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To vastly oversimplify--and without claiming sympathy or membership in any specific philosophy or attempting to offend ANYONE--let's say there are (only) two schools of pacifism. One (we'll call it "peaceful resistance") is designed to a degree to play to a larger, viewing public outside/beyond the violent oppressor and pacifist oppressed. The idea is to make the aggressor look atrocious and the pacifists sympathetic. An element of stubbornness is necessary at core of this school. The peaceful resistor must sit and take violent abuses in order to *be seen* taking them, hopefully setting the stage for sympathetic outside pressure/blowback directed at their aggressors. In the best of cases, this outside pr ends the violence.

The other (we'll call it "categorical violence avoidance") has less (or no) overt concern with outside pressures, perspectives, or input. Rather, it simply dictates avoiding all violence. Period. It's not about others, it's about self. When violence reared its ugly head, these folks have bravely turned their backs and fled.

The vocally pacifist fuzzies in this ep made it repeatedly clear they neither had nor desired an outside audience--let alone any assistance *from* that audience. Thus, they seem to believe in "violence avoidace" This perspective is, in fact, supported within the first 30 minutes of the ep; we're told the fuzzies originally moved to this planet as a means of avoiding the encroaching war on their home planet. (Of course, relying on Lucas to remain consist and continuity-conscious within even a 60 minute block of time is a bit silly, I realize.) Given that the fuzzies had already moved away from a *planet* to avoid war and violence, why not simply move *again*? They need not even leave the planet this time. Simply pick up and roll away (btw, dumbest means of locomtion ever; dizzy much?) from the Seps, and they avoid violence. Given the size of their population, the size of the Sep forces, and the huge big-sky landscape pictured around the characters, one assumes the planet is spacious enough from them to stay out of reach and hold true to their principles for quite some time. (At worst, move into some of those seed-trees. No need to be violent. Who's going to try and surround *those* things with troops?)

Unfortunately, these fuzzes stubbornly stood their ground--like passive resistance-types--and took a beating. But then they simultaneously professed no interest in the Seps, the Republic, or any outside audience to the conflict. In the end, this appeared inconsistent, and less pacifist than stupidly self-loathing and sadistic.

Then again, why am I looking for *any* reasoned perspective on pacifism from a space-opera helmed by Lucas?

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Conversely, the Swiss chose the motto

"When surrounded by war, one must eventually choose a currency."

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