4 ms·

It's an impressive accomplishment and obviously kind of a marvel that this is what he feels called to do. Only respect for the man and his activism. But I hate

It's an impressive accomplishment and obviously kind of a marvel that this is what he feels called to do. Only respect for the man and his activism. But I hate the tone that often emerges when this is brought up or referenced, especially common since 2020. As if Davis's approach is the correct way for black people to address the racism of white people, contrasted against the "wrong" ways like BLM protests and organized direct action. The man put himself in significant danger over many years. For impressive and personally meaningful but ultimately very small scale victories. That can't be the standard we expect from black activists. White racism is a problem white people are obligated to solve. If you are are white it is your role to be doing this, don't make a black man do it for you.

indigo0086 3y ago
No one made him. If anything this should be a way to inspire people to do what they can as opposed to setting a standardized, mass marketed (see BLM) form of activism
- deleted 3y ago
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fakedang 3y ago
BLM and Davis' approach is akin to Hamas or the IRA vs Gandhi or Mandela's approach. You can either let people discover the truth and convince themselves, or you can wage war on them. Just that the former way often leads to lasting damage.
- giraffe_lady 3y ago
  And in the mean time if they are waging war on you you are to die politely and silently. State powers also learned from nonviolent movements. Like what are some major nonviolent protest movements against state oppression that have significantly achieved their goals in the last 50 years? Their success depended on certain social and political factors that simply no longer exist. We are encouraged to consider them the perfect form of resistance precisely because they are not effective right now.
  - fakedang 3y ago
    > State powers also learned from nonviolent movements. Like what are some major nonviolent protest movements against state oppression that have significantly achieved their goals in the last 50 years? Uhh, the apartheid movement in South Africa? The Bolivian Water Protests? Lech Walesa and Solidarity in Poland? The fall of the Soviet Union? The weakest link against nonviolent civil disobedience movements is precisely that - polite deaths and killings come out strongly in the international media for every country to see. What's changed is the lack of action by the erstwhile guardians of freedom and democracy. For an example of such pressure, look at how much pressure the US put on the UK under FDR and Truman against British brutality in India, or how the entire third world reacted against the apartheid regime in South Africa, jointly. Sure, some people will die, but they'll die as heroes instead of "terrorists" and the like.

indigo0086 3y ago

No one made him. If anything this should be a way to inspire people to do what they can as opposed to setting a standardized, mass marketed (see BLM) form of activism

deleted 3y ago
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fakedang 3y ago

BLM and Davis' approach is akin to Hamas or the IRA vs Gandhi or Mandela's approach. You can either let people discover the truth and convince themselves, or you can wage war on them. Just that the former way often leads to lasting damage.

giraffe_lady 3y ago
And in the mean time if they are waging war on you you are to die politely and silently. State powers also learned from nonviolent movements. Like what are some major nonviolent protest movements against state oppression that have significantly achieved their goals in the last 50 years? Their success depended on certain social and political factors that simply no longer exist. We are encouraged to consider them the perfect form of resistance precisely because they are not effective right now.
- fakedang 3y ago
  > State powers also learned from nonviolent movements. Like what are some major nonviolent protest movements against state oppression that have significantly achieved their goals in the last 50 years? Uhh, the apartheid movement in South Africa? The Bolivian Water Protests? Lech Walesa and Solidarity in Poland? The fall of the Soviet Union? The weakest link against nonviolent civil disobedience movements is precisely that - polite deaths and killings come out strongly in the international media for every country to see. What's changed is the lack of action by the erstwhile guardians of freedom and democracy. For an example of such pressure, look at how much pressure the US put on the UK under FDR and Truman against British brutality in India, or how the entire third world reacted against the apartheid regime in South Africa, jointly. Sure, some people will die, but they'll die as heroes instead of "terrorists" and the like.