Negative or Positive Peace, and Women

I thought this article was particularly interesting considering we are predominately concerned with defining non-violence. It’s interesting the way Brock-Utne describes negative and positive peace as, “Negative peace means the absence of both organized (usually ‘war’) and unorganized personal violence” (pg. 3). I’m surprised there are proposed definitions for negative and positive. I feel like people mainly look at peace as something positive, but it also is true that peace is rarely defined except through the self. Violence as well is something that seems so clear cut at first, but once exposed to the different ideas of it and what constitutes violence or non-violence, a whole new field opens up. This I feel is also true for peace, but the 2 go hand in hand. Peace does not exist without violence and how does violence define peace. These are questions that have interested me greatly and am discovering through this course and writing blogs. Surprisingly there are connections made and beliefs materialize when ideas get written down through blogs and what not. I feel this is extremely helpful when creating ones own views on violence and peace.

This reading views peace from another angle which is interesting. The notion of women defining peace has never been something to think about. I always assumed peace was neutral, but this reading sheds light on this. A household can be peaceful, but if the peace is kept by violence and wife beatings in the privacy of the home, is the household still peaceful? From the outside it is perceived that way, but digging deeper is essential.