The Limits of Peaceful Resistance

A few weeks ago (29 September 2010) I attended a lecture by Colman McCarthy. The posters and his Wikipedia page describe him as “an American journalist, teacher, lecturer, pacifist, an anarchist and long-time peace activist.” I was intrigued as to why an anarchist was speaking at Middlebury since there is no doubt that anarchy is an under represented viewpoint on this campus. I was also confused as to why the Newman club (a Catholic organization) was bringing an anarchist, but my views on religion and anarchy are the topic for a different paper.

Colman McCarthy’s speech was entitled “How to be a Peacemaker: Nonviolence in a Time of War.” The main point that I took away was that it is impossible to cultivate a culture of peace in a society that celebrates its war heroes and barely gives a footnote to its peacemakers. Sure, every American student knows about Martin Luther King Jr. and how he preached nonviolent civil disobedience, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge on peaceful figureheads. Chances are if you do not actively research peacemakers you could not name (m)any, yet if you were asked to name one war hero or authoritarian who used violence or describe who Robert E. Lee is, you most likely could.

So, what to do? McCarthy suggests that “Peace studies” should be taught starting in elementary school. I agree, peace should be taught, and I think that would be a positive thing for society as a whole. But I also think peace has its limits like everything else. Eventually people will be in a situation where they realize peace does not cut it anymore, no matter what they’ve been taught. And while I’d never advocate actively trying to hurt other people, I do think there is power in violence. That is, I believe there is power in violence that manifests itself against objects and symbols of oppression.

For instance, think about resistance to police brutality. I don’t think nonviolent action will do much to counteract a force that has authority over everyone yet indiscriminately uses violence to exert that authority. If you speak your mind about the true evils of the police force and our prison system, you will face police repression varying in severity from being handcuffed, fined, and held for a night in prison, all the way up to being beaten, potentially shot, by the cops. And that’s in our own country, where we supposedly have the right to free speech.  In other countries with more extreme versions of the police state, repression is worse, and a daily occurrence. Do you think nonviolent resistance to the police state in these places could bring about meaningful change? I highly doubt it.

When the cops are using violence left and right, be it in the form of a “nonlethal” taser, a good ol’ fashioned beating, or using their guns, it is hard to remain peaceful. Sure, the fact that a large proportion of the population has a phone with a camera on it and knowing that if they fuck up there will probably be a video of them on the internet within a few hours may keep some officers in check, but it certainly does not solve the problem. Often, people take to the streets and protest in nonviolent ways against things such as police brutality, and it gets no media coverage. Only those who search it out find it. Generally it’s not until the protesters severely outweigh the oppressors or until they start rioting that mainstream media will cover it. Often, the cops will provoke the violence and the media will spin it so the protestors look like the evildoers. This is when things get too radical for mainstream media and society; individuals and groups start burning cop cars, vandalizing police stations, and prisons (for example). This gets their message heard, albeit with some negative media spin. And this is where I come to an internal struggle: does the negative coverage outweigh the symbolic power of a cop car on fire?

I realize this is a bit convoluted and vague. I’m trying to think about this issue in the vaguest terms, trying to figure out if some general rule applies. I do not have an answer. I sincerely wish that peace could solve everything, but I know that is not possible. Not as long as those in power who are supposed to “protect and serve” have guns, batons, tasers, and other tools of violence at their disposal. What I do know is that seeing photos of a destroyed police station gives me hope. It shows me that people are as fed up with the tools of oppression as I am, and probably more. It shows me that if the police are going to be a violent force, they’re going to have to deal with the consequences that our judicial system cannot suppress.

the GADFLY