Is violence the best way to protest? - published: 13/10/2023

Extract

[...] Is violence the best way to protest? We are currently witnessing a surge in popular unrest all across the world. In that regard has been a very busy year. Protests that sometimes turned violent have happened in many countries, including but not limited to France, Hong Kong, Lebanon, and Spain will probably be no different. These events raise the following question: is violence the best way to protest? To this question, most people would probably answer no without thinking, because they were taught that violence is not a solution in itself. [...]

[...] The question of the legitimacy of violence is a wrong one. Against the violence of governments and their repressive force, violence is of course legitimate. It should however neither be glorified (because it is not a solution in itself) nor demonized. It is just a tool, and should be considered as such. Its efficiency is limited, just like the efficiency of non-violent protest forms is limited: in general, common people engaged in political activism do not hold much power. The constant demonization of violence by governments and the mainstream media stops people from organizing themselves and forming strategies that, yes, may sometimes include violence. [...]

[...] Another argument is that violence divides the public, thus degrading the image of the protest and what it stands for. As we are about to see, these arguments can be refuted. The idea that police forces only become violent when they are attacked is a myth. There are countless instances of police agents being violent for no visible reason, from the American police officer shooting an unarmed kid to the French riot police mutilating helpless protesters. From this perspective, the use of political violence is just self-defense. [...]