Non-violence as fact and fiction

 

Non-violence as fact and fiction

When discussing non-violence it is important to understand fact from fiction- mainly, editorializing in our common culture. This is important since we often overlook the non-violent path when we editorialize. Often editorializing can rile up the masses, inflame passions and stir emotions, and it is important to sift our opinions from fact. Non-violence rests largely upon fact and the practicing of non-violence is subjective rather than objective.

As journalists, we should we wary when we editorialize, paying careful attention that we do not spur violence with our words. Oftentimes, editorials that are harsh can often lead to conflict and struggle that can often lead to violence. When we apply non-violent principles we notice that editorializing will also be bathed in humility.

Too many times, our opinions that are meant to galvanize someone can often be misconstrued. If you really hated that show, it is important that rouse people to hate all the actors or that your opinions do not result in a mass uprising.  If we can give our opinions in a more humane way, we realize that our opinions are more grounded in fact and clearheaded. For someone to hate the show or what is expressed should never leave the actors in fear for their livelihood or be booed off stage or heckled for instance but a quietus review of our sentiments is needed for an appropriate public response.

Too much editorializing, oftentimes, during times of crisis, can often lead to bitterness and resentment, anger and hostilities. We need to be wary of our editorializing and ensure that it also follows non-violent principles. Non-violence is a reality that is based in fact and by practicing non-violence we are also committing ourselves to a accepted reality. Violence is in fact, a non-reality or an imagined reality since the act of violence is always premeditated or conjectured until it becomes a heinous act and thereafter, can even refuted as being real, at all. On the other hand non-violence is not imagined but a reality that is ever-present in our lives and a way of life. It is practiced every day, in every aspect of our lives to give credence to our lives and is never based on “likes” or “dislikes” but “the way it is”. When we practice non-violence, we are showing the world that we are living in a real world not just a figment of our imagination.

Oftentimes, over-editorializing can often lead to misguided opinions and beliefs and we should be very careful when we pass judgments. It can lead to discord and disagreement. When we apply non-violence, we realize that we are also accepting a reality that is clear and laid-out. The non-violent path is always clear and is not muddied by the temptations of violence. A simple reference to the non-violent can always clear up our high-minded opinions that are so often expressed on the political stage in the case of a bill being passed that you might disagree with but how does it relate to non-violence in our lives? That simple reminder can often determine the gross neglect of editorializing with the reality of non-violence.

If we apply the principles of the Mandela every day in our lives, we see that the truth is clear and our editorializing no matter how much can never tarnish that reality. Therefore, it is important to discern the difference between editorializing and fact.

 

AJ Naseem is a writer and proponent of non-violence. He is currently affiliated with AVP.

Non-violence as Art

 Draw an image of non-violence.

Discuss the image and why it is important to you and what it signifies.

Violence then and Now

 

Violence then and Now

When I was growing up as a youth in New York City in the 1980’s, I felt estranged by my surroundings that seemed foreign and inscrutable. I would always find myself trying to fit in at school and outside, whenever I’d go out to play in the park. Alas, I was a foreign-born citizen from another country and trying to relate to a foreign land, after experiencing a family tragedy, was almost impossible. But like any youth, I tried to break the barrier but would always come face to face with violence. The violence was occurring outside of my home at a park that everyone used, where kids from all over, young and old, would come to convene. However, scenes of violence and bullying would often break out in these hostile environs that today, are recalled in the same violence that I see on our streets and roads.

In those days, when I was younger, I saw countless acts of violence that were truly shocking to me. I did not know what to make of it. If a lot of it was not directed toward the new kid on the block of Pakistani origin, it was other random acts of violence with kids fighting over anything like bragging rights for the smallest things, bullying or harassment on the playground by the bigger kid, gangs that would take out some kind of revenge, or racial tensions with kids teasing other kids or other kinds of playground brawls. Needless to say, it left a kid from a foreign land quite frightened and broken up due to witnessing such acts.

Now all these years later I see the same playing out on the streets of our great nation with clashes of protesters and police, citizens killing one another, policeman using excessive force, or simply damage of public property and vandalism. Such acts are distressing and to know that this is the same kind of violence that existed in my youth, is truly uncanny and makes me think that there is so much regress in our society. When as a person, I have been able to experience the true power of non-violence and peaceful protest to overcome the iniquities of my youth, it is hard to see that others do not have the same view. When in my youth, I reached out to others of different backgrounds in my community to make friends and was able to overcome some of the barriers of cultural separation, we see the same disintegration occurring in our communities today that hearkens back to the civil rights movement. How could the same pathos exist that bears such parallels to the microcosm of my life in those days to the macrocosm of our society today.

The reason is the lack of discipline and belief in the power of non-violence. When in my youth, my firm stance on non-violence often changed hearts and made friends out of enemies or outsiders, and even once, led one of the gangs in my neighborhood to come up to me and offer their thanks and gratitude, I knew that I could change my fellow man or neighbor by acts of love and kindness but in this current context, with so much uproar and furor, that leads to violence breaking out, we realize that there are forces that are trying to break apart the universal bond of humanity.

When I was able to withstand the violence in my youth, seeing my own family berated for their Pakistani origin, or my own siblings being harassed and stalked, accepting the insults of the white kids in our neighborhood who saw us as a lower caste, and random other acts of violence with kids beating up other kids in senseless brawls and macho fights to boost their ego, how can I forebear those same acts as they show up in my adult life in a whole new context but with the same violent undertones. It is through non-violent communication and an adherence to the principles of MLK and Mahatma Gandhi that can lead to greater hope and salvation.

If only the young people of today could know the scars of yesterday that are bore by people living among us that we can all heal and find real unity and forgiveness. Let’s hope through AVP we can bring that change in the lives of others.

Looking Ahead

 

Looking Ahead

As we reach the election, we should all hope that the next President is someone who espouses non-violence in our communities. With so much violence that has overtaken our communities, it is the one election where non-violence should be a key issue. We need our next President to address this problem and speak out against violence in a direct way. We also need the next president to be a symbol for peace and make non-violence a central theme.

As we hear stories of violence taking place en masse in our communities, it is time for the adherents of non-violence to speak out and stand up for a leader who will share our concerns. We need a President who understands the importance of peaceful protest and non-violent resistance and the ideas of our greatest leaders like JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. We need to show a desire to be non-violent and to carry out the principles of the Mandela in our everyday lives.

Those of us that embrace the non-violent path must show our support for leaders who will also adhere to those principles. It should be our top agenda. When young people lose their lives due to so many senseless acts of violence, we should stand up for a leader who will show a better way. As our young people succumb to violence in their lives, we must set forth an agenda that shows people the meaning of non-violence and create more awareness and acceptance.

The teaching of Mahatma Gandhi and the life that he espoused show us that non-violence is the only path that saves so much heartache and sorrow. For those of us who are affected by violence, it is the panacea for all ills. Our leaders must embody such qualities for us to advance as humankind. The AVP community is blessed to have such a model and to invoke in our political lives. How can we be truly be great leaders without a real understanding of this noblesse oblige.

As a New Yorker, I am dismayed by so many acts of violence that take place in our big cities and leave so many scarred and broken. We must reverse the tide. We must attain a grasp of the non-violent path so we can have greater hope. We must seek out better resolutions than the old rock and dagger. Let us hope that the AVP community will grow and prosper with the new election and continue its work as a cupbearer of non-violence and that the next election, will see its growth and name spread throughout the land and throughout the lives of people to bring the light of its wisdom to those dark places. I hope with the next election, as a new wave of hope takes hold, that also a new foundation for non-violence will also be laid as its cornerstone. Let’s march on hand in hand.

AJ Naseem is an AVP Facilitator and avid blogger