• lennivelkant@discuss.tchncs.de
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      5 months ago

      Peaceful protests build the sense of consensus and unity. Violent solutions can’t succeed without both popular support and enough participants to make a difference, but if everybody’s scared of standing alone they’re doomed. Sudden upheaval is likely to make more people oppose the change, because most people like stability.

      Peaceful protests that get gradually more frustrated are more likely to support more drastic measures than a sudden upheaval. Whether or not you believe peaceful protests will fix anything, they’re the best solution that’s viable right now.

      • BuckenBerry@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Peaceful protests are really only effective if they are seen as an alternative to more militant groups.

        Martin Luther King non violence wouldn’t have been that popular if it wasn’t seen as an alternative for Malcolm X’s more radical ideology.

        I’m pretty sure something similar occurred with the suffrage movement but I didn’t remember the details.