The peaceful majority are most definitely not irrelevant

In recent weeks I have heard and read a lot about violence around the world.  In much of the coverage there is an emphasis on the particular religious sect that the different “sides” of these conflicts represent.  I have also read posts on social media issued by “nationalist” organisations relating to the threat posed by radicals and extremists.  Many people I know have found they recognise and resonate with sentiments issued by these organisations, particularly when they focus on human rights abuses in the name of religion or support for troops involved in peace keeping activities.

One piece being shared on social media really struck a chord with me and I felt compelled to write in response.  In it someone refers to the "peaceful majority" and goes on to explain that the peaceful majority are irrelevant.  That in times of war the peaceful majority stand by as those with weapons commit atrocities, carry out ethnic cleansing and abuse human rights as they wish, unchallenged.  This is an idea which has been in circulation for a number of years thanks to an old blog piece and which was re-hashed in a recent, frequently shared, video piece.

Now if this really was the case, would we not all have been blown to pieces in some nuclear armageddon sixty years ago? Would the course of the Second World War have not been very different or would there not still be a large barrier between the two halves of Berlin? If the peaceful majority had not stood up and been counted surely some crazed leader, bent on world domination, would have been able to “push the red button” and we’d all have been consigned to geological history some time ago.

So I have started a blog where I hope to discuss the many and varied ways the peaceful majority can challenge violence, abusive behaviour, bullying, disrespectful words and actions.  It’s the small, day to day stuff that often passes by unnoticed but which shapes our attitudes and the behaviours we find socially acceptable, or not.  Please join in and comment or highlight interesting links to similar themes that I can feature here...