It's about that it's a small-dedicated group that brings change and not government or private institution. If it's still hard to grasp, then think about how national movements started.
That's what you'd think, but actually violence mostly pushes things to the extreme and sinks the effort permanently. Nonviolent movements are often defeated by one side goading the other into losing control and doing something violent, at which point they immediately cede the moral high ground and lose the support of the masses. (The masses are mostly useless in pushing a movement forward, but are critical for a movement to succeed.)
Violence can work if you have the biggest club, but it's mostly ineffective at grassroots change.
Probably not the intent of the attributed author [0] but literally speaking the statement doesn't specific "ethical" or "peaceful", no.
[0] https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/11/12/change-world/
It's about that it's a small-dedicated group that brings change and not government or private institution. If it's still hard to grasp, then think about how national movements started.
Would would you ever exclude ones committed to violence? Violence consistently works.
That's what you'd think, but actually violence mostly pushes things to the extreme and sinks the effort permanently. Nonviolent movements are often defeated by one side goading the other into losing control and doing something violent, at which point they immediately cede the moral high ground and lose the support of the masses. (The masses are mostly useless in pushing a movement forward, but are critical for a movement to succeed.)
Violence can work if you have the biggest club, but it's mostly ineffective at grassroots change.
Snipers, patient 0's, drunk drivers...