History Main / Pacifist

* The SuicidalPacifist: This is the above as depicted by an author committed to the HardTruthAesop that ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer. The Suicidal Pacifist will continue to preach absolute non-violence while a fascist dictator next door openly declares his people an inferior race who must be immediately exterminated, and do so right up until the point that the bad guys drive a tank over him and laugh while they clean bits of him out of the treads.

* The MartialPacifist: Here is somebody who is ''extremely'' good at fighting, but unlike the ArrogantKungFuGuy, they use martial arts as a means of enhancing their life as opposed to destroying others. They are very big fans of discipline, and typically will only fight if there is absolutely no other option available. If you do manage to force one of them into fighting you, though, prepare to get owned. They ''will'' clean the floor with anybody foolish enough to corner them. Often overlaps with OldMaster. [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Iroh]] is a MartialPacifist, as is [[StreetFighter Dhalsim]]

* ThouShaltNotKill: This character recognizes that sometimes violence is necessary. He will try to avoid ''lethal'' violence, but if the need is great enough, he will directly kill. He won't like it, and will almost always have some sort of emotional backlash from it, ranging from angst to {{wangst}} to a HeroicBSOD. If he is forced to kill someone, he will honestly say "I killed him." {{Superman}} is a classic example of a a character who believes ThouShaltNotKill. Slippery Jim [=DiGriz=] of ''Literature/TheStainlessSteelRat'' is another. [[Series/DoctorWho The Doctor,]] who also DoesntLikeGuns, is, too.

* The SuicidalPacifist: This is the above as depicted by an author committed to the FamilyUnfriendlyAesop that ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer. The Suicidal Pacifist will continue to preach absolute non-violence while a fascist dictator next door openly declares his people an inferior race who must be immediately exterminated, and do so right up until the point that the bad guys drive a tank over him and laugh while they clean bits of him out of the treads.

* The TechnicalPacifist: This is the character who is willing to use non-lethal forms of violence or to allow someone else to die directly because of his inaction or indirectly because of his actions, but will not kill them directly. He will almost always be able to rationalize that "''I'' didn't kill him." although it may be a very flimsy rationalization. Batman is a TechnicalPacifist: "I won't kill you, but ''I don't have to save you.''"

A pacifist, by definition, is a person who is opposed to the use of violence to resolve disputes or gain advantages. It's really that simple.

* The ActualPacifist: This is the character who will not, under any circumstances, use any form of violence against another living being. {{Actual Pacifist}}s are vanishingly rare in fiction and rare in real life. The Jain religion of India advocates Actual Pacifism -- even insects are not to be killed, and face masks are often worn to reduce harm to airborne spores or passing bacteria.

* DoesntLikeGuns: Not really a pacifist at all, although some writers try to make them into one. The character is willing to use any form of violence ''except a gun''. In some cases, the definition of "gun" is rather conveniently narrow, excluding things like bazookas. Batman also DoesntLikeGuns. Many {{Retired Gunfighter}}s also fall into this category.

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No, it's not that simple. The opposition may be philosophical or pragmatic, it may be absolute or conditional. A philosophical pacifist holds the belief that violence is wrong, while a pragmatic pacifist objects to violence on the grounds that it's ineffective in the long run. An absolute pacifist believes that all violence is always to be avoided, a conditional pacifist believes that there are some situations in which it is acceptable (most often, in the protection of the life of another.) Some people consider the definition of pacifism to be "not killing" rather than "not using violence".

* ThouShaltNotKill: This character recognizes that sometimes violence is necessary. He will try to avoid ''lethal'' violence, but if the need is great enough, he will directly kill. He won't like it, and will almost always have some sort of emotional backlash from it, ranging from angst to {{wangst}} to a HeroicBSOD. If he is forced to kill someone, he will honestly say "I killed him." {{Superman}} is a classic example of a a character who believes ThouShaltNotKill. Slippery Jim [=DiGriz=] of ''TheStainlessSteelRat'' is another. [[Series/DoctorWho The Doctor,]] who also DoesntLikeGuns, is, too.

As a trope, though, pacifists basically fall into one of five categories, arranged here from most strict to most lenient.

* The BadassPacifist: While the TechnicalPacifist and the MartialPacifist are seen as cool because they are willing to use violence, but [[TheFettered still keep themselves under control]], the BadassPacifist is respected ''because'' of their strict anti-violence approach. [[MahatmaGandhi Gandhi]] and Martin Luther King, Jr. are both RealLife examples of this with their practices of ''active'' non-violent resistance in the face of brutal oppression and tyranny.

** The BadassPacifist: While the TechnicalPacifist and the MartialPacifist are seen as cool because they are willing to use violence, but [[TheFettered still keep themselves under control]], the BadassPacifist is respected ''because'' of their strict anti-violence approach. [[MahatmaGandhi Gandhi]] and Martin Luther King, Jr. are both RealLife examples of this with their practices of ''active'' non-violent resistance in the face of brutal oppression and tyranny.

As a trope, though, pacifists basically fall into one of six categories. four of the six are conditional-philosophical pacifists; three use the very narrow "Pacifism means not killing" definition.

* The MartialPacifist: Here is somebody who is ''extremely'' good at fighting, but unlike the ArrogantKungFuGuy, they use martial arts as a means of enhancing their life as opposed to destroying others. They are very big fans of discipline, and typically will only fight if there is absolutely no other option available. If you do manage to force one of them into fighting you, though, prepare to get owned. They ''will'' clean the floor with anybody foolish enough to corner them. Often overlaps with OldMaster. [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Iroh]] is a MartialPacifist, as is [[StreetFighter Dhalsim]]

* The BadassPacifist: While the TechnicalPacifist and the MartialPacifist are seen as cool because they are willing to use violence, but [[TheFettered still keep themselves under control]], the BadassPacifist is respected ''because'' of their strict anti-violence approach. [[MahatmaGandhi Gandhi]] and Martin Luther King, Jr. are both RealLife examples of this with their practices of ''active'' non-violent resistance in the face of brutal oppression and tyranny.

<<|CharacterizationTropes|>>

* The BadassPacifist: While the TechnicalPacifist and the MartialPacifist are seen as cool because they are willing to use violence, but [[TheFettered still keep themselves under control]], the BadassPacifist is respected ''because'' of their strict anti-violence approach. [[MahatmaGandhi Gandhi]] and Martin Luther King, Jr. are both RealLife examples of this.

* The MartialPacifist: Here is somebody who is ''extremely'' good at fighting, but unlike the ArrogantKungFuGuy, they use martial arts as a means of enhancing their life as opposed to destroying others. They are very big fans of discipline, and typically will only fight if there is absolutely no other option available. If you do manage to force one of them into fighting you, though, prepare to get owned. They ''will'' clean the floor with anybody foolish enough to corner them. Often overlaps with OldMaster. [[AvatarTheLastAirbender Iroh]] is a MartialPacifist, as is [[StreetFighter Dhalsim]]

* [=~Doesn't Like Guns~=]: Not really a pacifist at all, although some writers try to make them into one. The character is willing to use any form of violence ''except a gun''. In some cases, the definition of "gun" is rather conveniently narrow, excluding things like bazookas. Batman also [=~Doesn't Like Guns~=]. Many {{Retired Gunfighter}}s also fall into this category.

* ThouShaltNotKill: This character recognizes that sometimes violence is necessary. He will try to avoid ''lethal'' violence, but if the need is great enough, he will directly kill. He won't like it, and will almost always have some sort of emotional backlash from it, ranging from angst to {{wangst}} to a HeroicBSOD. If he is forced to kill someone, he will honestly say "I killed him." {{Superman}} is a classic example of a a character who believes ThouShaltNotKill. Slippery Jim [=DiGriz=] of ''TheStainlessSteelRat'' is another. [[DoctorWho The Doctor,]] who also DoesntLikeGuns, is, too.

* The BadassPacifist: While the TechnicalPacifist and the MartialPacifist are seen as cool because they are willing to use violence, but [[TheFettered still keep themselves under control]], the BadassPacifist is respected ''because'' of their strict anti-violence approach. Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. are both RealLife examples of this.

* ThouShaltNotKill: This character recognizes that sometimes violence is necessary. He will try to avoid ''lethal'' violence, but if the need is great enough, he will directly kill. He won't like it, and will almost always have some sort of emotional backlash from it, ranging from angst to {{wangst}} to a HeroicBSOD. If he is forced to kill someone, he will honestly say "I killed him." {{Superman}} is a classic example of a a character who believes ThouShaltNotKill. Slippery Jim [=DiGriz=] of ''TheStainlessSteelRat'' is another.