Letter imposed PDF - The Anarchist Library

96 Pages·2009·0.53 MB·English

theyuseacarrot-and-stickapproachtoherdsuchmovements
intofullypeaceful,legal,andineffectivechannels.Nonviolent
groups may be subjected to beatings, but such groups are not
targeted for elimination (except by regressive governments How Nonviolence Protects
or governments facing a period of emergency that threatens
the State
theirstability).
On the other hand, the state treats militant groups (those
same groups pacifists deem ineffective) as actual threats and
attempts to neutralize them with highly developed counterin-
surgencyanddomesticwarfareoperations.Hundredsofunion Peter Gelderloos
organizers,anarchists,communists,andmilitantfarmerswere
killed in the anti-capitalist struggles of the late 19th and early
20th centuries. During the last generation’s liberation strug-
gles,FBI-supportedparamilitarieskilledsixtyAmericanIndian
Movement (AIM) activists and supporters on the Pine Ridge
Reservation alone, and the FBI, local police, and paid agents
killeddozensofmembersoftheBlackPantherParty,Republic
ofNewAfrika,theBlackLiberationArmy,andothergroups.4
Vast resources were mobilized toward infiltrating and
destroying militant revolutionary organizations during the
COINTELPRO era. Any hint of militant organizing by colo-
nized peoples, Puerto Ricans, and others within US territorial
purview still incurs violent repression. Prior to September 11,
the FBI had named the saboteurs and arsonists of the Earth
Liberation Front (ELF) and Animal Liberation Front (ALF) as
thegreatestdomesticterrorismthreats,eventhoughthesetwo
groupshadkilledexactlyzeropeople.Evensincethebombings
oftheWorldTradeCenterandthePentagon,theELFandALF
have remained priorities for government repression, as seen
in the arrests of over a dozen alleged ELF/ALF members; the
4Two good books about the COINTELPRO repression ate Churchill
andVanderWall’sAgentsofRepressionandAbu-Jamal’sWeWantFreedom.
Onsimilarrepressionabroad,readWilliamBlum,KillingHope:USMilitary
2007
andCIAInterventionssinceWorldWarII(Monroe,Maine:CommonCourage
Press,1995).
64
are playing into the hands of the state. Although in some in-
stances the US government has used infiltrators to encourage
resistance groups to hoard weapons or plan violent actions
(forexample,inthecasesoftheMollyMaguiresandJonathan
Jackson’s attempted courthouse strike3), a critical distinction
must be made. The government only encourages violence
whenitissurethattheviolencecanbecontainedandwillnot
getoutofhand.Intheend,causingamilitantresistancegroup
to act prematurely or walk into a trap eliminates the group’s
potential for violence by guaranteeing an easy life sentence
or allowing authorities to sidestep the judicial process and
killofftheradicalsmorequickly,Onthewhole,andinnearly
all other instances, the authorities pacify the population and
discourageviolentrebellion.
There is a clear reason for this. Contrary to the fatuous
claimsofpacifiststhattheysomehowempowerthemselvesby
cutting out the greater part of their tactical options, govern-
mentseverywhererecognizethatunconstrainedrevolutionary
activism poses the greater threat of changing the distribution
of power in society. Though the state always reserves the
right to repress whomever it wishes, modern “democratic”
governments treat nonviolent social movements with revo-
lutionary goals as potential, rather than actual, threats. They
spy on such movements to stay aware of developments, and
3ChurchillandVanderWall,AgentsofRepression,94–99,64–77.In
thecaseofJonathanJackson,itseemsthattheFBIandpoliceinstigatedthe
entireplotinanattempttoassassinatethemostmilitantCaliforniaPanthers.
Theyencouragedahostage-takingattheMarinCountycourthouse,butonly
becausetheywerepreparedwithalargeteamofsharpshootersreadytoneu-
tralizethemilitants.Yet“nottakingthebait”(thisphraseisusedasthough
alladvocatesofmilitancyareprovocateurs—adangerous,andpotentially
violent, charge that has been leveled against many) will not keep anyone
safe.FBIinformerWilliamO’NealencouragedtheIllinoisPanthers,whom
hehadinfiltrated,totakepartinsuchbizarreplotsasobtainingnervegas
oranairplanetobombcityhall.Whentheywouldnot,theFBIwentahead
andassassinatedPantherleadetFredHamptonanyway.
63
Nonviolence is Statist Contents
Putquiteplainly,nonviolenceensuresastatemonopolyon Introduction 7
violence. States — the centralized bureaucracies that protect
capitalism; preserve a white supremacist, patriarchal order; NonviolenceisIneffective 13
and implement imperialist expansion — survive by assuming
NonviolenceisRacist 35
theroleofthesolelegitimatepurveyorofviolentforcewithin
their territory. Any struggle against oppression necessitates
NonviolenceisStatist 62
a conflict with the state. Pacifists do the state’s work by
pacifying the opposition in advance.1 States, for their part, NonviolenceisPatriarchal 86
discourage militancy within the opposition, and encourage
passivity. NonviolenceisTacticallyandStrategicallyInferior 106
Somepacifistsobscurethismutualrelationshipbyclaiming
that the government would just love to see them abandon NonviolenceisDeluded 148
their nonviolent discipline and give in to violence, that the
The Alternative: Possibilities for Revolutionary
government even encourages violence from dissidents, and
Activism 171
that many activists urging militancy are, in fact, government
provocateurs.2Thus,theyargue,itisthemilitantactivistswho
1OnFebruary9,2006,amemberofthenonviolentgroupSOAWatch
(which attracts support from a range of groups, from progressives to an-
archists) suggested on an e-mail list that because police had been dealing
withtheannualdemonstrationoutsideFortBenninginGeorgiamoreaggres-
sivelyinrecentyears,thegroupshouldmovethedemonstrationintosome
publicplaceawayfromthemilitarybasetoavoidconfrontation.Hewrote,
“Whereverpolarizationtakesplace,it’stime,inmyopinion,forthepeace
campaign to re-evaluate its tactics. Relationships are at the core of peace-
making.‘We’and‘Them’canleadultimatelytowar.‘Us’hasabetterchance
forachievingnegotiable(nonviolent)solutionsandcanleadultimatelytoa
cultureofpeace.”
2Inonerecentexample,flyersbeingpassedoutbythethousandsat
theprotestsagainstthe2004RepublicanNationalConventionclaimedthat
anyoneadvocatingviolencewaslikelyapoliceagent.
62 3
ally abandoned by large portions of the grassroots in favor of
moremilitanttactics.Theuseofnonviolencetopreservewhite
privilege,withinthemovementorsocietyatlarge,isstillcom-
montoday.
Oninspection,nonviolenceprovestobetangledupwithdy-
namics of race and power. Race is essential to our experience
of oppression and of resistance. A long standing component
of racism has been the assumption that Europeans, or Euro-
peansettlersonothercontinents,haveknownwhatisbestfor
peopletheyconsidered“lesscivilized.”Peoplefightingagainst
racismmustunmistakablyendthistraditionandrecognizethat
theimperativeforeachcommunitytobeabletodetermineits
own form of resistance based on its own experiences leaves
anyprioritygiventopacifisminthedust.Furthermore,thefact
thatmuchoftheviolencefacedbypeopleofcoloraroundthe
world originates in the power structure that privileges white
people should lend white people greater urgency in pushing
theboundariesforthelevelofmilitancythatisconsideredac-
ceptableinwhitecommunities.Inotherwords,forthoseofus
who are white, it becomes our duty to build our own militant
culture of resistance, and, contrary to the role of teacher his-
torically self-appointed to white people, we have a great deal
to learn from the struggles of people of color. White radicals
musteducateotherwhitepeopleaboutwhypeopleofcolorare
justifiedinrebellingviolentlyandwhywetooshoulduseadi-
versity of tactics to free ourselves, struggle in solidarity with
allwhohaverejectedtheirplaceasthelackeysorslavesofthe
elite,andendtheseglobalsystemsofoppressionandexploita-
tion.
61
isaprivilegedpractice,onethatcomesoutoftheexperiences Andtheysaythatthebeauty’sinthestreetsbutwhenIlook
of white people, and it does not always make sense for peo- arounditseemsmorelikedefeat—DefianceOhio
ple without white privilege or for white people attempting to
destroythesystemofprivilegeandoppression.
Manypeopleofcolorhavealsousednonviolence,whichin
certain circumstances has been an effective way to stay safe
in the face of violent discrimination, while seeking limited re-
formsthatdonotultimatelychangethedistributionofpower
insociety.Theuseofnonviolencebypeopleofcolorhasgener-
allybeenacompromisetoawhitepowerstructure.Recogniz-
ingthatthewhitepowerstructurepreferstheoppressedtobe
nonviolent,somepeoplehavechosentousenonviolenttactics
to forestall extreme repression, massacres, or even genocide.
Movementsofpeopleofcolorpeacefullypursuingrevolution-
arygoalshavetendedtouseaformofnonviolencethatisless
absolute, and more confrontational and dangerous, than the
kind of nonviolence preserved in North America today. And
even then, the practice of nonviolence is often subsidized by
whitesinpower,41 usedbywhitedissidentsorgovernmentof-
ficialstomanipulatethemovementfortheircomfort,andusu-
41Belinda Robnett points out that by becoming more militant and
adopting a Black Power ideology, previously nonviolent groups such as
SNCC “led liberal financial supporters [presumably mostly white] to stop
contributing.”Thislossofmainstreamfundingledinparttothecollapseof
theorganization(Robnett,HowLong? 184–186).Robnett,however,equates
theabandonmentofnonviolencewithmachismo.Reflectingheracademic
status(asasociologyprofessorintheUniversityofCaliforniasystem),she
blursthelinebetweenFBI-paidprovocateursadvocatingsexismwithinthe
movement(forexample,RonKarenga)andlegitimateactivistsadvocatingin-
creasedmilitancy,orlegitimateactivistswhodid,infact,confusemilitancy
withmachismo.ShealsomentionsthatAngelaDaviscomplainedaboutbe-
ingcriticizedbymilitantblacknationalists“fordoinga‘man’sjob’”(Robnett,
HowLong? 183),butsheneglectstomentionthatDaviswashighlyinfluen-
tialinadvocatingmilitantstruggle.Robnettalsoseemstoneglectmention-
inghowproblematicitiswhengroupswithsuchradicalagendasasracial
equalityarenotself-sustainingandinsteadrelyonthesupportofthefederal
governmentandwhitedonors.
60 5
ThisbookisdedicatedtoSueDaniels(1960–2004),abrilliant ferred because of how costly it would have been for the gov-
ecologist,boldfeminist,passionateanarchist,andbeautifuland ernmenttomurderaffluentwhitepeopleinthemidstofallthe
caring human being who nurtured and challenged everyone dissensionspurredbyheavylossesinVietnam),conscientious
around her. Your bravery and wisdom continue to inspire me, pacifists ignored the brutalization, imprisonment, and assassi-
andinthatwayyourspiritremainsindomitable… nationofBlackPanthers,AmericanIndianMovementactivists,
…and to Greg Michael (1961–2006), who embodied health, and others. Worse still, they encouraged the state repression
asawholenessofbeingandanindefatigablequestagainstthe andclaimedthattherevolutionariesdeserveditbyengagingin
poisonsofourworld,evenintheunhealthiestofcircumstances. militant resistance. (Nowadays, they are claiming that the lib-
Fromabagofraisinsstolenfromtheprisonkitchentotheun- erationists’ultimatedefeat,whichpacifistsfacilitated,isproof
foldingofmemoryonamountaintop,thegiftsyouhavegiven oftheineffectivenessofliberationists’tactics.)Reveredpacifist
meareasalveandaweapon,andtheywillstaywithmeuntil DavidDellingeradmitsthat“oneofthefactorsthatinducesse-
thelastprisonisapileofrubble. rious revolutionaries and discouraged ghetto-dwellers to con-
SpecialthankstoMegan,Patrick,Carl,Gopal,andSueD.for clude that nonviolence is incapable of being developed into a
proofreadingorgivingmefeedback,andtoSueF.,James,Iris, method adequate to their needs is this very tendency of paci-
Marc,Edi,Alexander,Jessica,Esther,andeveryonewhocame fists to line up, in moments of conflict, with the status quo.”38
totheworkshopsforcriticismvaluabletothissecondedition. DavidGilbertconcludesthat“failuretodevelopsolidaritywith
theBlackandotherliberationstruggleswithintheUS(Native
American, Chicano/Mexican, Puerto Rican) is one of the sev-
eralfactorsthatcausedourmovementtofallapartinthemid-
70s.”39MumiaAbu-Jamalquestions,werewhiteradicals“really
readytoembarkonarevolution,onethatdidnotprizewhite-
ness?”40
At first, nonviolence seems like a clear moral position that
has little to do with race. This view is based on the simplistic
assumptionthatviolenceisfirstandforemostsomethingthat
we choose. But which people in this world have the privilege
to choose violence, and which people live in violent circum-
stances whether they want to or not? Generally, nonviolence
38DavidDellinger,“TheBlackRebellions,”inRevolutionaryNonviolence:
EssaysbyDavidDellinger(NewYork:Anchor,1971),207.Inthesameessay,
Dellingeradmitsthat“thereareoccasionswhenthosewhoactnonviolently
themselvesmustbecomereluctantalliesorcriticalsupportersofthosewho
resorttoviolence.”
39Gilbert,NoSurrender,23.
40Abu-Jamal,WeWantFreedom,76.
6 59
tacticsanddemandedastrictadherencetononviolenceonthe
grounds that non-pacifist groups “get annihilated.”36 Another
activist(and,incidentally,oneoftheotherlawstudentsonthe
list)agreed,adding,“Ithinkthathavingadiscussionaboutvi-
Introduction
olent tactics on this list is playing with fire, and it is putting
everyoneatrisk.”Shewasalsoconcernedthat“twoofuswill
be facing the star chamber of the ethics committee of the Bar
Associationsometimeinthenearfuture.”37 In August 2004, at the North American Anarchist Conver-
genceinAthens,Ohio,Iparticipatedinapaneldiscussingthe
Of course, proponents of militancy must understand that
topic of nonviolence versus violence. Predictably, the discus-
there is a great need for caution when we discuss tactics, es-
sionturnedintoanunproductiveandcompetitivedebate.Ihad
peciallyviae-mail,andthatwefacethehurdleofbuildingsup-
hopedthateachpanelistwouldbegivenasubstantialamount
port for actions that are more likely to get us harassed or im-
of time to speak in order to present our ideas in depth and to
prisoned, even if all we do is discuss them. However, in this
limitthelikelyalternativeofaback-and-forthvolleyofclichéd
example,thetwolawstudentswerenotsayingthatthegroup
arguments. But the facilitator, who was also a conference or-
should discuss only legal tactics or hypothetical tactics, they
ganizer, and on top of that a panelist, decided against this ap-
weresayingthatthegroupshoulddiscussonlynonviolenttac-
proach.
tics. Since it had been billed as a discussion to help the group
Because of the hegemony advocates of nonviolence ex-
create ideological common ground, this was a manipulative
ert, criticisms of nonviolence are excluded from the major
way of using threats of government repression to prevent the
periodicals, alternative media, and other forums accessed
groupfromevenconsideringanythingotherthananexplicitly
by anti-authoritarians.1 Nonviolence is maintained as an
nonviolentphilosophy.
articleoffaith,andasakeytofullinclusionwithinthemove-
Because of the weighty self-interest of white people in pre-
ment. Anti-authoritarians and anti-capitalists who suggest
venting revolutionary uprisings in their own backyard, there
or practice militancy suddenly find themselves abandoned
hasbeenalonghistoryofbetrayalbywhitepacifistswhohave
by the same pacifists they’ve just marched with at the latest
condemned and abandoned revolutionary groups to state vio-
lence.Ratherthan“puttingthemselvesinharm’sway”topro- 1Someperiodicalslimitedtothestrictlyanarchistmilieu,suchasAn-
tect members of the black, brown, and red liberation move- archy:AJournalofDesireArmed,arenotatallpacifist.However,theirinflu-
ments(aprotectiontheirprivilegemighthaveadequatelycon- ence,andtheinfluenceoftheirreadership,canbeclearlyseenasmarginal
inareaswhere,otherwise,anarchistshaveamajorimpact.Atmassmobi-
lizationsoftheanti-warandanti-globalizationmovements,inwhichanar-
36E-mail to author, October 2004. This same activist paternalistically chistsarekeyorganizers,criticismsofpacifismarenotevenentertained;at
rewrotethehistoryofblackliberationtodeclarethattheBlackPanthersdid best,someparticipantscansuccessfullyarguethatwatered-downformsof
notadvocateviolence.Inthesamee-mail,hequotedfromSunTzu’sArtof directactionreallydoqualifyasnonviolent.Mediawidelyavailablebeyond
Wartobolsterhiscaseandimprovehistacticalsophistication.WhetherSun anarchistcircles,inthewayprogressivemediaaresomewhatavailableto
Tzuwouldhaveagreedwithhistheories’beingusedinanargumentforthe themainstream,arealmostexclusivelypacifist,evenwhenmanyofthevol-
efficacyofpacifismisquestionable. unteersthatkeepthosemediaaliveareanti-authoritarianswhosupporta
37E-mailtoauthor,October2004. diversityoftactics.
58 7
protest. Once isolated, militants lose access to resources, and The contradiction in ostensibly revolutionary pacifism is
they lose protection from being scapegoated by the media that revolution is never safe, but to the vast majority of its
or criminalized by the government. Within these dynamics practitioners and advocates, pacifism is about staying safe,
causedbytheknee-jerkisolationofthosewhodonotconform not getting hurt, not alienating anyone, not giving anyone
to nonviolence, there is no possibility for a healthy or critical a bitter pill to swallow. In making the connection between
discoursetoevaluateourchosenstrategies. pacifismandtheself-preservationofprivilegedactivists,Ward
In my experience, most people who are becoming involved Churchill quotes a pacifist organizer during the Vietnam era
withradicalmovementshaveneverheardgoodarguments,or whodenouncedtherevolutionarytacticsoftheBlackPanther
even bad ones, against nonviolence. This is true even when Party and Weather Underground because those tactics were
they already know a great deal about other movement issues. “a really dangerous thing for all of us…they run the very real
Instead,theytendtobeacquaintedwiththeauraoftaboothat risk of bringing the same sort of violent repression [as seen
shroudsmilitants;tohaveinternalizedthefearanddisdainthe in the police assassination of Fred Hampton] down on all of
corporate media reserve for people willing to actually fight us.”33 Or, to quote David Gilbert, who is serving an effective
againstcapitalismandthestate;andtohaveconfusedtheiso- life sentence for his actions as a member of the Weather
lation imposed on militants with some self-imposed isolation Underground who went on to support the Black Liberation
thatmustbeinherentinmilitancy.Mostproponentsofnonvio- Army, “Whites had something to protect. It was comfortable
lencewithwhomIhavediscussedtheseissues,andthesehave to be at the peak of a morally prestigious movement for
beenmany,approachedtheconversationlikeitwasaforegone changewhileBlackpeopleweretakingthemaincasualtiesfor
conclusion that the use of violence in social movements was thestruggle.”34
bothwrongandself-defeating(atleastifitoccurredanywhere Thepacifistdesireforsafetycontinuestoday.In2003,anon-
within1,000milesofthem).Onthecontrary,thereareagreat violent activist reassured a Seattle newspaper about the char-
manysolidargumentsagainstnonviolencethatpacifistshave acter of planned protests. “I’m not saying that we would not
simplyfailedtoanswerintheirliterature. supportcivildisobedience,”Woldtsaid.“Thathasbeenpartof
This book will show that nonviolence, in its current mani- thepeace movementthat churchpeople haveengaged in, but
festations, is based on falsified histories of struggle. It has im- wearenotintopropertydamageoranythingthatcreatesneg-
plicitandexplicitconnectionstowhitepeople’smanipulations ativeconsequencesforus.”35
ofthestrugglesofpeopleofcolor.Itsmethodsarewrappedin And on a listserv for a radical environmental campaign in
authoritarian dynamics, and its results are harnessed to meet 2004, a law student and activist, after inviting an open discus-
government objectives over popular objectives. It masks and sionoftactics,advocatedanendtothementionofnon-pacifist
even encourages patriarchal assumptions and power dynam-
ics. Its strategic options invariably lead to dead ends. And its 33Churchill,PacifismasPathology,60–61.
practitionersdeludethemselvesonanumberofkeypoints. 34DavidGilbert,NoSurrender:WritingsfromanAnti-ImperialistPoliti-
calPrisoner(Montreal:AbrahamGuillenPress,2004),22–23.
Given these conclusions, if our movements are to have any
35AliceWoldt,quotedinChrisMcGann,“PeaceMovementCouldFind
possibilityofdestroyingoppressivesystemssuchascapitalism
Itself Fighting Over Tactics,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 21, 2003,
andwhitesupremacyandbuildingafreeandhealthyworld,we http://seatrlepi.nwsource.com/local/109590_peacemovement21.shtml.
8 57
Euro/American states, and only advocate nonviolence to peo- must spread these criticisms and end the stranglehold of non-
ple with a similarly privileged background. This formulation violenceoverdiscoursewhiledevelopingmoreeffectiveforms
presentsanewracism,suggestingthatthefightinganddying ofstruggle.
be carried out by people of color in the more overtly oppres- We might say that the purpose of a conversation is to per-
sivestatesoftheGlobalSouth,whileprivilegedcitizensofthe suadeandbepersuaded,whilethepurposeofadebateistowin,
imperialcentersmaybecontentedwithmorecontextuallyap- andthussilenceyouropponent.Oneofthefirststepstosuccess
propriateformsofresistancesuchasprotestralliesandsit-ins. inanydebateistocontroltheterminologytogiveoneselfthe
An anti-racist analysis, on the other hand, requires white advantage and put one’s opponents at a disadvantage. This is
people to recognize that the violence against which people of exactlywhatpacifistshavedoneinphrasingthedisagreement
color must defend themselves originates in the white “First asnonviolenceversusviolence.Critics ofnonviolencetypically
World.” Thus, appropriate resistance to a regime that wages usethisdichotomy,withwhichmostofusfundamentallydis-
war against colonized people across the globe is to bring the agree, and push to expand the boundaries of nonviolence so
warhome;tobuildananti-authoritarian,cooperative,andanti- that tactics we support, such as property destruction, may be
racistcultureamongwhitepeople;toattackinstitutionsofim- accepted within a nonviolent framework, indicating how dis-
perialism; and to extend support to oppressed people in resis- empoweredanddelegitimizedweare.
tance without undermining the sovereignty of their struggle. I know of no activist, revolutionary, or theorist relevant to
However,non-absolutistpacifistswhoallowforalittlecultural themovementtodaywhoadvocatesonlytheuseofviolenttac-
relativismaretypicallylesslikelytosupportarmedrevolution tics and opposes any usage of tactics that could not be called
whenthefightinggetsclosetohome.ThethinkingisthatPales- violent.Weareadvocatesofadiversityoftactics,meaningeffec-
tinians, for example, may engage in militant struggle because tivecombinationsdrawnfromafullrangeoftacticsthatmight
theyliveunderaviolentregime,butforthebrutalizedresidents lead to liberation from all the components of this oppressive
ofthenearesturbanghettotoformguerrillaunitswouldbe“in- system:whitesupremacy,patriarchy,capitalism,andthestate.
appropriate”or“irresponsible.”Thisisthe“notinmybackyard” We believe that tactics should be chosen to fit the particular
tendency,whichisfueledbytherecognitionthatarevolution situation,notdrawnfromapreconceivedmoralcode.Wealso
there would be exciting, but a revolution here would deprive tendtobelievethatmeansarereflectedintheends,andwould
privileged activists of our comfort. Also present is the latent not want to act in a way that invariably would lead to dicta-
fearofracialuprising,whichisassuagedonlywhenitissubor- torshiporsomeotherformofsocietythatdoesnotrespectlife
dinatedtoanonviolentethic.Blackpeoplemarchingisphoto- andfreedom.Assuch,wecanmoreaccuratelybedescribedas
genic.Blackpeoplewithgunsevokestheviolentcrimereports proponents of revolutionary or militant activism than as pro-
onthenightlynews.AmericanIndiansholdingapressconfer- ponentsofviolence.2
ence is laudable. American Indians ready, willing, and able to
taketheirlandbackisatrifledisturbing.Thus,whitepeoples’ 2Becauseitmaybepresumptuoustorefertosomeonewhoisnoten-
gagedinopenconflictwiththestateasarevolutionary,Idefinearevolution-
support for, and familiarity with, revolutionaries of color on
aryactivistassomeonewho,attheleast,isbuildingtowardthepointwhen
the home front is limited to inert martyrs — the dead and the
suchaconflictispractical.Somepeoplehavequalmswiththetermactivist,
imprisoned. orassociateitwithreformisttypesofactivism.Toavoidbeingtooparticular
56 9
I will refer to proponents of nonviolence by their chosen than against white people. When Oglala traditionals and the
nomenclature, as nonviolent activists or, interchangeably, American Indian Movement stood up on Pine Ridge Reserva-
pacifists. Many practitioners of such prefer one term or the tion in the 1970s to assert a little independence and to orga-
other, and some even make a distinction between the two, nize against the endemic bullying of the imposed “tribal gov-
but in my experience the distinctions are not consistent from ernment,” the Pentagon, FBI, US Marshals, and Bureau of In-
onepersontothenext.Mostimportantly,pacifists/nonviolent dian Affairs instituted a full-fledged counterinsurgency pro-
activists themselves tend to collaborate regardless of their gramthat resultedin daily violenceand dozens ofdeaths. Ac-
chosen term, so the difference in labels is not important to cordingtoWardChurchillandJimVanderWall,“Theprinciple
the considerations of this book. Broadly, by using the term of armed self-defense had, for the dissidents, become a neces-
pacifism or nonviolence, they designate a way of life or a sityofsurvival.”31
methodofsocialactivismthatavoids,transforms,orexcludes The only proponents of nonviolence I have ever heard
violence while attempting to change society to create a more rejecteventhelegitimacyofself-defensehavebeenwhite,and
peacefulandfreeworld. thoughtheymayholduptheirOscarRomeros,theyandtheir
Atthispointitmighthelptoclearlydefineviolence,butone families have not personally had their survival threatened as
of the critical arguments of this book is that violence cannot a result of their activism.32 I have a hard time believing that
beclearlydefined.Ishouldalsoclarifyafewothertermsthat theiraversiontoviolencehasasmuchtodowithprinciplesas
pop up frequently. The word radical I use literally, to mean a with privilege and ignorance. And beyond mere self-defense,
critique, action, or person that goes to the roots of a particu- whether individuals have faced the possibility of having to
lar problem rather than focusing on the superficial solutions fightbacktosurviveortoimprovetheirlivesdependslargely
placed on the table by the prejudices and powers of the day. on the color of their skin and their place in various national
The word is not a synonym for extreme or extremist, much as and global hierarchies of oppression. It is these experiences
the media would have us believe it is, through ignorance or thatnonviolenceignoresbytreatingviolenceasamoralissue
design. (Similarly, in case anyone is still unclear: an anarchist orachosenthing.
isnotsomeonewhofavorschaosbutsomeonewhofavorsthe The culturally sensitive alternative within pacifism is that
total liberation of the world through the abolition of capital- privileged activists allow, or even support, militant resistance
ism, government, and all other forms of oppressive authority, intheGlobalSouth,andpossiblyintheinternalcoloniesofthe
to be replaced by any number of other social arrangements,
proven or utopian.) On the other hand, I do not use the word 31ChurchillandVanderWall,AgentsofRepression,188.
32SomeofthemostdedicatednonviolentactivistsintheUShavefaced
revolution literally, to mean the overthrow of current rulers
tortureandmurderinthecourseofLatinAmericansolidaritywork.Butthis
by a new set of rulers (which would make anti-authoritarian
isnotquitethesamethingaswhatactivistsofcolorfacewithintheUS,given
revolution an oxymoron), but only to mean a social upheaval thatthesewhiteactivistshavefacedviolenceinasituationtheysoughtout
with widespread transformative effects. I use this word only ratherthanoneimposedonthem,theirfamilies,andtheircommunities.It
is,afterall,mucheasiertohaveamartyrcomplexforoneselfthanforone’s
family(whichisnottosaythatalloftheseactivistsweremotivatedbysuch
aboutwordsandterminology,Iwillaskreaderssimplytoreceivethisterm acomplex,thoughIhavecertainlymetafewwhocashinthatrisktoclaim
inthebestpossibleway. thattheyhaveexperiencedoppressionrivalingthatfeltbypeopleofcolor).
10 55