Author: Luc

Why did Rick Turner oppose violence?

Amid the increasing conflicts in 1970s’ South Africa, Rick Turner opposed violence. His philosophy was for personal awareness and working together to solve problems. “Turner’s project is, at its core, a transcendent one. It is ….
through a process of redemptive discourse, to render society transparent and thus to transform it” Greaves, Duncan. 1987. “Richard Turner and the Politics of Imagination”. Richard Turner Memorial Lecture, University of Natal Pietermaritzburg, 12 August. https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/archive-files2/theoaug87.pdf

Rick stated to Parliament: “I am not a pacifist. I believe that there are times when violence is justified,
against foreign invasion or against the domestic use of violence for tyrannical purposes. That is, I believe that it can be legitimate to resist violence with violence. However, I do not believe that the sort of situation
which would justify such a use of violence exists in South Africa”. Rick had lived through the ARM’s violent resistance of the early 1960s, involving several of his friends; “… in which disillusioned students tried sabotage, shattered their own and others’ lives, and did great damage to the cause they were fighting for …. It has made me aware of the crucial importance of providing them with meaningful ways of working peacefully for change”. https://rickturner.org/2026/01/25/letter-to-parliament-south-african-outlook-june-pp-84-87-1978-1974/