reply to post by NadaCambia
The only peaceful protest that ever achieved its goal was the liberation of India, and most of us already know that story. I believe that was the only
successful protest that used peaceful measures simply because there has never been as much enthusiasm in the people to act as such. Back then, people
still had values and principles, and were convinced of their religions, and so such beliefs provided the foundation for their actions and their hopes.
Now in our times, principles and values are deteriorating, religion is a hoax, and as a result, people have little reason to form any meaning out of
their efforts unless it is for themselves, and preferably immediate, and with the least resistance.
Also, since then, there has not really been any inclusive majority that has followed a general movement, whether it be through peaceful means or
violent, only because there has not been someone or something that everyone can relate to and can find a medium to lay down their prejudice and unite
to strive for the promotion on that central aspect which is usually a universal value that all humans share, such as the Indians had Ghandi and their
nationality, unlike Americans who continue to distinguish entity form entity due to that intrinsic sense of individuality, as well as the societal
divisions that have always been present, whose breadth of division only seems to grow larger and larger. It is not necessarily things such as race
that are the division anymore, but ideologies. That is what I mean about Americans being intrinsically individualistic, because individuality is
probably are most prized characteristic, individuality in thought, and the arrogance to defend that thought. Not a bad thing, but no doubt unfortunate
and a great hindrance, probably the dead end wall that will destroy and hope for a revolution.
And it is always harder to cleanse oneself from within. India had a foreign pathogen wreaking havoc in their domestic cadaver, and none of them liked
it, except the minority of raja's. Here in the US, half the country may be able to look into the mirror and realize the need for the change, but the
other half just cannot accept it, and will probably curse even the slightest suggestion for it, because it change at such a large scale is
frightening. Since government never likes protests, they will utilize those initial divisions and cultivate it at the fastest and most productive (or
counter-productive) manner possible, and that is by employing the media and having them incite the ignorant to despise the aware. They do this by
playing the race card, religion, patriotism, duty, family, economy, regional differences, whatever they can say that will support the government
agenda over the people's, but that will use careful amounts of deceit to make people believe that they are actually fighting for their own agenda.
So peaceful protest is possible, and is just as effective as rioting. The problem, is that no one can, such as yourself, believes this, and therefore
nobody tries it. To go the peaceful route would take 100 times as much effort, and certainly 100 times more the discomfort, and would require 1000
times more participation than normal rioting needs, and that is just too much to ask of the modern American.
All I have to say to those who think peaceful protest is not effective, well, just think as to why Ghandi is who he is, why India is the largest
democracy, and that if it has been done before, it can be done again. This will sound very cliche, but all you have to do is believe it can be done,
and I don't see how it could not be.
Contradicting everything I have just said, violent protests are our only option. The youth of America play games about war, killing, and all other
acts of violence, not games about diplomacy and peace. People are inspired by what they know, and America's youth knows violence best. The sad part,
is that violence is completely futile. If Afghanistan or Iraq cannot free themselves from occupation, what makes you think you can? You'll all be
reverted to making bombs in fortified basements in the middle of forests. The government is just too powerful. And think, violent protest and rioting
would only result in anarchy, as does every democracy eventually result in, and if anarchy began to spread, then there would be chaos, and a real
revolution. Now if a country like the US, or any country for that matter swings toward revolution and violence, guess who is always there to clear
things up? The UN of course. You think we have only to deal with our government, when in reality we have the entire world to deal with if we start
making a mess of everything. So then you find that violence will only rise.
Violence isn't going to win us our country back. Unlike in the revolutionary days, we don't fight with the same equipment as our government.
Everything will eventually conclude in a massive violent spree though, that is for sure, but it won't have any good effect out of it, at least not for
the American citizen. Ten thousand lawyers and private detectives working specifically on ousting the current regime through the law could do better
than two million rioters with AK 47's and 6 magazines each. You can't fight a lawyer's accusations unless it is court, that is of course if the courts
are still just. By the time any of this ever happened though, we'd be under martial law, and once again, if that happened, and even if you believe
that our military would smarten up and protect the citizens against the government, a perceived military coup in the US would not appetizing to the
international community, so I would expect the international community to take action, the US being an anarchic and military state, with "domestic
terrorism" in full bloom, and nuclear to top it all off. That's what I think at least.
To say the very, very least.
edit on 10-12-2010 by asperetty because: (no reason given)
