Pacifism

Here's a practical question: how do people survive as pacifists?

I've been one a long time, since childhood. It's a practical thing: I've got the personality for it. It's also a question of ethics for me: I'm a committed Buddhist & have also participated in unprogrammed Friends meetings.

However, I wonder how people survive in places that are hostile. I'm asking because I've been having a very hard time in the last year: I've been threatened & physically assaulted to the point that my roommate refers to my (private) blog as A.P.B.: "A-'s Police Blotter". (no, emily isn't a name!) Certainly modern Cali isn't the most dangerous place in history and yet I'm struggling with how to remain safe. What do nuns do in Asia?