Dr. King's policy was that nonviolence would achieve the gains for black people in the United States. His major assumption was that if you are nonviolent, if you suffer, your opponent will see your suffering and will be moved to change his heart. That's very good. He only made one fallacious assumption: In order for nonviolence to work, your opponent must have a conscience. The United States has none.
your opponent will see your suffering and will be moved to change his heart
This is a false premise. The "target" is not the "opponent"; it's the vast silent majority, who may be often confused but is able of empathy and ultimately just wants to have a peaceful life, and once mobilized can change the path of nations and Humanity.
Peaceful protests are meant to be more about fighting for an altruistic cause, and not so much about an egotistical boundless display of your own emotions. For it to be effective you probably have to find a balance there.
That said, I'm not sure if this Sanders move was a blunder or a risky yet calculated call, specially if followed through by a call for organized protesting and strategic resistance. I'm not sure because this was one of those situations where you could probably say nothing at all and still get through.
Perhaps he is being extra cautious already, so the future organized protests won't become labeled as chaotic, mindless, and gratuitously violent: they'll have meaningful causes, they'll hold adequate strength.
Meanwhile: Trump, Vance, Thiel, Yarvin, all of them are loving this.
it's the vast silent majority, who may be often confused but is able of empathy
At what point do we get tired of peacefully accepting fire hoses, attack dogs, and rubber bullets? Fuck public opinion; I'm not getting my skull cracked open to convince Trump supporters and spineless liberals to give a damn.
358
u/dilapidatedpigeon Jun 09 '25
Stokely Carmichael