There are those who value, "pacifism" as a virtue and base their life's philosophy and actions (or inaction) around it.
-I will refrain from making any personal judgment towards them or their beliefs from a standpoint of perceived imbalance (superiority, inferiority or otherwise).
The sole aim here is to point out that a true pursuit of, "non-violence" to the degree that it becomes a dogma, serves against the very perceived intended aim it purports to achieve.
Consider this scenario-
There is a family of five: Husband, Wife, 3 Children.
On a quiet evening, someone kicks the door down intent on ransacking the house -killing the inhabitants, or beating and leaving them for dead.
There is a chance for the Father to inflict crippling force on the assailant, but he refuses to engage based on his adherence to the cult of Pacifism.
By failing to dispatch the violent offender with an appropriate measure of violence in turn, at least 5 people have been destroyed.
The aggressor gets his way, and will ultimately move on to another dwelling, perpetuating more violence as long as he is allowed.
Had the pacifist destroyed the assailant, only one person would be dispatched-
-This would be mathematically congruent with his beliefs, but in order to achieve that end, he would have to perform an action that seemingly cuts in direct opposition to them.
There is no, "one way" to go-
-We are all alive and breathing in a symphonic world.
To discard nuance and dimension, is to willingly adopt the pervasive blindness -born from ignorance, that ultimately escorts it's subject into the depths of tragedy.
Even a mad killer can potentially destroy a budding psychopath -one whom might otherwise have risen to power and committed genocide, at some point in his life.
In this case, even the flat-out murderer may unwittingly save a generation.
So what's left then?
If every tool remains on the table and the mind remains objective, each individual character will choose their personal method and execution of solving every problem, according to conscience in the harmonious flow of time.
There is no room for concrete dogma in the life of a self-aware, sovereign entity.
Remember,
"All is medicine and all is poison... What distinguishes one from the other is merely the dose."
-Adam.