I’m not a hardcore pacifist since I think I’d be able to hurt or kill another human being if it meant protecting myself or my family. Otherwise I’m opposed to violence on principle. I believe that war is only justifiable if it’s a defensive war to stave off invasion or a humanitarian war to stop mass murder or genocide. My biggest heroes are nonviolent activists such as Gandhi or MLK. The fact that they were successful proves that brute force isn’t always the most effective way to bring about social change.
I haven’t raised my hand against another human being since grammar school, and I hope that I can go the rest of my life without hitting anybody. I have a temper like everyone else, but I pride myself on my ability to control it. I’ll rarely lose my temper in front of others, although I’ll pound my desk or throw something on occasion when I’m alone. I have a cat, and I’m proud that I’ve earned his trust, since cats are naturally wary of large male humans. I can wave my arms and yell at him and he’ll only give me his trademark “bored cat look”. He knows I won’t hurt him.
Violence in movies doesn’t bother me too much, since I can tell it’s fake, but if the violence becomes too intense or realistic I’ll start to feel uneasy. One thing I can’t stand is torture – if a movie shows one character torturing another I’ll usually leave the room. Luckily most movies don’t have torture scenes.
So are there any other nonviolent/pacifist dopers out there?
For the record, IANAP. I am a reasonably devout Catholic and Navy veteran. I currently work in the Navy cruise-missile program as a civilian.
I consider myself peace-loving (as nearly all of the military), but I am certainly ready to fight if necessary.
I know a fair number of pacifists, and have a lot of respect for what they’re trying to accomplish. But it seems to me that they can only do their work and live to their beliefs if other people in society are willing to do the fighting.
I don’t think if someone has a moral objection to fighting, they should not fight. But the police and military must fight, otherwise the society that lets pacifists live in freedom will vanish. Pacifists are not embraced by authoritarian or dictatorial societies.
If you accept this as a truism (maybe a long shot), wouldn’t this make pacifists morally obligated to support the police and military until they are no longer necessary?
I may not be able to check this thread for a few days, but I would be interested to see if anybody has any thoughts on this.
I think that pacifism is often innappropriate for real world scenarios (for example, I would have supported fighting Hitler, and I do support military action of some kind against Al Qeada), but on a deeper spiritual level, I can’t really say it’s wrong. Any ideal world would be free of violence, and I can’t begrudge those who want to bring such a place about. We’d be better off if there were more of them.
Kill people for what boils down to money? Nope. I might have practiced some sort of civil disobedience (not that they really had it back then) and have tried to change thngs through any channel neccesary other than killing people. But no, I would not kill.
I understand fully that my pacifism doesn’t really work in the real world. But that’s not my problem. My problem is to live as purely as I can. If other people want to run around killing each other for whatever reason- hey, thats your thing. But I’ll personally take no part in it.
I would never start a fight. I avoid potentially violent situations, not just because I’m scared I’d get hurt, but because I would hate to really hurt somebody else, even if they deserved it. I have hurt people in self-defense, which is, on an intellectual level, perfectly acceptable for me, and it has since bothered me–I know, I’m weird. I enjoy watching horror movies–chain-saws are cool! Boxing is fun and I think hockey would be if I were coordinated enough to skate that good. I feel bad if I yell at my dog (even if he deserves it, which is pretty much all the time). Violence outside of sports, just war, and defensive situations is rarely if ever justifiable in my book. I did join the military, though, and got a kick out of all the make-believe killing in training. The real thing, though, is disgusting.
And what will you do when some other people decide to bring it to you? Tell them , “Sorry but I do not care for that so leave me alone because I don’t take part in that kind of activity?”.
Regrettably there are people out there who only understand force. There are many examples out there, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Lenin, OBL, Huesein…a long list. It sucks because the only way really to deal with them is through force.
I wish the world was a nice place where everyone let each other alone but it’s not that kind of place.
I guess I am a realist who wished I could be a pacifist.
Though I’m a consciencious objector (there was a mandatory military service until very recently, where I live), I’m not sure I could call myself a pacifist since I’m convinced that violence can’t be avoided in all circumstances. There are instances in which it’s justified and even IMO necessary. Actually, I hope I wouldn’t refuse to get my own hands dirty should the necessity arise.
I have a personal belief that violence is never okay, a smart person never has to use force to prove their point.
I try to live by the teaching of Gandhi and other satyagrahas. I even try to stay away from meat (I’m weak though).
If everyone one was a pacifist the world would be a better place, also if only one person turned to non-violence the world would still be a better place.