Non-violence is the practice of standing against a government, a law, or an injustice without hitting, shooting, or otherwise using force that hurts people. The classic picture is refusing to obey an unfair law, marching, sitting still, striking, speaking out, and accepting arrest rather than answering with blows. It is a method, and often a belief — not only a calm mood. Someone can feel very angry and still choose non-violence. Though actually, people use the word a little loosely. Teachers of the idea, such as Gandhi and later civil-rights leaders, mean more than “do not punch”: they mean you do not destroy, humiliate, or secretly wish for harm either. In everyday news talk, non-violence often just means “the protest stayed peaceful.” It is a serious public word, more at home in history, politics, and moral talk than in a quarrel in the playground.