Senseless Violence

Once again, there has been a random and senseless act of terrorist violence, making headlines and creating momentary fear. It has happened many times in recent history, perpetrated in many ways, and this time it was an attack upon people in the subways of London.

What reasoning is there for this? Violence does not help a cause, and it only makes matters worse. It is purely an emotional outburst, by the impotent, by the frustrated, by the misguided, by those with an erroneous belief that raw savagery is the answer to an issue. There is no reasoning.

The philosophy of violence requires the absence of reasoning.

While the opposition to violence often comes from religion, or from people with an emotional distaste for violence, the same conclusion can come purely from logic: that violence is counter-productive, and creates more problems than it solves.

Here are some relevant quotes from the past and present:

"Nothing good ever comes of violence." - Martin Luther

"Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself." - Lao Tzu

"Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create." - Pope John Paul II

"Experience convinces me that permanent good can never be the outcome of untruth and violence." - Mohandas Gandhi

"Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation." - Martin Luther King Jr.

"Islam teaches tolerance, not hatred; universal brotherhood, not enmity; peace, and not violence." - Pervez Musharraf