Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette on Non-Violence

Now, in jail, we always maintain our non-violence. And what is the goal of non-violence? The goal of non-violence is to win people over by showing them love. We don't feel that there are people who are evil. There are people who do a lot of evil things, but they are human beings and they are people with a life. And they will grow up in different cultures.

They didn't choose their families, or their neighborhoods, or they didn't choose the country in which they were born. They just showed up. So the point is they are conditioned by their environment. So therefore, they also can be unconditioned in that sense.

They can change. And we have to believe that people can change. But the point of non-violence is to win them over. And the way you win them over is by your own behavior. You can set the standards. Don't allow people to cause you to be violent because they are violent. Because violence begets violence.