Comment by cup
13 years ago
I think non-violent protests only work when the state (or entity you are protesting against) is forced to negotiate. By that I mean all these non violent protests occured at a time during violent protests. Martin Luther King Jnr was given negotiating power because the State preferred a non violent entity over the black panthers and other militaristic groups.
If there is no threat of repercussion, why would any entity bother negotiating with you?
Because non-violent protesters can be a pain in the neck, too. You don't need to hit someone to really piss him of.
In some cases, just following the rules to the letter can be annoying enough to make the powers that be change things.
But yes, having some real threat as a backup has tremendous benefits. 'Nice government you have here; it would be a pity of something happened to it' works better of you have that.