I think of the two extremes that are operating here as violence and passivity (I still think some people have nonviolence in the passivity category despite my repeated emphasis that it is not). I think nonviolence IS the middle ground. Like violence it is an active force, but like passivity it doesn’t seek to hurt anyone.

Barbara Deming talks about the two hands of nonviolence – the balance – where one hand is held out in a “stop” gesture, saying to your opponent that their behaviour is unacceptable and you will stand in its way. And the other hand is held out in a gesture of openness and friendship, saying that you do not reject them as a person, but welcome them. When the hands are held in such a position simultaneously it’s a powerful statement.

So far from being an extreme position, it seems to me to be a satisfactory middle ground.

Simon