Violence and Nonviolence

But what is violence, really?

We received a comment regarding the "survival of the fittest" -- as some people wanted us to believe. But, it is not like that at all. Sure, sometimes, it is like a "jungle" out there, but people are not the same as the animals in the jungle. No, because people have freedom of choice – people have intentions. That is the main difference between humans and the rest of the other living beings on this planet. Humans have intentionality; they have the freedom to choose. Each individual, each human group have intentionality. And oftentimes, this is exactly where conflicts arise -- when people choose to impose their intentionality on others.

When I impose something on another; I am actually choosing for the other. I am therefore negating his fundamental freedom -- his freedom to choose. It could be as simple and as innocent as a censure -- like stopping someone from saying their mind or voicing their opinion; or as extreme as choosing someone's death for him (murder) -- the extreme case of stopping the other one's intentionality (which is to preserve oneself and to continue living).

Violence then, is the appropriation of the other's choice or intentionality. Put in another way, violence is the imposition of one's intentionality on the intentionality of the other.

I can say then, that as long as one does not impose one's beliefs, one's faith, one's god, one's choice, one's intentionality, especially, one's stupidity, on another, one can freely do whatever one wants.

What about nonviolence -- what is it exactly?

It is simple enough. If we know what violence is, then, nonviolence is non-tolerance of violence. In reality, tolerance of violence is violence.

If the human being is intentionality, then, contributing to the enhancement of that intentionality is nonviolence. In other words, if his transformation is hindered by suffering and his basic project is the overcoming of pain and suffering -- then, helping him to alleviate that pain, that suffering is nonviolence.

It is life's project par excellence.


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