Bernardine Dohrn says in the movie, “There’s no way to be committed to non-violence in one of the most violent societies that history has ever created.”
Think back to what Thoreau said about taxes. The gist of it was that you’re implicated in a system–complicit some would say–that is violent. Similarly, the Weathermen consistently claim that the fact that atrocities were being committed IN THEIR NAME is what drove them to action. Recognizing one’s own status in the system seems to be a crucial step – what one does from there is up for debate (hint: for YOU to debate, since you’re in the system).
Is it possible to use non-violent tactics in a violent system? If so, what the limitations?
3 Comments
February 22, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Of course, non-violence is always an option in any system, but it is not the most efficient. Through living in a society that promotes violence it is hard to sit back and watch change happen with the absense of it. I believe that anymore, violence is expected and because many have become accustomed to it, they do not see the wrong doings in it at all. By using non-violent tactics in a violent system itself it is more of a challenge and often times harder to combat since the action is limited. Often times, non-violence builds up to violence because that is generally the only way people know how to handle an issue and the only way people get involved and take a stance.
February 27, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Yes it is possible to use non violent tactics, however it is extremely difficult. We see many cases of it working such as mlk. The problem is that our society, as we progress, becomes less and less patient. With mlk’s address, he was in jail and had nothing but time to protest with non violence. As free people, we want things done now. We see protests as 1) do i want to be doing this for decades and continue to be ignored? or 2) do i want a huge impact quickly, something so big that i can’t be ignored? In our society 99% of the people will pick 2. What limits us is our lacks of patience. Although it may take time, a non violent protest can gather millions of people and be as effective as a violent one, its just a matter of how much time we have
February 28, 2008 at 12:34 am
Yes, it is possible to use non-violence in such a violent society. Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement are evidence enough of this. I think that the time period that was the Civil Rights Movement, was one of the most dangerous and violent times. But many things were accomplished by using such tactics. I think that there are some limitations to using nonviolent tactics, some being the amount of time it takes to gain progress, as well limitations of the person who is acting non-violent. No matter how violently they are acted against, they must never respond in a violent manner.