The philosophy of nonviolence only makes sense if the
powerful can be made to recognize themselves in the powerless. It only makes
sense if the powerless can be made to recognize themselves in the powerful. You
know, the principle of empathy gives broader meaning, by the way, to Dr. King’s
philosophy of nonviolence. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but rich people
are all for nonviolence. Why wouldn’t they be? They’ve got what they want. They
want to make sure people don’t take their stuff. But the principle of
empathy recognizes that there are more subtle forms of violence to which we are
answerable. The spirit of empathy condemns not only the use of fire hoses
and attack dogs to keep people down but also accountants and tax loopholes to
keep people down. I’m not saying that what Enron executives did to their
employees is the moral equivalent of what Bull Connor did to black folks, but
I’ll tell you what, the employees at Enron feel violated. When a company
town sees its plant closing because some distant executives made some decision
despite the wage concessions, despite the tax breaks, and they see their entire
economy collapsing, they feel violence . . .
Editor’s
note: just to be
clear, you break into my home to steal
my stuff, you are going to get
shot. And it is not because I am
rich. In fact, it is because I am not rich.
To excuse violence on the basis that it is a
reaction to repression at the hands of
the so-called rich, is criminal, in and of itself.
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