Martin Luther King, Jr. 511 words, 40K views, 32 comments
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On Nov 17, 2011Catherine Todd wrote :
Thank you Somik and everyone here for their take on the idea and practice of nonviolence. I am involved in a dispute right now with another nonprofit, and while I know that we are all (supposedly) working towards the same goal - that of "helping others," I can see that ego and defensiveness, hostility and fear is ruling the day. And I am playing a part in it with my own reaction. So I am reading all this with great eagerness, as I can't see a way out of this dark void I found myself thrown into (or jumped into, I don't know which), so this discussion carries great importance to me in the real world of NOW.
I will continue to read with interest and hope I can find what I came here to learn.
However, I can say with a certaintly, that I have NOT found that "kindness begets kindness" as you say. Did the "kind" and innocent Jews receive "kindness" at the hands of the Nazis, or did they all "deserve it" somehow via acts of karma?
That's where all this falls down for me. Along with the reaction and problems I am having with this current nonprofit, who apparently has something to hide. Did I bring that on myself by asking for information? Was I not "kind" enough in my simple, factual request?
How are we to maintain composure in the face of selfishness, iies, blame, shame, intimidation, threats and more? If someone throws a stick of dynamite over the fence into my yard, I am going to pick it up and return it. There is no way I would let someone blow me up out of "compassion" or any other reason. I don't start fights, but I will step up and put an end to them. I don't do it with force, but I use the opposition's own fear against them. They use their fear against themselves, and that is what finally makes them stop themselves.
On Nov 17, 2011 Catherine Todd wrote :
Thank you Somik and everyone here for their take on the idea and practice of nonviolence. I am involved in a dispute right now with another nonprofit, and while I know that we are all (supposedly) working towards the same goal - that of "helping others," I can see that ego and defensiveness, hostility and fear is ruling the day. And I am playing a part in it with my own reaction. So I am reading all this with great eagerness, as I can't see a way out of this dark void I found myself thrown into (or jumped into, I don't know which), so this discussion carries great importance to me in the real world of NOW.
I will continue to read with interest and hope I can find what I came here to learn.
However, I can say with a certaintly, that I have NOT found that "kindness begets kindness" as you say. Did the "kind" and innocent Jews receive "kindness" at the hands of the Nazis, or did they all "deserve it" somehow via acts of karma?
That's where all this falls down for me. Along with the reaction and problems I am having with this current nonprofit, who apparently has something to hide. Did I bring that on myself by asking for information? Was I not "kind" enough in my simple, factual request?
How are we to maintain composure in the face of selfishness, iies, blame, shame, intimidation, threats and more? If someone throws a stick of dynamite over the fence into my yard, I am going to pick it up and return it. There is no way I would let someone blow me up out of "compassion" or any other reason. I don't start fights, but I will step up and put an end to them. I don't do it with force, but I use the opposition's own fear against them. They use their fear against themselves, and that is what finally makes them stop themselves.
How can that be wrong?