--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nonviolence is based on recognizing that…" description: "\"Nonviolence is based on recognizing that all of us are human beings. And at a certain point we begin to learn that you don't gather very much by making..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29a/grace-lee-boggs-7776_certain_nonviolence-is-based-on-recognizing-that_1561805.png" --- # Nonviolence is based on recognizing that all of us are… ![“Nonviolence is based on recognizing that all of us are human beings. And at a certain point we begin to learn that you don't gather very much by making enemies out of people and not recognizing their humanity. Nonviolence is essentially based on recognizing the humanity in every one one of us.” quote by Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29a/grace-lee-boggs-7776_certain_nonviolence-is-based-on-recognizing-that_1561805.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29a/grace-lee-boggs-7776_certain_nonviolence-is-based-on-recognizing-that_1561805.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29a/grace-lee-boggs-7776_certain_nonviolence-is-based-on-recognizing-that_1561805.png) > “Nonviolence is based on recognizing that all of us are human beings. And at a certain point we begin to learn that you don't gather very much by making enemies out of people and not recognizing their humanity. Nonviolence is essentially based on recognizing the humanity in every one one of us.” [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nonviolence stems from recognizing shared humanity, avoiding enemy creation. **In simple terms:** Seeing others as humans reduces conflict. Key Takeaway Practice empathy to resolve disputes. Themes peace empathy humanity conflict resolution Mood hopeful reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - activism - community building - education - mediation Key Concepts recognition of shared humanity ethical behavior Questions to Reflect On - How can you humanize an opponent? - What limits empathy? A Different Perspective May be idealistic in hostile contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humanity Nonviolence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-nonviolence-5860485/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Nonviolence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonviolence/) [Nonviolence Based](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonviolence-based-446807/) [Nonviolence Essentially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonviolence-essentially-5064559/) [Peacebuilding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peacebuilding/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Recognizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recognizing/) [Recognizing Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recognizing-humanity-305200/) ## Related quotes > [Nonviolence is essentially based on recognizing the humanity in every one one of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/nonviolence-is-essentially-based-on-recognizing-the-humanity-in-every/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [Nonviolence is based on recognizing that all of us are human beings. And at a certain point we begin to learn that you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/nonviolence-is-based-on-recognizing-that-all-of-us-are-human-beings-2/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [“Commitment to nonviolence must not be based on patient acquiescence in intolerable conditions. Rather, it stems from a deeper knowledge of the self-defeating, self-corrupting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-t-dellinger/commitment-to-nonviolence-must-not-be-based-on-patient-acquiescence/) [David T. Dellinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-t-dellinger/) > [I've been practising Buddhism for forty years, and that's what has led me to this path of discovering my own humanity and recognizing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/i-ve-been-practising-buddhism-for-forty-years-and-that-s-what-has-led/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/all-of-our-humanity-is-dependent-upon-recognizing-the-humanity-in/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/when-we-see-others-as-the-enemy-we-risk-becoming-what-we-hate-when-we/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/in-recognizing-the-humanity-of-our-fellow-beings-we-pay-ourselves-the/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Empathy is choosing to see ourselves in another despite our differences. It's recognizing that the same humanity - the same desire for meaning, fulfillment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-murthy/empathy-is-choosing-to-see-ourselves-in-another-despite-our/) [Vivek Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-murthy/) > [Finding the leaders of the future is a question of recognizing those people who give leadership in a crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/finding-the-leaders-of-the-future-is-a-question-of-recognizing-those/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [Really, people are not a school of fish. Finding the leaders of the future is a question of recognizing those people who give leadership…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/really-people-are-not-a-school-of-fish-finding-the-leaders-of-the/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [Don't get stuck in old ideas. Keep recognizing that reality is changing and that your ideas have to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/don-t-get-stuck-in-old-ideas-keep-recognizing-that-reality-is/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nonviolence-is-a-weapon-of-the-strong/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We must always refill and ensure there is a critical mass of leaders and activists committed to nonviolence and racial and economic justice who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/we-must-always-refill-and-ensure-there-is-a-critical-mass-of-leaders/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [Nonviolence will empower and equip us to bring generations to the table and fuse our knowledge, gifts, and zeal together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/nonviolence-will-empower-and-equip-us-to-bring-generations-to-the/) [Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) ## More by Grace Lee Boggs > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [I think that rebellions arise out of anger, and they're very short-lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/i-think-that-rebellions-arise-out-of-anger-and-they-re-very-short/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [I think that education today is a form of child abuse. The natural tendency of children is to solve problems, but we try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/i-think-that-education-today-is-a-form-of-child-abuse-the-natural/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [I believe that we are at the point now, in the United States, where a movement is beginning to emerge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/i-believe-that-we-are-at-the-point-now-in-the-united-states-where-a/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [I think at the time, my radicalization was not through growing up Chinese, but through the role that the black people were playing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/i-think-at-the-time-my-radicalization-was-not-through-growing-up/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [We urgently need a paradigm shift in our concept of the purposes and practices of education. We need to leave behind the concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/we-urgently-need-a-paradigm-shift-in-our-concept-of-the-purposes-and/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [This capitalist society has not lasted forever; it's only a few hundred years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/this-capitalist-society-has-not-lasted-forever-it-s-only-a-few/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [Building community is to the collective as spiritual practice is to the individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/building-community-is-to-the-collective-as-spiritual-practice-is-to/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [We need to do what I call visionary organizing. Recognize that in every crisis, people do not respond like a school of fish. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/we-need-to-do-what-i-call-visionary-organizing-recognize-that-in/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [I think we have to understand that the nation-state became powerful in the wake of the French Revolution, whereas the nation-state has become powerless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/i-think-we-have-to-understand-that-the-nation-state-became-powerful/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [People are aware that they cannot continue in the same old way but are immobilized because they cannot imagine an alternative. We need a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/people-are-aware-that-they-cannot-continue-in-the-same-old-way-but/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [A revolution that is based on the people exercising their creativity in the midst of devastation is one of the great historical contributions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/a-revolution-that-is-based-on-the-people-exercising-their-creativity/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [People in Detroit aren't just urban gardening. They're starting a new mode of education. They're trying to give children the education to be "solutionaries"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/people-in-detroit-aren-t-just-urban-gardening-they-re-starting-a-new/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [I think people are really looking for some way whereby we can grow our souls rather than our economy. I think that at some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/i-think-people-are-really-looking-for-some-way-whereby-we-can-grow/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [Being a victim of oppression in the United States is not enough to make you revolutionary, just as dropping out of your mother's womb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/being-a-victim-of-oppression-in-the-united-states-is-not-enough-to/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) [Explore all 87 Grace Lee Boggs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) ## More Certain quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. 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It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [Why do we love certain homes, and why do they seem to love us? It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/why-do-we-love-certain-homes-and-why-do-they-seem-to-love-us-it-is/) [T. H. 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