(no subject)
Now that we're readying to bomb a new country and calling it peace, now that I've come back from the debate between Crimethinc and Chris Hedges, I bring you an offering:
The Illegitimacy of Violence and Violence of Legitimacy
In this state of affairs, there is no such thing as nonviolence-the closest we can hope to come is to negate the harm or threat posed by the proponents of top-down violence. And when so many people are invested in the privileges this violence affords them, it’s naïve to think that we could defend ourselves and others among the dispossessed without violating the wishes of at least a few bankers and landlords. So instead of asking whether an action is violent, we might do better to ask simply: does it counteract power disparities, or reinforce them?
The Illegitimacy of Violence and Violence of Legitimacy
In this state of affairs, there is no such thing as nonviolence-the closest we can hope to come is to negate the harm or threat posed by the proponents of top-down violence. And when so many people are invested in the privileges this violence affords them, it’s naïve to think that we could defend ourselves and others among the dispossessed without violating the wishes of at least a few bankers and landlords. So instead of asking whether an action is violent, we might do better to ask simply: does it counteract power disparities, or reinforce them?