What should I say about non-violence?

Philo, in an email this morning, wondering aloud about her talk at Nairobi's Goethe Institute next week, titled Towards A Just Society In Kenya: Non-violent Options

My response:

Non-violence, when invoked in the mainstream discourse, means

- only women get raped,
- only the poor and powerless get beaten,
- only those who don't own property or control capital get killed.

Poverty is violence. Daily, unremitting violence.

When people preach non-violence to oppressed populations, what they're really saying is

"Why can't you die quietly, like the Tibetans, instead of forcing us to see your suffering, like those infuriating Palestinians?"

Anyone who's serious about non-violence should begin with dismantling the military-industrial complex, the arms trade, the armies of imperialism and occupation, and the violence of poverty.

So I'm looking forward to an interesting discussion at the Goethe Institute next week :-)


Date: 2 July 2009, 6.00 pm.
Place: Goethe Institut, Loita/Monrovia streets

Speakers: Mwalimu Mati, Philo Ikonya
Moderator: Paul Oyier