Non-violence excuses the violent nature of the capitalist system and is counter productiive and useless within social struggles. Grow up!

the person above is right. Pacifism means that you are allowing State violence so non-violence ends up with violence. anyway this white middle class liberal hippy bullshit will get us no where.

Non-violent protest has a long and effective history in both anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist struggles, as well as in movements of national liberation, anti-racist struggles, etc. Gandhi, MLK and Aung San Suu Kyi, and the millions of people who followed their examples and got the crap beat out of them for their various visions of social change, did manage to do rather a lot of good.

I'm not sure why the Emperor Palpatine is up there with the rest of them, though. Who is that on the right?

"Cost of participation, including dinner on saturday night - £20 (concessions)"

As a doley I'm meant to starve for a week to have the pleasure of a dinner party with you ? Economic violence is still violence you hyporcrites. You are just mugging people for your sophistry and I hope you get mugged on the way to your slap-up.

Can we have a few more workshops posted please and a few less social events ?

Why is a representative of Dalai Lama's there? Dalai Lama recently this year endorsed animal experimentation based on the "best for sentient beings" argument while dining on a nice, lambs leg.

Hello above writer! Glad you posed some points ! They are common arguments against non-violence and stem from people who haven't had time to think it through - here you go -

"Pacifism means that you are allowing State violence so non-violence ends up with violence."

Pacificism is not non-violence. The 2 realms are miles apart. Non-violence is the practice of assertively forcing someone's hand but not inflicting any damage onto that person. It is standing up and making a very direct confrontational statement. Most European activism is non-violent - blockades, tree-sits, occupations, rebel clowning, samba.

The state will always outgun us. But we can always outsmart the behemoth it is.

" anyway this white middle class liberal hippy bullshit will get us no where. "

I wonder what martin luther king would say to you're description of his work as "white middle class liberal hippy". Ha ha - don't you see, it's the white middle class liberals who are most supportive of Blair and his regime. Supportive through apathy and fear.

Remember please, the cops and soldiers we confront ARE NOT the enemy. They are pawns in the game and the rulers care very little for these disposables. But to practice non-violent confrontation is to go directly to that soldier or that cop and force that person to think about the consequences of their actions. You cannot make someone think your way whilst there is a threat of violence! Every time I confront a copper, he or she apologises with "i'm sorry, i'm just doing my job."

The only way to win this world back from the destructive powers now in control is for the soldier and police pawns to disobey their orders. We can only encourage this, we can only engage with them if they know they are physically safe.

thanks for reading

a white middle class liberal hippy - not!

x

I agree with NVDAer. Why follow the example of the state by using violence?
Let's be more imaginative.

White working class Hippy - Yes (and proud)!

I read somewhere - I think it is some handbook made by Faslane365, that the State authorities will always have more violence at their disposal than the protesters, so a violent demonstration would easly get smashed (although it's usually the police etc that start the violence in the first place, protesters merely having to act in self-defence).

But yeah, why stoop down to the level of the State?

Non-violent middle-class (well technically underclass but my views lump me in with the middle class in the eyes of most) hippy "scumbag" and proud.

I respect your comment that cops are not the enemy but I'm sure if you saw the gusto and over-enthusiasm to which the Metropolitan Police direct towards the more violent(and in most cases illegal) aspects of their work, specifically AGAINST political criminals(and more specifically against those protesting against genocide), you would start to see another side.