The evolution of violence in protest

[timotee_allouch-chantepie]

TH9 is the polar opposite of Ghandian “passive resistance”. It calls for a violent response to the various acts of racism suffered by Bangladeshis in the UK during the race riots of 1993. With lyrics such as “Give the fascist man a gunshot // That's the only way”, there’s a clear shift from the non-violence which we often attach to the decolonization of the old British Raj. However, different contexts, in the UK and in the broader world serve to explain why some find this shift to be necessary to combat racism and exclusion, especially when the other side does not show this kind of restraint.

When I think of this shift, I see the parallel with the American Civil Rights Movement, with this great debate on non-violence, encouraged by MLK Jr, and the violence, encouraged by Malcom X. The parallel is clear in TH9 with the lyrics “Police doing nothing: // One rule for Black // Another for the White.”
By drawing this parallel, we see how this shift from non-violent forms of protests to their violent counterpart is a far more global phenomenon. I think that this is due to growing frustration and impatience of the oppressed, who through the progress of non violent resistance have grown increasingly more aware of the persistence of the systemically racist global order. While non violence can yield in results, and often provide a more stable and peaceful outcome, they can be painfully slow and long to endure for the oppressed. The 1990’s were in a way a culmination of this frustration, as can notably be seen with the heavily mediatized LA riots, which burst into a new era of protests.

[nickolas_mazza]

Something often overlooked about Non-Violent Protest is that it only works if the Oppressor is willing to listen to the Oppressed, which very often is just not realistic. Non-Violence is a slow form of protest at best, as you've mentioned, but in the worst case it might not ever make a difference. There are just some forms of Oppression where Non-Violence doesn't work, such as when "negotiating" with Fascists. As said in TH9, there is ..."only one language that Fascist understand": Violence.

When dealing with an Oppressor who ONLY deals in violence, Non-Violent protest does little but make the Oppressed an easy target. This is why, I believe, that the issue of Police Brutality has existed since the concept of a police force was first conceived and still exists, unsolved, to this day. The Police, as a concept, have the monopoly on violence within a society. At their core, the language spoken by the Police is violence. Not a single police force is interested in releasing its grasp on this monopoly, and not a single government is interested in giving up its most trusted way of controlling its populace. Non-Violent resistance to the police has been going on for decades, if not centuries, with little to show, which is the single biggest weakness for non-violent activism.

[lyna_rochdi]

When I was little I used to hate marches. Climate march, women’s march… I didn’t see the point of standing in the cold and chanting. To be honest I still struggle with this in certain instances. But in the case of BLM, I thought it was very interesting because protestors were directly coming into contact with what they were protesting against: cops.

Kundani speaks on the role of the state as complicit in exacerbating social divisions. Because of a misdiagnosis of social issues that results in racist rethoric, more cops are placed in “dangerous” neighborhoods instead of more money being poured into those communities to fix the root of the problem. Cops are also given little training and are therefore ill equipped to deal with delicate situations It is the states role to address these root issues. The police force is essentially a gang with its origins being traced back to the slave patrol. Their only job was to squash slave uprisings.
In “Th9” , the 2nd line says “the beast can’t catch me” but they are referring to the police and not the people which exemplifies how a protecting force actually harms

So we have this dichotomy of speaking out and being silenced. But the ironic nature is that it is state imposed and funded silence in a democracy that is supposed to let all voices speak. Another lyric is “Only one language that the fascist understands” which reminds me of a certain someone who can’t seem to get out of my mind. It’s interesting to think about the framing of the oppressed. People rise up because they think a great injustice has been done. “Enough is enough”. But what happens when some believe they are morally right, but in truth they are factually wrong. Ex: Jan 6th insurrection.