This morning I was feeling a little more critical of Gandhi. No one is perfect, and he never said he was. He was ready to face death and indeed faced it several times, especially at his own hand. But the most the British did to him was put him in prison; he was always treated with respect, was not beaten (except early in his life in South Africa in the episode which opened his eyes to the problems of apartheid and untouchability), was never injured, was never raped. Many of his followers were injured and killed.
Can non-violent resistance always work? Perhaps it did in India because he was facing the British - but what good did it do to Jews against Hitler? Six million died anyway.
Is there a solution for mankind?
Is there a solution for mankind?
The answer may be in another Gandhi quote:
Not knowing the stuff of which non-violence is made, many have honestly believed that running away from danger every time was a virtue compared to offering resistance...
M. K. Gandhi, The Essential Gandhi, Louis Fischer Ed., NY 1983, pg. 299
The Jews were not violent, but did they resist?
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