Tikkun Daily Blog Archive (https://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/category/culture/non-violent-communication-nvc/page/25/)
I dream of a world run on a gift economy basis. I see, vividly, the possibility of people self-governing, sharing resources locally and globally, attending to everyone’s needs in a collaborative way. The image of a flow of generosity replacing the world of exchange is a precious vision for me.
Two passions of mine combine in wanting to take apart the meaning of “Can I?”: my love of language, which includes the belief that words are never simply words; and my burning interest in transforming paradigms of power.
Whenever I shift the language in my mind from personal growth to personal liberation I feel a difference, the very language freeing me from complicity with a system I believe to be ultimately destructive to all.
There have been many threads of coverage and commentary surrounding the March on Washington’s 50th anniversary, and one of them is naturally about nonviolence: the nation’s leadership had assumed that the march would turn violent, but August 28, 1963, turned out to be one of the most notably peaceful days in the history of the District of Columbia. Still, the nonviolent character of the movement that the march defined is being questioned. There has been some interesting historical revisionism surrounding Rosa Parks and other civil rights figures who, unlike Martin Luther King, were less-than devoted to nonviolence as an abiding moral principle. (For my take on that, go here.) And now comes a book that, among other provocations, makes the case that King’s struggle was arguably a violent one. The author is Benjamin Ginsberg, and his forthcoming title is The Value of Violence (Prometheus Books).
Miki’s intentions weren’t to oppress, but her black friend told her, a white woman, that that was the effect. “In earlier years I was still consumed by having my own innocence seen, and couldn’t make sufficient room for absorbing and mourning the effects of my actions, regardless of my intentions.”
I suddenly understood what it means to be powerful in a new and different way that tied it to the present moment.
As every case of nonviolent resistance shows, those who find themselves unable to continue what they want to do experience those of us who lovingly stop them as exercising immense force and power-over, regardless of the love. Still, the love matters.
This May, I had the joy of taking part in the first International Conference on Faith and Reconciliation in Peja, Kosovo. Little did I realize that in this corner of the Balkans, social media would have such an impact. Posting on Facebook about an upcoming dinner at the conference, I quickly received a reply from a friend in Washington, D.C. telling me that her father would be present. About an hour after that, her father came and sat down with me at a table full of diplomats from around the globe. It was a wonderful evening of dialogue.
The subversive potential of authenticity: The more I think about it, the more it seems to me that the smooth fabric of human relationships that is sustained by the norms of social interactions – what it means to be nice or polite – is part of the mechanism that keeps systems of oppression in place.
Discovering a fellow appreciator of complexity in China, Miki Kashtan discusses with her the complexities of communism vs. capitalism, and considers those of Zionism in Israel/Palestine and of race in the US in the aftermath of the “soul-crushing” Trayvon Martin/Zimmerman verdict.