What’s the difference between nonviolence and active nonviolence?
There is a myth that nonviolence is passive. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nonviolence does not mean a passive acceptance of injustice. The phrase ‘active nonviolence’ is sometimes used in English to emphasize that nonviolence confronts violence and transforms injustice. Other cultures have other words for nonviolence. During the Indian liberation struggle, Gandhi used the Sanskrit words ahimsa (non-killing) or satyagraha (clinging to the truth). In Spanish-speaking Latin America the phrase firmeza permanente (relentless persistence) is used, while the Palestinian nonviolent movement uses the Arabic word sumoud (steadfastness). Nonviolence does not seek to avoid conflict. Conflict is a natural part of life and is necessary to change situations of injustice, for example, when a group in society faces discrimination. Nonviolence works to transform conflict from a destructive process into a constructive process. It can be used to confront many different types of violence, from
