thread: 2005-05-16 : Violence
On 2005-05-17, John Harper wrote:
I'm not going to play semantic games. Especially any that revolve around "I don't use the generally accepted meaning of a word." You want to use it your way, fine. But don't expect everyone else to swallow it.
And to answer your question: When I show compassion and empathy for my fellow person and come to an understanding with them, I can most certainly be asserting myself. No violence required. This isn't rocket science. We do it every day.
And, on a good day, I can even defend myself against physical violence without doing any harm to myself or the person who attacked me. I can think of one time when I even becamse better friends with the person after the fact. No violence there either.
I honestly don't know what Ron could have meant in his original message. His statement has no bearing on my life as I experience it.
