From Reddit:
When people say ‘violence isn’t the answer’ my response is always ‘no, violence *shouldn’t* be the answer but it is’. When you look at the history of rights and benefits for everyday people, almost all significant progress is earned in blood.
People who hold power and who are unwilling to use it morally aren’t persuaded by arguments of fairness. They aren’t persuaded by ethics. They aren’t persuaded by the law. That’s all their own choice. What that means is that the only thing that moves the needle is the eminent threat of personal harm.
Look at healthcare companies suddenly forgiving medical debt the last few days. Do you think that’s because they all had a dream about being nice and decided to redistribute wealth? Fuck no, it’s because they’re suddenly terrified of being killed.
Women got voting through violence. Slavery was ended through violence. We have a weekend because labourers made their bosses choose between that and being killed. All of that was because no other form of change worked.
It’s not pro violence. It’s just that you cannot avoid any form of non violent responsibility, respond only to violence, and then be shocked when violence happens.
Cheers,
Ian
