--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like pacifists and people who have a…" description: "\"I like pacifists and people who have a heavy emotional identification with deathism and war would probably call me a pacifist, but I am a non-invasivis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/robert-anton-wilson-1198_ambush_i-like-pacifists-and-people-who-have-a-h_74561.jpg" --- # I like pacifists and people who have a heavy emotional… ![“I like pacifists and people who have a heavy emotional identification with deathism and war would probably call me a pacifist, but I am a non-invasivist rather than a non-violentist. That is, I believe that an invaded people have the right to defend themselves by any means necessary. This includes…” quote by Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/robert-anton-wilson-1198_ambush_i-like-pacifists-and-people-who-have-a-h_74561.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/robert-anton-wilson-1198_ambush_i-like-pacifists-and-people-who-have-a-h_74561.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/robert-anton-wilson-1198_ambush_i-like-pacifists-and-people-who-have-a-h_74561.jpg) > “I like pacifists and people who have a heavy emotional identification with deathism and war would probably call me a pacifist, but I am a non-invasivist rather than a non-violentist. That is, I believe that an invaded people have the right to defend themselves by any means necessary. This includes putting ground glass or poison in the invaders' food, shooting at them from ambush, sabotage, the general strike, armed revolution, etc. It's up to the invaded to decide which of these techniques they will use. It's not up to some moralist to tell them which techniques are permissible.” [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A non‑invasivist stance supports any defensive tactics against occupiers, rejecting external moral judgments on permissible methods. **In simple terms:** Self‑defense without external moral constraints. Key Takeaway Defenders choose tactics. Themes self‑defense moral autonomy political violence anti‑imperialism ethical relativism resistance Mood defiant critical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - occupied nation - colonized people - insurgent movement Key Concepts right to self‑defense means‑ends justification agency of the oppressed Practical Applications - guiding guerrilla strategy - informing policy on occupied Questions to Reflect On - When does defensive violence become oppression? - Who decides which tactics are ethically acceptable? A Different Perspective Some argue that unrestricted tactics can erode moral legitimacy and provoke cycles of retaliation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Identification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identification/) [Moralist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moralist/) [Pacifist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacifist/) [Pacifists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacifists/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poison/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Sabotage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sabotage/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [My opposition to war is not based upon pacifist or non-resistant principles. It may be that the present state of civilization is such that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/my-opposition-to-war-is-not-based-upon-pacifist-or-non-resistant/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Pacifism as a mass movement aims to avoid suffering; pacifists often say that no cause is worth suffering or dying for. The ethos of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-michnik/pacifism-as-a-mass-movement-aims-to-avoid-suffering-pacifists-often/) [Adam Michnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-michnik/) > [ I will not call myself a pacifist for the very simple reason that if something like a \[Francisco\] Franco should arise in Spain again,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-will-not-call-myself-a-pacifist-for-the-very-simple-reason-that-if/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [Before World War I one of the objections commonly urged against votes for women was that women would tend to be pacifists. During the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/before-world-war-i-one-of-the-objections-commonly-urged-against-votes/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [We pacifists have not ceased to point to the grave danger of armaments and to insist on their curtailment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-quidde/we-pacifists-have-not-ceased-to-point-to-the-grave-danger-of/) [Ludwig Quidde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-quidde/) > [Pacifism in the face of war is not only irresponsible - it is immoral. Refusing to meet force with force in the name of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-limbaugh/pacifism-in-the-face-of-war-is-not-only-irresponsible-it-is-immoral/) [David Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-limbaugh/) > [You know, if people are not pacifists, it's not their fault. It's because society puts them in that spot. You've got to change it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/you-know-if-people-are-not-pacifists-it-s-not-their-fault-it-s/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [Naturally, the common people don't want war ... but after all it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/naturally-the-common-people-don-t-want-war-but-after-all-it-is-the/) [Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/) > [“I find it significant that most military veterans become pacifists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/i-find-it-significant-that-most-military-veterans-become-pacifists/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [It's funny how most activists are pacifists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-funny-how-most-activists-are-pacifists/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I do have an intense respect for pacifists, because I believe that ultimately, if we are to have a truly humanistic as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-do-have-an-intense-respect-for-pacifists-because-i-believe-that/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [Since pacifists have more freedom of action in countries where traces of democracy survive, pacifism can act more effectively against democracy than for it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/since-pacifists-have-more-freedom-of-action-in-countries-where-traces/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [A pacifist male is a contradiction in terms. Most self-described "pacifists" are not pacific; they simply assume false colors. When the wind changes, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/a-pacifist-male-is-a-contradiction-in-terms-most-self-described/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [We're not really pacifists, we're nonviolent soldiers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/we-re-not-really-pacifists-we-re-nonviolent-soldiers/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) > [“We cannot afford the luxury known as conscience. The enemy we are up against certainly doesn't have one, so we are obliged to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/we-cannot-afford-the-luxury-known-as-conscience-the-enemy-we-are-up/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) ## More by Robert Anton Wilson > [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The only way to stave off boredom, in a complex domesticated primate like humankind, is to increase one's intelligence. This is not appealing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-only-way-to-stave-off-boredom-in-a-complex-domesticated-primate/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Disobedience was man's Original Virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/disobedience-was-man-s-original-virtue/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [In every state of the Union, Fundamentalists still fight to ban all the science they dislike and prosecute all who teach it. To them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/in-every-state-of-the-union-fundamentalists-still-fight-to-ban-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [It is a great privilege to be conscious in this universe. Those who understand, shine like stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/it-is-a-great-privilege-to-be-conscious-in-this-universe-those-who/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I will do anything, including highway robbery and murder, to avoid leaving my children in poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-will-do-anything-including-highway-robbery-and-murder-to-avoid/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-see-anarchism-as-the-theoretical-ideal-to-which-we-are-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“Masturbation is not the happiest form of sexuality, but the most advisable for him who wants to be alone and think. I detect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/masturbation-is-not-the-happiest-form-of-sexuality-but-the-most/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Cynics regarded everybody as equally corrupt... Idealists regarded everybody as equally corrupt, except themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/cynics-regarded-everybody-as-equally-corrupt-idealists-regarded/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The most important truths always appear first as blasphemies or obscenities. That's why every great innovator is persecuted. And the sacraments look obscene, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-most-important-truths-always-appear-first-as-blasphemies-or/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“When you're dealing with these forces or powers in a philosophic and scientific way, contemplating them from an armchair, that rationalistic approach is useful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/when-you-re-dealing-with-these-forces-or-powers-in-a-philosophic-and/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“And Spaceship Earth, that glorious and bloody circus, continued its four-billion-year-long spiral orbit about the Sun; the engineering, I must admit, was so exquisite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/and-spaceship-earth-that-glorious-and-bloody-circus-continued-its/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Existence is larger than any model that is not itself the exact size of existence (which has no size).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/existence-is-larger-than-any-model-that-is-not-itself-the-exact-size/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The totally convinced and the totally stupid have too much in common for the resemblance to be accidental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-totally-convinced-and-the-totally-stupid-have-too-much-in-common/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [MR. KHARIS: 'Does Mr. Celine seriously suggest that the United States Government is in need of a guardian?' MR. CELINE: 'I am merely offering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/mr-kharis-does-mr-celine-seriously-suggest-that-the-united-states/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) [Explore all 274 Robert Anton Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) ## More Ambush quotes > [“You can easily discern whether someone is truly interested to learn & know when s/he asks you or cornering and ambushing you to stumble...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assegid-habtewold/you-can-easily-discern-whether-someone-is-truly-interested-to-learn/) [Assegid Habtewold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assegid-habtewold/) > [“That was the cruelty of memory. The way it could ambush you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-d-leclaire/that-was-the-cruelty-of-memory-the-way-it-could-ambush-you/) [Anne D. LeClaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-d-leclaire/) > [Ideally a painter (and, generally, an artist) should not become conscious of his insights: without taking the detour through his reflective processes, and incomprehensibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/ideally-a-painter-and-generally-an-artist-should-not-become-conscious/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, often violently, just like love. It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/accidents-ambush-the-unsuspecting-often-violently-just-like-love-it/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [“Okay then, we’re set” he thought. “Come and get it”. The enemy, his enemy, were walking into the classic football ambush and they didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dougie-brimson/okay-then-we-re-set-he-thought-come-and-get-it-the-enemy-his-enemy/) [Dougie Brimson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dougie-brimson/) > [Some fell by laudanum, and some by steel, and death in ambush lay in every pill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-garth/some-fell-by-laudanum-and-some-by-steel-and-death-in-ambush-lay-in/) [Samuel Garth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-garth/) > [ What would things been like \[in Russia\] if during periods of mass arrests people had not simply sat there, paling with terror at every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/what-would-things-been-like-in-russia-if-during-periods-of-mass/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [We stand there, quiet. My questions all seem wrong: How did you get so old? Was it all at once, in a day, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/we-stand-there-quiet-my-questions-all-seem-wrong-how-did-you-get-so/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [The only rule Muslims know is to win. It does not matter how. All rules can be broken as long as they win the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/the-only-rule-muslims-know-is-to-win-it-does-not-matter-how-all-rules/) [Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/) > [“Grief is an ambush. You’re walking along feeling fine, look down, see a leaf, and begin to weep. —Jack”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-shihab-nye/grief-is-an-ambush-you-re-walking-along-feeling-fine-look-down-see-a/) [Naomi Shihab Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-shihab-nye/) > [A wealthy traveller fears an ambush, while one with empty pockets journeys on in safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-wealthy-traveller-fears-an-ambush-while-one-with-empty-pockets/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [She is a mortal danger to all men. She is beautiful without knowing it, and possesses charms that she's not even aware of. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyrano-de-bergerac/she-is-a-mortal-danger-to-all-men-she-is-beautiful-without-knowing-it/) [Cyrano de Bergerac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyrano-de-bergerac/) > [In tennis the addict moves about a hard rectangle and seeks to ambush a fuzzy ball with a modified snow-shoe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-chaze/in-tennis-the-addict-moves-about-a-hard-rectangle-and-seeks-to-ambush/) [Elliott Chaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-chaze/) > [“He's prowling back and forth like a lion with distemper now. There's a shiny streak down one side of his face. "I shouldn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/he-s-prowling-back-and-forth-like-a-lion-with-distemper-now-there-s-a/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“If possible, always let the first members of an enemy patrol pass you by, then shoot the third or fourth man. Here again, laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-carss/if-possible-always-let-the-first-members-of-an-enemy-patrol-pass-you/) Bob Carss Browse all 66 Ambush quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I like pacifists and people who have a heavy emotional identification with deathism and war would probably call me a pacifist, but I am a non-invasivist rather than a non-violentist. That is, I believe that an invaded people have the right to defend themselves by any means necessary. This includes putting ground glass or poison in the invaders' food, shooting at them from ambush, sabotage, the general strike, armed revolution, etc. It's up to the invaded to decide which of these techniques they will use. 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