Again, there were 3-4 million of us marching in the streets ten days ago without any brick throwers. Not a single arrest. So please go take your “all protests will inevitably turn violent and counterproductive” nonsense elsewhere.
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I’ve heard their arguments. Typically, it’s along the lines of “punching a nazi doesn’t serve the cause.” Not, “Punching a nazi is wrong.” and when they do say it’s wrong, they’re typically side-stepping the issue that this particular nazi wrote up a plan for eradicating the blacks, and equivocating onto a non-analogous situation. You know, post-modern absolute cultural relativism bullshit. Not every culture is morally acceptable. If your culture thinks that killing people because of something they can’t change about themselves is appropriate, then that culture is wrong.
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And you keep ignoring that the protest was violent.
By all means, continue. I’m just telling you, your message won’t get out with the violence and you can’t even keep the violence out of this thread. You got one person saying the violence is fine. How in the world are you going to keep it out of a large group? You can’t. Then your message is gone.
Yes, the protest in the linked thread ended up having some violence. And you keep saying that because this protest had some violence, and that because some protests attract violence, then all protests are worse than doing nothing. We’ve given you clear counter examples of peaceful protests. You haven’t changed your position. You are intellectually dishonest.
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And you seem to have declared something that has already happened (widespread peaceful protest) as a logistical and practical impossibility.
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Sorry for the Captain Obvious impression but:
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I’m thinking more along those that act as like, support crew. They might not be willing or capable but they can help those that are. Course, this is really for when the shit properly hits the fan, not for some college sit-in which I reckon would be best served by doing a load of pointing and laughing. But we talking theoretical cases and last resort here, so, ya know. 
…general aside…
But standing around with your thumb up your arse and sneering should never be an option unless you want to give your approval to dickheads like wossisname.
And if you really want to stop wankers from getting rowdy at protests when there’s no good cause to do so, then get your arse down there, join in and be the change. Both Protestors and Plod make the vibe of a protest and so have a dance party or something to defuse the aggro.
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We’ll see who’s intellectually dishonest. Are you promising that no future protests will turn violent?
We’ll see what the future brings as those you oppose hope you keep having protests. Whether you choose to believe it or not, those broken windows, looted stores, beaten people and fires speak much louder than you think they do, and not in your favor.
I can’t promise that you won’t get mugged on your way to work tomorrow. Better lock yourself in the basement and spend the day rocking back and forth in the corner just in case.
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Nope. I’m saying that non-violent protest is possible. And to me, that’s worth trying.
You on the other hand keep saying that protests will always be violent. Contrary to the evidence. And you haven’t yet backed up that claim. We’ve proven you wrong once, and yet you haven’t used evidence to back any claims.
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Very good point. The key to non-violent protest is organization, planning, and safe practice.
That’s what has worked before, at least.
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I have declared no such thing. You’ve given me one non-violent protest, and I’m sure there are more, but whether you choose to recognize it or not they are undermined by the violent protests. And as long as there are protests, there will be violence. Or are you promising that no future protest will turn violent?
You’re using an N of 1 to judge all future action.
That’s foolish.
Then you demonstrate some black-and-white thinking, by telling us that if we can’t be perfect, we’re just as bad as the worst. Which is also foolish.
Basically, your narrow-minded and shallow thinking is why racism persists.
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It won’t be worth trying if it turns out violent. It will set you back.
Like I said, defeatist bullshit.
The civil rights movement won desegregation in spite of violent elements.
What do people remember more? That MLK was an important and powerful non-violence advocating civil rights leader? Or that Malcolm X said that sometimes, when the nazis are coming for you, you gotta protect yourself and your community?
Did you never take a history class in school?
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Public protests are largely responsible for creating the momentum for women’s suffrage and labor rights and the civil rights movement and ending the Vietnam war.
Some protests turned violent. Many didn’t. Sometimes agents of the government used violence against the protesters (as in the Civil Rights movement or, more recently, at UC Davis). None of this negates the value of the protests or suggests that nonviolent protest is impossible.
I wonder if you have paused to consider that you’ve spent a good portion of the first day of African American History Month directly attacking the tactics that were largely responsible for the successes of the Civil Rights Movement. Would you have advised Dr. King to go home and do nothing because his marches had the potential to attract brick-throwers?
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“Whatever you do, don’t try! If you try there is the possibility of failure!”
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Ah, ad hominem. Nice.
No, I’m not using one protest. There have been many violent protests. Many.
I’m not saying all future protests will be violent. I’m saying future protests will be violent. Some will, some won’t. The violent ones will hurt your message more than the non-violent ones will help.
There are other ways to speak your mind. It’s not worth the risk of violence to do so in a protest environment. It’s risk vs reward.
We already have historical evidence proving that false in the long-run. And even in medium to short timescales as well.
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