"In
our nonviolence work at K-State... We are defining violence and nonviolence
within a dynamic, interlocking web of problems and outcomes, not as
"black or white" polarities. Violence is individual and
institutional, personal and political. It might be silence, bullying,
harassment, physical assault, suicide; oppression, exploitation, war...
Violence is injustice that results in dysfunctional, imbalanced relationships
-- among people, groups, nations; people and our environment, even
within one body or mind.
Nonviolence
in this context means moving toward dynamic balance - justice, health,
peace - by devising creative interventions into the dysfunctional
systems -- ideally, before a crisis occurs; but with conflict resolution,
direct action and other creative, nonviolent methods, afterwards.
Nonviolent action generates win-win outcomes for inevitable conflict
and change; it moves toward better balance in relationships with the
goals of wholeness and sustainability."
Allen,
Susan L., "Activist Media Anthropology - Antidote to Extremist
Worldviews," in Media Anthropology (Sage, May 2005)
