For decades I and, no doubt, everybody else who
points out the power and effectiveness of nonviolent action have had the endlessly recurring experience of being
asked “But shouldn’t people defend themselves with wars
rather than do nothing?”
How did wars get to be
the only alternative to nothing? If I were to run around
shouting “Will you deny people the right to stick slugs up
their noses rather than do NOTHING?” approximately 100% of
people would think that was a crazier thing to say than that
the only responses to violence are (1) mass murder, and (2)
nothing. Here‘s
a supposed peace activist last week hoping that if Canada