Posts by Metta Center

Non-co-operation

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According to Gandhi, “Non-co-operation implies withdrawing cooperation from the State [or other power] that in the non-cooperator’s view has become corrupt.”  The non-cooperator must be prepared to renounce the benefits and the conveniences provided by the system in question, and by this renunciation, along with the acceptance of punishment (as in all Civil Disobedience) can… read more

Rehumanization

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Rehumanization is the nonviolent process of rekindling the sense of empathy.  A growing, and already abundant body of scientific evidence establishes beyond doubt that the natural condition of human beings includes, perhaps primarily, a large capacity for empathy and mutual identification.  Human beings can, however, mentally dehumanize others by denying that the other is also human.… read more

Structural Violence

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The term structural violence was coined by Johan Galtung to articulate the hidden violence in our midst, built into the structure of society itself and therefore more difficult to pinpoint and eradicate. It causes much suffering and can lead to conflict, war, and genocide. While direct, physical violence gets much more attention, the injustice that… read more

Peace Teams

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A Peace Team is a group of local people trained in peaceful conflict resolution methods who promote friendship, solidarity, social justice, and alternatives to violence in the local community.  Peace teams, when requested can provide service outside their local communities. Peace teams have been developed as responses to war and conflict much the same as… read more

Shanti Sena

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Shanti Sena, or peace army, was Gandhi’s proposed solution for the management of conflict through nonviolence, as opposed to the more traditional “threat power” employed by officers of the law and the State. His idea was to have trained volunteers living in the communities they would serve acting as trusted third parties. The volunteers could,… read more

Permaculture

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Wikipedia defines permaculture as “an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that mimic the relationships found in natural ecologies.” It is in this sense a special biomimicry ― a human designed ecological system based in a model of natural synergy, where harmony is maintained between the production of food, stewardship of the natural… read more

Restorative Justice

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Restorative justice is an approach to criminal justice (or disciplinary issues, in schools) that aims to rehabilitate offenders through having them take responsibility, reconciling with victims, and repairing the harm experienced by people, relationships, and the community. It’s often contrasted with a retributive justice, which emphasizes punishment over rehabilitation. Retributive justice is based on a behavior… read more

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-04-11

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RT @RestoraCircles: One of the most moving introductory descriptions of Restorative Justice I have read for a while http://bit.ly/dwzXWA # RT @ONEworldcitizen: The Palestinians planting trees http://ow.ly/1vKNO this is not less violent, it is nonviolence! /via @CharityFocus # On the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination: what does Vietnam have to do with it?… read more

On the anniversary of MLK’s assassination: what does Vietnam have to do with it?

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“A time comes when silence is betrayal.” These words, uttered by Martin Luther King, Jr. 43 years ago today, are part of the first paragraph of his now famous speech, “Beyond Vietnam.” Perhaps his most controversial speech, this is the speech that he gave exactly one year before his death, wherein he came out definitively against the Vietnam… read more