The majority of people opposed to nonviolence I seem to encounter never get past the idea that nonviolent people are passive people. Every discussion concerning pacifism seems to involve someone asking “how can you stand by and do nothing?!” or something strikingly similar. The truth is that real pacifists are not apathetic or passive but instead are aggressively nonviolent.

I’ve admitted before that pacifism is poorly named because it makes one immediately think of passivity. For this reason many nonviolent advocates refrain from the label of pacifism. It seems to me that even the term nonviolence has come to be synonymous with passivity in the minds of many who disagree with the lifestyle.

I’ve yet to meet a nonviolent Christian who would not protect others or fight injustice. I’m yet to meet a passive pacifist (though this does not mean cowardly people do not exist under the label pacifist). Pacifists aren't passive & apathetic as non-nonviolent people are not violent & hostile.To all of those who do, please stop assuming we’re cowardly, passive, unjust, overly optimistic idealists who care only about our own self-proclaimed higher morality. We care about protecting the innocent, fighting for justice, and working aggressively towards peace both on small and large scales and assume that those who do not label themselves pacifist or nonviolent can care about the same things.

It just so happens we care about these things so much that we aren’t willing to use means that are contrary to our ends. We believe it is illogical to fight fire with fire and remember that our parents told us two wrongs don’t make a right. Simply because we are unwilling to kill or destroy does not mean we do not care or that we are unwilling to act. It means we care very much and that we will find creative ways to act. If you are not convinced then so be it. But if you really care to ask how pacifists can believe what they do then perhaps it is best to drop the assumptions and believe us when we say:

Being a pacifist does not mean being passive.