[lbo-talk] Americans kinda like torture

ravi ravi at platosbeard.org
Sat Apr 25 19:49:03 PDT 2009


On Apr 26, 2009, at 7:59 AM, Bill Bartlett wrote:
> You're talking about pacifism, I'm talking about strategic non-
> violence. Ravi was talking about non-violence. What is this
> "pacifism" and what has it got to do with it?

The rest of your post makes an excellent case, but w.r.t the above, I must confess to conflating "pacifism" (Gandhian, as I qualify it) and "non-violent direct action" (as JH put it) by responding to JH's dismissal of pacifism (while at the same time pointing to anti- imperialist struggles) by offering the example of the Indian struggle. To me the two (Gandhian pacifism(*) and non-violence) are approximately the same.

--ravi

(*) Gandhi's record is both nuanced and bizarre on this. He is clear enough in his recommendation of violence when necessary (such as when a woman is being or under threat of being raped), while at the same time suggesting that Jews being forced to gas chambers should march in head high to shame the Nazis (or some such naive logic).



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