#non-violence
I am sick of seeing anarchists who promote violence.I want to make it very clear that myself and the rest of Rat Farm do not advocate or endorse any one/thing that promotes violence and antagonism/escalation tactics to further their cause. We are committed to the Non-Aggression Principle, an ethical stance that asserts that “aggression” (defined as initiation or threatening the use of force over any individual or individual’s property) is inherently wrong. However, this is not to be confused with Pacifism as the NAP does not preclude forceful self-defense.
DO NO HARM, TAKE NO SHIT9/17/17
Have you read Edward Abbey’s master thesis about Anarchism and the Morality of Violence? Abbey examines some of the founding philosophies of anarchism and poses the question of whether violence is ever moral in an anarchistic context. Spoiler: it isnt.
I haven’t but I definitely will! Thanks!
“You’re trapped in a room with a gun, a Nazi, food, and a Jew. Do you shoot the Nazi or feed the Jew?”
Oy. I cannot believe I’ve seen this as a gotcha in favor of non-violence with my own eyes.
The correct answer, always, is “Shoot the Nazi, then divide the food.” No matter what, someone is getting shot in that scenario.
Do you want to let the Nazi decide?
Jesse Gonzalez/PNN Exclusive
“Nonviolent resistance is like a tree: it needs water to grow.” That was the motto behind Saturday’s gathering of Italians and locals in the Bedouin community of Al-Mufaqara, which lies just inside Firing Zone 918, in the South Hebron Hills. Two Italians came to share their experiences participating in nonviolent resistance, and to show solidarity with the resistance of local Palestinians, who are currently fighting for the right to stay on their ancestral land.
Al-Mufaqara, home to some 15 families, is wedged between the Green Line to the south, and a band of illegal settlements to the north. The settlers, most of whom are radically religious, are known to harass children on their way to school and burn Palestinians’ crops. Additionally, the Israeli army continually demolishes homes and other structures in the community. The village’s mosque, which Israeli forces demolished twice, is currently a pile of rubble.
Sara, an Operation Dove volunteer who has been in Al-Mufaqara for over a year, told PNN that the group escorts children to school and provides an international, peacekeeping presence, while supporting Palestinian nonviolent resistance. This resistance, Sara explained, takes the form of daily acts such as re-building demolished structures, continuing to shepherd and attend school despite being attacked, and most importantly, staying on the land.
Sara continued, saying the people of Al-Mufaqara don’t just wish to survive this systemic violence; instead they are fighting to bring electricity and water to the community, part of affirming their presence and their right to thrive on their land.
Operation Dove, which has been working in Al-Mufaqara since 2004, organizes one annual event for the community, in which they invite guests to share their experiences participating in nonviolent resistance. The goal of this initiative, which was started on request of the local Popular Committee, is to “water the tree of nonviolent resistance” that thrives in Al-Mufaqara.
Two men, active during the 1970’s “Years of Lead” conflict in Italy, shared their paths to non-violence. One man was part of the armed resistance, and during one occasion had killed a cohort of Italian police. The other was the son of one of those police officers. While the first spent 30 years in prison with multiple life sentences, the other spent those years with a ‘heart full of hatred,’ as he put it.
Eventually, the prisoner joined a hunger strike advocating for humane conditions in the prison. “When I began to fight in a nonviolent way,” he said, “I no longer felt isolated, and it became possible for me to connect and communicate with people.” That initial step in nonviolent resistance impacted him deeply, and he began to advocate for a cessation of armed struggle. Meanwhile, the man whose father was murdered realized that his wound could not heal while he was still full of hate. Eventually the two men decided to meet one another.
“We are not here to give advice to the Palestinians in their struggle, but simply to share our experiences,” they told PNN through an Operation Dove translator. “We want to testify that it is possible to meet [one’s adversaries] as human beings.”
Al-Mufaqara lies within Area C, which constitutes some 60% of the West Bank and is under complete Israeli military and administrative authority. Firing Zone 918 is a 30 square-mile area within Area C in the South Hebron Hills, which has been illegally declared a “military training zone” by the Israeli regime. The area’s residents were evicted in 1999, however they successfully petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice, which allowed for their “temporary return.” For over a decade since, the approximately 1000 people in the area have been living with uncertainty of their future and continued harassment by the Israeli military and illegal settlers.
The families of Al-Mafuqara, along with the other residents in Firing Zone 918 will continue to resist Israeli military and settler attempts to displace them or delegitimize their right to continue living on the land their ancestors have farmed and shepherded for over two centuries.