May 27:
“Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of humankind.”
–Gandhi (Harijan, July 20 1931)
Whenever anyone tries to tell me that violence works better than nonviolence, I like to tell them the story of Antoinette Tuff. Working as bookkeeper in a public school in Decatur, Georgia, Tuff had no special training in nonviolence, but managed singlehandedly to disarm a deranged young man who came into the school with loaded weapons. How did she do it? By expressing empathy, love — and doing so fearlessly. By humanizing someone who was already so dehumanized he was prepared to take the lives of others and himself. And the politicians tell us that the solution to the school shooting epidemic in the United States is more weapons!
Gandhi was not a man prone to exaggeration. By 1931, when he made the above claim, he had been experimenting in the science of nonviolence for close to forty years. Each day, he tells us, his earnest search revealed new insights, new discoveries. And he was not conducting mere thought-experiments, as a philosopher. His discoveries were earned, we might say, while he engaged in a great struggle to overcome the world’s mightiest empire of his time without firing a shot. So when he says that nonviolence is “the greatest force at the disposal of humankind,” we should let that sink in. This is not just another inspiring thought, another cheery meme to be quickly read and as quickly forgotten. Greed is not our greatest force, violence is not our greatest force, rather, love is; nonviolence is. If anyone argues that with you, tell them the story of Antoinette Tuff!
Experiment in Nonviolence:
Try to explain nonviolence by filling in the blank: “Nonviolence is X”.
Daily Metta 2015, a service of the Metta Center for Nonviolence, is a daily reflection on the strategic and spiritual insights of Mahatma Gandhi in thought, word and deed. As Gandhi called his life an “experiment in truth,” we have included an experiment in nonviolence to accompany each Daily Metta. Check in every day for new inspiration. Each year will be dedicated to another wisdom teacher.
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By: Stephanie Van Hook
Stephanie Van Hook is Executive Director of the Metta Center for Nonviolence.
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Gandhi’s Influence on Dr. James Farmer
A Door Into Ocean
Bystander Intervention is only the beginning
Film Screening Thurs. Dec.10
We cannot love our “enemies.”
When reading this story i thought of a similar one in the book Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg:
“Using Empathy To Defuse Danger
The ability to offer empathy to people in stressful situations can defuse potential violence. A teacher in the inner city of St. Louis related an incident where she had conscientiously stayed after school to help astudent, even though teachers were warned to leave the building for their own safety after classes were dismissed. A stranger entered her classroom, where the following exchange took place: Young man: “Take off your clothes.” Teacher (noticing that he was shaking): “I’m sensing this is very scary for you.” Young man: “Did you hear me? God damn it, take off your clothes!” Teacher: “I’m sensing you’re really pissed off right now and you want me to do what you’re telling me.” Young man: “You’re damned right, and you’re going to get hurt if you don’t.” Teacher: “I’d like you to tell me if there’s some other way of meeting your needs that wouldn’t hurt me.” Young man: “I said take them off.” Teacher: “I can hear how much you want this. At the same time, I want you to know how scared and horrible I feel, and how grateful I’d be if you’d leave without hurting me.” Young man: “Give me your purse.” The teacher handed the stranger her purse, relieved not to be raped. She later described how, each time she empathized with the young man, she could sense his becoming less adamant in his intention to follow through with the rape.”
Wow, Tord. This is a powerful story.