to Robert Heinlein on the right, taught me to acknowledge in my writing that politics rests on force.
George Orwell considered it a tactic of totalitarianism, that bullet-riddled bodies and mass graves were often... See more
Eliezer Yudkowsky ⏹️x.comJust and Unjust Peace: An Ethic of Political Reconciliation (Studies in Strategic Peacebuilding)
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Where actual nonviolence says “violence would be justifiable in this situation, but here we are practicing nonviolence in order to highlight the cruelty of our enemies and challenge them on a moral level,” false nonviolence says “the violence of the status quo is more justified than the violence of those who fight it.”
Perhaps the easiest way to... See more
Perhaps the easiest way to... See more
Without the Awful Roar of Its Many Waters
If you carry a weapon in public service, may God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no.
Timothy Snyder • On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
The Legitimacy of Violence as a Political Act?
chomsky.infoI believe that violence is not a solution to any problem. I believe that every person is endowed with a sacred dignity. I believe that every person is capable of changing, healing, and being restored. I pledge to respect the dignity of every person. I pledge to overcome violence with love and compassion. I pledge to accompany and support anyone
... See moreDacher Keltner • Awe
To say “violence has no place in politics” while ignoring systemic harm is to defend the status quo, not peace. True nonviolence would mean dismantling the conditions that make desperate, explosive violence seem like the only option left.