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phrase

Turn the Other Cheek

Respond to aggression with non-retaliation.

Origin

From the Sermon on the Mount: 'If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.' One of the clearest articulations of nonviolent resistance in Western thought, later picked up by Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

Modern usage

Sometimes admiringly (true forbearance), sometimes mockingly (weakness). Always loaded.

Tags

nonviolence
ethics

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