And I will say it once again: I cannot bring direct harm to another human being. I cannot hit, I cannot kick, I cannot shoot another human being. My inability to do direct harm to others guided me into developing, over the years, into a pacifist.
But if your friend wants to punch someone, you’d be willing to supply the brass knuckle?
Just read through the thread first before trying any more tedious “gotchas”.
If everyone is saying they don’t understand, maybe it’s because we don’t understand.
This isn’t a gotcha, it’s that your position isn’t clear and all you seen to do is repeat “I’m a pacifist, the rest of the world is wrong.”
What sort of questions did you think you’d get?
Okay, you’ve told us what you think pacifist means.
I wonder what you think a ‘gotcha’ is?
Quote anywhere in this thread where I said anything like that.
#26
*My personal pacifism isn’t a moral choice. When it comes to the rest of the world, I wish there to be less violence overall. Maybe my hardwiring is guiding my morals just a bit-I don’t know. *
Many people would like to see less violence in the word. There are not only one or two noble souls who would like for wars to go away. Yet, bad people exist and many feel that it is necessary to prevent them from harming others.
I had hoped to see some sort of reasoned argument as to why it is not necessary to utilize force in a particular set of circumstances for which I would feel justified. What would have happened had someone been poised to kill your child and a small act from you would have saved them?
I would have been interested in an explanation for the apparent contradiction between a self-proclaimed pacifist and someone who volunteered for the armed services, winding up in a job would have been directly supporting massive violence acts, quite probably against civilians. What would you have done had there been a war on your shift?
If you see these type of questions as “gotcha” then what sort did you think you were going to get? All I see is hostility toward people who are attempting to square the commonly head view of pacifism with your ambiguous replies.
Looking from here, I see no introspection. Not that many people have it. I certainly am deficient. But I didn’t open a tread claiming belief in a controversial philosophy.
So. I guess there isn’t much left. You personally won’t directly hurt anyone, but you’ll service bombers which have the capacity to drop nuclear weapons that kill millions. And all without any idea of why, except you were born that way.
OK. That gives us our daily trivia. Thanks.
It seems that you(and Peter Morris) found what you were looking for instead of what was actually said. I stated quite clearly that what started out as a personal ability to do violence to others developed over the years into a personal philosophy on pacifism, and I also stated that my time in the military was over 35 years ago. I also stated that I would not go back into military service again for any amount of money. What is so hard to understand?
And you actually equate that with "“I’m a pacifist, the rest of the world is wrong.”?
“Verily I have often laughed at weak who thought themselves good because they had no claws.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
Hey, you found another quote! And none too soon — the Ben Franklin thing was getting pretty threadbare.
Well, you say you’re a pacifist, you mention the rest of the world, and say that you wish it were different. If you wish it to be different, then you presumably think it is wrong, in some way.
I’d call that a big yes. What do the rest of you guys think?
What, the quote don’t fit?
I think the glass jaw kid that can’t box, slowly developed a philosophy that was most flattering to him. Gradually removing a few internal contradictions along the way. Hasn’t removed them all however because it’s based on personal squeamishness rather than a philosophical point of view.
Do you not wish the world to be less violent?
Well? Do you? And if so, do you think the rest of the world is wrong?
I am not “squeamish”-I just can’t be directly violent towards others. And, no-that doesn’t mean I’m o.k. with giving brass knuckles to someone else to do violence on my behalf or any other silly scenario you can come up with.
In the first place, you waited an entire 20 minutes for an answer before asking the question again. FYI, I do turn away from the Dope once in a while.
In the second place, you’re changing the subject. The question is whether TokyoBayer has accurately paraphrased your words. My opinion on whether the world is wrong is not relevant to that.
In the third place, since you ask, yes I want the World to be less violent. Yes, I think quite a large portion of the world is wrong. You see, there are many who consider the military to be just a job with attractive benefits. They may personally believe that the Iraq war was wrong, yet they agreed to participate in it. Why? Because it pays better than McDonalds. And I think that’s very wrong.
Do you understand that I was personally non-violent before, but that I am a pacifist now?