Kingian
Nonviolence as an
Alternative to Terrorist and
Anti-Terrorist Killing and War
By
Charles L. Alphin, Sr.
LaFayette
& Associates and
Director, International Nonviolence Conferences
email: calphin1@bellsouth.net
February 26, 2002
For over 100 years the Ku Klux Klan, White Citizens
Council, other hate groups and individuals used terrorism
and all types of violence in the United States. They have
produced some of the bloodiest years in United States
history. There appeared to be no limits to their hate and
violence which included lynching of blacks, castration,
and bombing of blacks homes, churches and businesses.
This same tactic was used against Dr. Martin L. King,
Jr., and others during the Civil Rights Movement. As we
examine this era, the weapon of Kingian nonviolence was
successful. Therefore, it would behoove us to examine
some basic aspects of Kingian nonviolence and its
application to terrorism and violence. My paper will
examine Dr. King's experiment with nonviolence in the
1960's and hopefully stimulate serious discussion
concerning the Kingian nonviolence application to
terrorism today.
We will examine the Kingian nonviolent approach to
terrorism and war and then discuss some appropriate
responses. However, to achieve a conceptional
understanding of the Kingian nonviolence philosophy,
there are some basic questions that should be answered.
These questions include but are not limited to:
1. What is the purpose of violence and how
did Dr. King define violence?
2. What is the definition of terrorism?
3. What are some basic aspects of the Kingian
philosophy?
Question #1:
Generally the purpose of violence is to project fear
in people to change their thinking or restrict their
actions. The Leaders Manual: A Guide to Kingian
Nonviolence, written by Bernard LaFayette, Jr. and David
C. Jehnsen states that "violence is derived from the
Latin word for force&emdash;violare (violate)&emdash;to
treat with force." Therefore, if you lower a persons
human potential in any form, you have committed violence
against that person. Martin L. King identified the Triple
Evils in a society as "Racism, Poverty and War."
_______
International Conference on "A Gandhian Alternative to
Terrorism and War," Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India,
February 7-9, 2002. Sponsored by the International Centre
of Gandhian Studies and Research (Gandhi Smriti and
Darshan Samiti, Gandhi Darshan,Rajghat, New Delhi).
"Racism and its perennial ally---economic
exploitation---provide the key to understanding most of
the international complications of this generation."
Martin L. King, Jr.
"Poverty is a form of violence. It is an oppression
against the human spirit. It is an injustice against the
innate worth of every human being. It is a result of
inequality rather than a proof of inequality." Martin
L. King, Jr.
"Wisdom born of experience should tell us that war
is obsolete." Martin L. King, Jr.
Question #2:
The dictionary defines terrorism as "a systematic use
of terror" and "a means of coercion." Usually the purpose
of terrorism is to terrify and capture the control of a
persons thinking and actions.
Some examples of terrorism in the United States during
the Civil Rights Movement:
August 15, 1955 Money, Mississippi,
Emmett Louis Till, 14 years old, shot in the head by
two white men. His body thrown in the Tallahatchie
River with a 75 pound cotton gin fan to his neck. Two
white men were tried and found not guilty.
October 22, 1955 Mayflower, Texas, gunmen
drove through the black neighborhood shooting into a
café, black school, and a school bus. By the
time it was all over, 27 bullets had ripped through
the community of Mayflower, leaving it black citizens
terrified and a 16 year-old boy dead. It wasn't the
first night of terror in Mayflower. In the months
since voters had approved funds for a new black
school, angry whites had repeatedly driven through
town, firing into black homes and vehicles.
January 30, 1956 Martin Luther King's life
was in danger from the moment his enemies recognized
the power he held. Klansmen bombed his home in
Montgomery. He was attacked by fanatical white
supremacists in Selma, Alabama and stabbed by an angry
black woman in New York. He spent many nights alone in
jail. He received countless death threats. In spite of
the danger, he continued to lead with nonviolent
principles.
September 15, 1963 Birmingham, Alabama on a
Sunday morning at the 16th Street Baptist Church a
bomb exploded and killed four young black girls ages
11 and 14.
June 12, 1963 Klan attempted to kill Bernard
LaFayette, Jr. a voting rights worker in Selma,
Alabama. Later the field office of the Jackson,
Mississippi F.B.I., informed LaFayette that he was one
of three people marked by the Klan to be killed.
January 31, 1964 Liberty, Mississippi a
voter registration worker Herbert Lee, 49 years old
was shot and killed by a white legislator. Witness
Louis Allen, 45 years old who witnessed the killing
was later shot in the face with a shotgun and
killed.
Of the countless terrorist acts in the United States
before and after the Emancipation Proclamation most were
directed toward blacks. A disproportionate number of
people, mainly white, were never prosecuted for these
acts. Many of the acts were done by law abiding citizens
and law enforcement officers. In other instances the
Federal Government, Local Government and all forms of law
enforcement ignored the terrorism for political reasons
or they agreed with their position.
The aforementioned and many others are the terrorist
acts King and others successfully responded to with
nonviolent methods and strategies which brought about
social change in the United States.
As we recite terrorist actions in the United States
against its own citizens we must also recognize other
countries who were inspired by nonviolent leadership and
they too accomplished their goals of freedom and justice
through nonviolence resistance.
Question #3:
The basic concept of Kingian Nonviolence is found in,
Stride Toward Freedom, chapter VI, "Pilgrimage to
Nonviolence" written by Martin Luther King, Jr., he
explains his intellectual odyssey to nonviolence. Martin
L. King, Jr. was eclectic, meaning the Kingian philosophy
of nonviolence is composed of elements drawn from various
sources. Some of his sources were Walter Rausehenbusch,
Karl Marx, Dr. A.J. Muste, Nietzsche, Dr. Mordecai
Johnson, Reinhold Niebuhr, Hobbes, Hegel and a host of
others.
His academic education consisted of Morehouse College,
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.; Crozer Theological Seminary,
Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.A; and Boston University,
Boston, Massachusetts U.S.A., where he received his Ph.D.
It was at Boston University where he learned of Mahatma
Gandhi's nonviolence resistance. This approach fascinated
him and Gandhi became a very significant influence
especially the concept of "Satyagraha"
(Satya is truth which equals love, and
agraha is force "Satyagraha," therefore
means truth-force or love force.)
"Christ furnished the spirit and motivation, while
Gandhi furnished the method." Martin L. King, Jr.
Kingian philosophy consists of six basic principles
that are disciplines of your behavior when you are faced
with violence. Following are the Six Principles of
Kingian Nonviolence:
1. Nonviolence is a way of life for
courageous people. First it must be emphasized
that nonviolence is not a method for cowards; it does
resist.
2. The beloved community is the goal. The
aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the
beloved community, while the aftermath of violence is
tragic bitterness.
3. Attack the forces of evil not the people
during evil. It is the evil that the nonviolent
resister seeks to defeat, not the persons victimized
by evil.
4. Accept suffering without retaliation for the
sake of the cause to achieve a goal. Suffering,
the nonviolent resister realizes has tremendous
educational and transforming possibilities.
5. Avoid internal violence of the spirit as well
as external physical violence. The nonviolent
resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent but he
also refuses to hate him.
6. The universe is on the side of justice. I
am convinced that the universe is under the control of
a loving purpose, and that in the struggle for
righteousness man has cosmic companionship.
Martin L. King, Jr. was a preacher, educator, and
leader of nonviolent campaigns for social justice, in
addition he has been recognized as a true American
philosopher by the American Philosophical Association. He
advocated conflict reconciliation that depicts total
change, not conflict resolution that tends to balance,
resolve but not solve. In Kingian nonviolence
reconciliation is the path to the Beloved Community, as
often as you reconcile a conflict you are one step closer
to the Beloved Community. It is the character of change
that tends to produce a more permanent change in his
philosophy, while violence normally produces more
violence. The goal of Kingian nonviolence is not to
defeat your opponent but to win your opponent over.
As we pursue the Beloved Community, Dr. King reminded
us that there are no borders in his definition of
community. It is the world community. He also described
community as a house, where all people in the world are
dependent on each other. Martin Luther King placed high
value on the human personality.
"Deeply rooted in our political and religious
heritage is the conviction that every man is an heir to a
legacy of dignity and worth." Martin L. King, Jr.
In all situations he advocated a nonviolence response
to violence because violence responses tend to escalate
the conflict and generate bigger problems. Violence is
not a solution, using violence indicates that you don't
have a solution.
Included in Kingian Nonviolence is a methodology for
solving problems. It is universal and can be applicable
in any conflict, intra or inter, community, national or
international. The methodology is called the Six Steps of
Kingian Nonviolence. The Six Principles are commonly
referred to as "the will" and the Six Steps as "the
skill."
For the sake of brevity and time commitment, I will
only list the Six Steps of Kingian Nonviolence and not
elaborate on them. I would like to spend the remainder of
the paper addressing the topic "A Kingian Alternative to
Terrorism and War."
The Six Steps of Kingian Nonviolence:
1. Information Gathering
2. Education
3. Personal Commitment
4. Negotiations
5. Direct Action
6. Reconciliation
As we apply the Kingian model to terrorism and war, we
must emphasize that the Six Principles must be adhered to
in all of the nonviolent action the steps generate.
Kingian nonviolence is considered a systemized knowledge
that if applied consistently there are predictable
results.
Gandhi called nonviolence a weapon that knows no
failure; King called it a "sword that heals"; Coretta
Scott King (King's wife) calls it a "life long process";
Honorable Andrew Young calls it "aggressive, organized,
goodwill"; Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr. calls it "a force
more powerful."; Reverend Doctor Bernice King calls it
"love in action."
King's study of the German philosopher Hegel, who
contended, "truth is the whole" and made famous the
dialectical synthesis method and known for his
formulation "thesis-antithesis-synthesis." In analyzing
problems he sought the synthesis that combined the thesis
and antithesis, instead of the extremes of the thesis and
antithesis.
"Here is the true meaning of compassion and
nonviolence when they help us to see the enemy's point of
view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of
ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic
weakness of our condition, and if we are mature, we may
learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers
who are called the opposition." Martin L. King,
Jr.
The first step of Kingian Nonviolence is Information
Gathering. In this step you are objective not subjective
and you don't have a solution to the conflict. Your facts
In-for-ma-tion will give you a clearer vision of the
conditions that are keeping the conflict going. Also, you
are not ready to solve the problem unless you can
articulate your opponents position as well as you can
your own and understand how they arrived at their
position.
Therefore, we must ask quality questions in this first
step including: Do we know the terrorist position? Do we
know how they arrived at that position? Can we state
their position as well as we can our own? What part have
we played in the conflict through complacency, neglect or
disregard? What percent of the conflict do we bear? Who
else should be included in the reconciliation of the
conflict? What is the history of the conflict? What has
failed or succeeded in other attempts to reconcile the
conflict? Under what conditions does the conflict
operate?
Using September 11, 2001 as an example, we have to ask
the question, Do we have enough information concerning
the conflict in Afghanistan to begin to identify the
problem? Do we understand Taliban thinking and how they
arrived at their position? What is the history of
Afghanistan and other countries concerning the conflict?
Are we or have we violated any of their religious
practices? Have we been involved in any economic
exploitation? What is our foreign policy toward
Afghanistan and other Arab countries? Do they see our
relationship with Israel as part of the problem?
These questions would lead to many others if we are
open minded and mature enough to see our mistakes in the
conflict, the solution will become very clear.
It is appropriate to pause here to make sure that it
is made crystal clear that I am not trying to justify
what was done on September 11, 2001 in New York and
Washington, D.C., killing thousands of people. This act
was wrong and can not be justified under any circumstance
or conditions. Person(s) responsible for this barbaric
act must be found and prosecuted. Some people can't
function in a free society for whatever reason and must
be refrained from harming society. This does not mean
violating their human rights as they are restrained.
However, if we are going to prevent this terrible act
from happening again, we must break the silence and ask
the hard questions to our government and ourselves. This
approach could save our grandchildren from experiencing
the same terror and fear instilled in the American
society as we stand in a tiptoe position, waiting for the
next terrorist strike. Bob Baer, former CIA officer who
worked undercover in Afghanistan, wrote in his book "See
No Evil" and mentioned on a NBC television news interview
on 1/21/02, that "We will be hit again",
"Violence is the antithesis of creativity and
wholeness. It destroys community and makes brotherhood
impossible." Martin L. King, Jr.
Nonviolence is proactive and attempts to address the
underlining problems before the war or violence occurs.
However, September 11, 2001 is a fact and must be
addressed in a nonviolence response if we want permanent
solutions. Nonviolence will not work until you get the
active participation of the majority of people of good
will or their sympathy. The critical approach in violence
is to dramatize the issue appealing to the hearts of
people of good will, when the hearts of people are
educated it creates a "creative tension" where the
injustice can no longer be ignored. History has proven
one can not win the sympathy of the majority of the
people through war, vengeance and violence.
After the World Trade Center Towers fell and the
senseless killing of people, we attempted to educate the
masses of people in the world, but in my opinion it was
for the wrong reason. It seemed that we were mobilizing
for vengeance and retaliation and not to educate a
critical mass of people in the world to bring to justice
those responsible for the violence in New York and
Washington.
Another aspect of Kingian Nonviolence is that it is
"inclusive" and "not exclusive." Our slogan "God Bless
America" could have been construed by some international
audiences as a selfish, self serving, narrow request. It
may have reinforced our enemy thoughts and perceptions by
indicating a limited focus on the blessings of God. Maybe
a better slogan would have been "God Bless Our World,"
which would include our enemies.
"To meet hate with retaliatory hate would do
nothing but intensify the existence of evil in the
universe." Martin L. King, Jr.
Nonviolent Alternative to Terrorism and War:
1. Identify and dialogue with governments and
organizations that track terrorist activities and
organizations. Expose this information on television
in the major languages to the world.
2. Implement the Appeal of the Nobel Peace Prize
Laureates request to Heads of Stated of all member
countries of the General Assembly of the United
Nations that, "the first decade of the new millennium,
the years 2000-2010, be declared the Decade for a
Culture of Nonviolence."
3. Mobilize and educate women to address the gender
violence associated with terrorism.
4. Join with Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr. and the
International Nonviolence Conference Series in helping
establish 10 Nonviolence Super Centers in ten regions
of the globe for the purpose of education, training
and research in nonviolence.
5. Encourage governments to increase the number and
budget of people working on identifying training and
financial support for terrorist groups.
6. Explore the "gaps" in international law that
inhibit communications and swift exchange of
information concerning terrorist operations.
7. Identify and travel to countries that are
experiencing terrorism to train and educate a critical
mass of people in nonviolence responses to
violence.
Recently the United States Attorney General released
the names of five people viewed in a video tape
advocating terrorism in the world. He was on the CNN
Larry King Live Show educating and encouraging the world
population to be on the look-out and report any sighting
of the alleged terrorist. The global media is an
excellent way where people of goodwill can become
involved in identifying and isolating terrorist.
The aforementioned are some suggested nonviolent
responses to the terrorism of September 11, 01. The
challenge today is to ponder questions should be answered
if we are going to create a global nonviolent
society.
Some of those questions should be:
- How do we use the new technology to educate and
communicate with the next generation concerning a
global nonviolent society?
- What types of academic curriculum, training,
programs and activities are necessary to achieve a
nonviolence society?
- What should the church and other religions
institutions do differently?
- What responsibility does the media have and what
are things they should be doing to help create a
nonviolence society?
- What other types of violence assist in generating
terrorism and war?
- What should colleges and other educational
institutions do differently to help achieve the
goal?
- What role must governments and private businesses
assume?
In closing, I encourage participants in this
conference to develop additional questions that must be
asked and answered by ourselves and others. As we move
toward global truth and justice I am confident that we
will mobilize, as stated by Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr. "a
force more powerful," in our pilgrimage to a nonviolence
society.
Coretta King said her husband's stance on war was
unequivocal. In his last years, he said, "If I am the
only person left who believes in nonviolence, I will be
that sole person calling for nonviolence. And I will
stand with that for the rest of my days."
Atlanta Journal Constitution,
January 20, 2002
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ayres, Alex. 1993. The Wisdom of Martin Luther
King, Jr. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England. Penguin
Books Ltd.
Halberstam, David. 1998. The Children. New
York, NY. Random House, Inc.
King, Martin L, Jr. 1958. Stride Toward
Freedom. New York, NY. Harper/Collins Publishers.
King, Martin L. Jr. 1963. Strength to Love.
First Fortress Press.
LaFayette, Bernard Jr & Jehnsen, David. 1995.
The Leaders Manual: A Structured Guide and
Introduction to Kingian Nonviolence: The Philosophy and
Methodology.
______ 1989. Free At Last: A History of the Civil
Rights Movement and Those Who Died in the Struggle.
Published by Teaching Tolerance, A Project of the
Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, AL
______ 2002. NBC News, January 22, 2002, Interview
with Bob Baer, Ex-CIA officer.
______ www.nbcnews.com, Excerpts of: See No
Evil, Bob Baer
Copyright © 2002 TFF
& author
Tell a friend about this article
Send to:
From:
Message and your name
Back
to NONVIOLENCE
FORUM
|
|