Themes for Personal reflection:

Violence can be not only physical but also economic (in fact poverty kills more people than wars), racial, religious, psychological, sexual, etc.  

Everything that denies the intentionality in another human being is violence.

Words like dehumanisation and objectification attempt to describe social processes whose core are the emptying of the intentionality of an individual or of a group of people who are then seen as simple instruments of the intentionality of others, generally those in power. These are subtle forms of violence but just as destructive. Those who dehumanise others also dehumanise themselves. This happens because in order to stop feeling empathy for others one must harden oneself, put one’s own emotions on ice.

Trying to possess or manipulate another’s mind is violence. Objectifying others by denying they have a mind is violence. Expecting others to conform to our rules, our beliefs, our lifestyle is violence.

Non-Violence

Making agreements for the common task liberates us from this violence. Listening to others and communicating our ideas, beliefs and principles openly and without expectation of imposing them releases us from violence.

Non-violence is an intentional process that needs to be learned anew because we cannot trust our historical  background to lead us to it mechanically. Nor can we trust our education, heavily contaminated by a skewed vision that pays more attention to wars and imperial invaders than to thinkers and scientists. We are not completely free to make a choice between violence and non-violence because that background has left a mark on our capacity to make future choices but knowing that such choice exists is the first step towards our own liberation. Those who choose violence should be aware that in doing so they condone also violence perpetrated against themselves, their families and their friends, most probably for many generations to come.

1- List the forms of violence in society that affect you the most

2- Discussion about strategies to change those situations of violence