What are some of your thoughts about Pacifists?

[Spirit of Light]

Pacifists tend to live in nations that provide such freedoms because of the threat of military defense. The implied defense provided by Norway's membership in NATO makes freedoms possible for Norwegians. If not you might be a Russian pacifist.

What nation people want to assign me does not matter As I wrote earlier, even I am born in Norway does not mean I feel Norwegian or wish to be a part of Nato.

 

[Regiomontanus]

Matthew 5:44

 

[Spirit of Light]

Matthew 5:44

Agree with the verse you added

 

[Colt]

What nation people want to assign me does not matter As I wrote earlier, even I am born in Norway does not mean I feel Norwegian or wish to be a part of Nato.

Whatever nation you live in will afford you rights and protections based on the laws and enforcement powers of that nation.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Whatever nation you live in will afford you rights and protections based on the laws and enforcement powers of that nation.

That is up to the nation, not to me

 

[Colt]

That is up to the nation, not to me

Its still a fact and your person still benefits from it. For instance, if you lived in North Korea you wouldn't have the right to express your opinions nor access to the internet.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Its still a fact and your person still benefits from it. For instance, if you lived in North Korea you wouldn't have the right to express your opinions nor access to the internet.

If I lived in North Korea I would have been silent yes, but still I could practice both Sufism and pacifism inward

 

[Colt]

If I lived in North Korea I would have been silent yes, but still I could practice both Sufism and pacifism inward

Sure, but the right to practice Sufism and pacifism without being killed by invaders is protected by the governing jurisdiction in whatever nation you currently occupy.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Sure, but the right to practice Sufism and pacifism without being killed by invaders is protected by the governing jurisdiction in whatever nation you currently occupy.

I have not asked to be protected. And I do not except others to protect me

 

[sun rise]

Way back in the days of the US draft, I signed up as a conscientious objector (pacifist) when I registered. I don't believe that any longer but from my past I understand the desire for peace and the wish that my actions help in bringing peace.

 

[Yazata]

In another OP started by @firedragon , I answered his question, and in his OP I write about being a pacifist.
That made me think, how do other people react to someone who is a pacifist?

React to the person, or to the idea?

My first reaction to the idea, to the word 'pacifist', is probably something like naive or overly idealistic.

It's more complicated when it comes to the person. There's an element of 'trying to do the right thing' which I appreciate.

So I guess that when it comes to the person, my view is mixed.

So the question may be, what is your view on pacifism and or pacifists?
Are you afraid of them?
Curious to why they think as they do?
Do pacifists create a danger to you as a person?

There's no fear or danger, unless I was counting on the person to contribute to the defense of the group and I feared that they would refuse.

Curiosity? Yes.

Bottom line is that I'm inclined to think that there are things in life worth defending and that defence might sometimes require force.

 

[Koldo]

Did Ghandi fail, in his mission to liberate his country from British rule by non violent means?

You should check this out: The forgotten violence that helped India break free from colonial rule

 

[Colt]

I have not asked to be protected. And I do not except others to protect me

Doesn't matter, you are still benefiting from the efforts of others no matter how special you see yourself. That's what's annoying about the virtue signaling of pacifists.

 

[Kooky]

In another OP started by @firedragon , I answered his question, and in his OP I write about being a pacifist.
That made me think, how do other people react to someone who is a pacifist?

So the question may be, what is your view on pacifism and or pacifists?
Are you afraid of them?
Curious to why they think as they do?
Do pacifists create a danger to you as a person?

Do you trust people who identify as nonviolent and pacifistic?

NB: Discussion forum not Debate

I find that a bizarre and slightly offputting question. Would you trust someone who thinks organized state violence against other people is a sensible and productive form of conflict resolution?

I was a pacifist for a long time, and I still reject warfare in principle for several reasons.
First, it almost never really "solves" the underlying conflicts of interests to begin with. Second, it always causes death and suffering, usually first among those who are the least responsible for the conflict and the least prepared to deal with its consequences. Third, it serves as motivation and catalyst to increase the coercive and murderous power of the state, often at the direct expense of other more life-affirming powers.

My reason for abandoning pacifism as a moral principle is that it, paradoxically, privileges state power above all else: The state what we call "peace" is simply the absence of any organized power that could rival that of the dominant government. To paraphrase Tacitus, what we call "peace" is simply a desert created by the overwhelming and unchecked potential of governments to oppress and destroy their own civilian population.

Peace, if it is to be conceived not simply as an absence of inter-governmental violence at the cost of their populations, but a genuine state of nonviolence, is only to be achieved as a theoretical (perhaps utopian) end goal of a constant struggle against oppression and organized violence against the weak and the poor.

 

[JustGeorge]

There's a time and a place for everything.

There's a time and place for peace and pacifism, and a time and place for conflict.

 

[Spirit of Light]

You should check this out: The forgotten violence that helped India break free from colonial rule

I can not do anything about what has happened in the past.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Doesn't matter, you are still benefiting from the efforts of others no matter how special you see yourself. That's what's annoying about the virtue signaling of pacifists.

I do not see myself as anything, actually, I see myself as less than most people. A pacifist just does not wish to harm anyone by the use of force.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

After all, what is the point of life if you can't enjoy slaughtering a few of your fellow humans once in a while? Where's the fun supposed to come from?

 

[syo]

Do pacifists create a danger to you as a person?

Yes.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Yes.

In what way?