Fighting, Gandhi Style

Among the few movies that I kept returning to was the 1982 "Gandhi." It made me

reflect often on how nonviolence had taken by storm a world that used to accept

nothing but an eye for an eye. "You've given them a way to fight." said Khan to

Gandhi when they were prisoned for defying an unjust British law. It turned out,

his way of fighting had since spread like a killer app.

 

In the American Civil Rights Movement, e.g., Malcolm X and Martin Luther King

Jr. took different paths. Charismatic, faithful, and living like a saint,

Malcolm nonetheless failed to win the hearts and minds with separatism ideas*. It

was Gandhi's apostle MLK, despised by many blacks as an Uncle Tom, who carried

the day with his peaceful rallies and his "I have a dream" speech. 

 

Exposing evil and injustice is a sharp weapon for Gandhi. He brought in

reporters since his debut in South Africa and both the British and American

presses played a deciding role in swaying public opinions in his entire career

as a nonviolent movement leader. I have never doubted Gandhi's intelligence and

inner strength, but without a witness, he probably would have thought twice

before venturing to resist anything. It was strictly business.

 

As his practice and theory developed, he became even bolder. "The function of a

civil resister is to provoke response. And we will continue to provoke until

they respond, or they change the law. They are not in control – we are. That is

the strength of civil resistance." as he told a New York Times reporter in his

Salt March.

 

In the light of the movie and history, today, what can Asians do to thwart the

new waves of hate toward them, a recurring American virus as lethal as Covid?

 

Christ would say: "Turn the other cheek." and here is how Gandhi understood it:

    I suspect he meant you must show courage – be willing to take a blow –

    several blows – to show you will not strike back – nor will you be turned

    aside and when you do that it calls upon something in human nature –

    something that makes his hate for you diminish and his respect increase. I

    think Christ grasped that and I – I have seen it work.

 

Compared with the criminals, many of us are smaller and physically weaker but it

does not mean we lack powerful leverages. On the other hand, violence only

belies the haters' desperation. These days, smartphones and social media help to

cross the language barrier and the repulsive images and videos speak for

themselves. Indeed, many recordings were uploaded by passersby. We can at least

try to suffer bravely and expose the haters.

 

"What you cannot do is accept injustice. From Hitler – or anyone. You must make

the injustice visible – be prepared to die like a soldier to do so." insisted

the Mahatama. 

 

[Texts marked blue were taken from the 1982 film "Gandhi."]

 

* To be fair, the original ideas were not his and Malcolm did grow out of them.

* Recently, reading about the attack on police at US Capitol, I was surprised to

  learn that the Nation of Islam not only survived Malcolm X but had been active

  till this day.

[7grizzly]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : Thank you my friend for reading and your encouraging comments. This is the first time I get 100 from you and that made me so happy :-)

> I don't think that Christ's "turn the other cheek" works in the states.
Well. From Gandhi's explanation, it's a game of will. I can be physically weak and small but my will doesn't have to be.

Thanks again, and have a great week.

[暖冬cool夏]

Perfect writing!
In the light of the movie and history, today, what can Asians do to thwart
the new waves of hate toward them, a recurring American virus as lethal as
Covid?
+1 an excellent sentence and thought! But I don't think that Christ's "turn the other cheek" works in the states.
I saw the word "belie" a few times in the magazine, and you already know how to use it:))