On the Indian independence movement, the most significant violent resistance was the 1946 Naval Revolt. It was actively condemned by Gandhi and the INC (as well as by members of the Muslim League), but it was a major factor in convincing the British to leave India, as they feared the possibility of even stronger violent resistance.
But was the mutiny a full-fledged violent one? From reading about it it started out as a mass strike among all Indian navy men and quickly spread to other military and law enforcement personnel. They used common non-violent tactics like disobeying direct orders from the British, refusing to work, etc. Only when the British used violence in Bombay against the Indian Communist party, who were supporting the mutineers and protesters, did they retaliate and there were soldiers who refused to fire on anymore mutineers. 200 reportedly died and 1,000 were injured. It started out as non-violent and quickly became violent in the end. I think this is how all non-violence movements should be.
@@myronmason8170 I agree, violence should never be initiated by protestors, it should only be retaliatory. That said, this goes toward my point about the Bombay Mutiny ultimately helping the independence movement more that Gandhi's non-violent movement, as it demonstrated the implicit threat of violence if the British did not concede to the non-violent movement's demands. Principled non-violent movements are given strength when there's a violent alternative for the powerful to be afraid of.
There were multiple violent mutinies throughput Indian history that made no difference to the independence movement. If there's little evidence that non violence is a valid strategy against oppression, there's even less to absolutely zero evidence that anarchism actually works without turning upon its own head. The fact is that the Indian independence movement was non violent was intentionally engineered to turn the "white man's burden" myth upside down. Andrew is not an anthropologist nor a historian and is just imposing his own cherrypicked examples, when its clear that as a member of an island country, he has simply never been exposed to cyclic nature of the fire that violence breeds. Of course non violence needs to be coupled with a multipronged strategy, but to claim that violence is a valid one just screams ignorance. Anarchism has never left to any lasting change, and history shows that countless weathermen merely sweep under the rug. The Indian independence movement was a movement of mass consciousness of which nonviolence was one tenet. Andrew's criticism of non violence is even harsher on violence and I've yet to see anything that works
Writing q story now about a enby interior design student trying to design a modular sustainable farm that could be replicated in cities to help reduce dependance on corporatations like walmart
This is gonna be so useful for my story! :D Also, a good alternative to the word "delusion" is "self-deception", as it might be a feature of certain mental health conditions
I was a dedicated pacifist as a teenager, but it was a long time ago and Putin was in only his second presidency then. Living in Russia today, I see no opportunities for a big change other than a third revolution. Make no mistake, I'm not excited for it. When your future is either more senile dictators or a bloodbath, it's fucking scary and depressing. P.S. I really appreciate not only the content, but the style of your videos. Your choice of visuals is creative and very expressive, and I especially love that you use various art.
Like how the USA runs fascist propaganda, especially here on TH-cam, to keep people thinking in a capitalist bubble and accepting their loss of freedoms
I always worry I'll come across as a pacifist because I know that that kind of direct action isn't in my skillset. I recognize that it's a useful tool for liberation, but it's not one I can use. I'm more of a support class than a fighter, to lean on DnD-isms. But when I bring up that I choose to focus on the softer side of revolution, I feel like that can often come across as "we should /all/ focus on the softer side of revolution." That's the area where more of my knowledge and skills are concentrated, so when I talk to people about revolutionary strategies I always emphasize stuff about like skill sharing and sustainable community food sources and stuff because that's what I know how to talk about. I don't mean to be dismissive of violent tactics, but I'm still learning how to not sound like I am, ya know? (This isn't meant to be me asking for somebody to tell me i'm a good little anarchist, just sharing my thoughts on the topic for that sweet sweet Engagement) [edited to change language for clarity]
Maybe explicitly shout out/express respect for those kind of actions? Ex, something like "I'm limited to speaking about nonviolent actions, because that's my experience, but what i find works is - ". It may still imply you're personally pacifist, but it implicitly acknowledges the validity of non pacifist actions.
I want to help, but I'm still a baby to this "writing" stuff myself. I have this abstract idea that I'm struggling to put into words. In wars (or just conflicts in general) there is much more to it than just a solider, for every troop their is a complex chain of logistics; like cooks to feed everyone, intelligence to inform, leaders to lead, grunts to do task, engineers to build, etc, etc. So instead of thinking about it as solely combat try to think bigger, like if blasting a fictional cop in the face is not for you, maybe starting a network to feed others is, or maybe something under the intelligence branch, like radicalizing others. The specific type of intelligence I'm referring to is underrated, because you cannot have a revolution without revolutionaries. This all being said, to be a revolutionary is to be a doomed person. Conflict is inevitable for us writers, because whether be a cook or a solider you are still susceptible to oppression. If you really just cannot overcome the fear of being actively oppressed, you could just not revolt. Yeah it sucks but you don't really owe the world if you literally cannot write, some people are just unlucky to be born that way.
Others have said it, but yes, the most important part of any revolution is the support structures that keep people safe, connected, and fed. Violence is often necessary and unavoidable in our stories, but it is not the only valid form of contribution. Every tool in the writers toolbox has a purpose, and when used well, results in the best stories.
One thing we were taught in the military that informs my writing to this day is that everyone’s first job in a militant organisation is soldier, everything else is a speciality. To the extent that it’s relevant to writing these kinds of stories, I think it well and truly highlights the fact that our protagonists all strap targets to their backs when they start to look like a threat to the Big Bad’s source of power and control, so they all must be able to fight back when set upon by the villain or their goons.
~15:30 I'm reminded of a quote I read in a story a friend of mine wrote where one of the side characters told a lib "Love can't trump hate without action." Gah. That was a zinger, lemme tell ya' what.
While I already accepted violence as an absolute last resort for the revolutionaries in my story, your video has me rethinking my worldbuilding, thanks. I don't think my main character will feel comfortable using it himself, but maybe I'll write him differently in later installments. I do still believe that misplaced violence can definitely hurt movements though. Vandalizing and looting small businesses can make life worse for the people in the neigborhood who relied on them for employment, daily shopping or even the petit bourgeoisie owner (as i think petit bourgeoisie is sometimes sympathetic to working class struggle) and has no benefit, unlike violence against oppressors. But like you expressed in this video, so can misplaced non-violence. Again, thanks for the writing tips :)
Damn I'm always so thankful for vids like this ... it makes me feel bad that I dont have the funds to support you on patreon but I'll continue liking/ commenting/sharing for now
Either I am actually smarter than I think or this kind of messaging has finally been simplified enough for someone as dumb as me to finally see the inherent systemic abuse of all human life that do not count in the eyes of those who create the class/patriarchal/racist gap. I’m happy with either because of the latter is true, then that means there’s hope.
Thank you for the video. As a non-native speaker of English, there are bits in the video I didn't understand because you were talking too fast for my level of language skill. But thanks for the closed captions, they were immensely helpful!
There is a difference between non violence and pacifism. A pacifist believes in no violence at all. Someone who is non violent believes in using non violent actions first and if those options don't work then more violent options are the used to promote change. Also our oppressors are people to and have the same right to life as we do. So this is something we should keep in mind..Great video BTW.
In D&D, violence can be used by all alignments from Lawful Good to True Neutral to Chaotic Evil so long as the violence aligns with the objective realities of the universe (I.e violence that is Good because it helps people is Good). I love this video's argument that Good characters can be actively (not reactively) violent.
This is exactly what i needed for my lib friends, its so hard living in imperial core and trying to explain that the riots were one mostly lied about and two theres actually nothing wrong with it Edit: Your point on tactics and strategy is spot on and something ive been thinking about recently relating to left unity. Obviously ideological unity is nonsense but we need to move beyond tactical unity to a strategic unity for dismantiling capitalism before it dismantles the earth.
Also, we keep on arguing and arguing pointlessly about tactics and countries that dissolved 20 years ago. Even the fact that we still even are arguing about these petty things just shows how stupid the human race is
You cannot expect a beneficiary of the status quo to understand or desire change. Most people are just comfortable enough to not see the big picture. Also I believe war is a symptom to the mental disorder of the superiority mindset. That being said, if we defined protection, guardianship, and self defense as non violent there would be more options. The economy itself is supposed to be an alternative to violence, but as you've mentioned, it's not without a cost. Even the most innocent of animals will use aggression to establish boundaries and protect itself. Gabor Mate is a psychiatrist who wrote a book called "the myth of normal." He discovered a correlation between non aggression and Lou Gerricks disease. He can predict many diseases based solely on personality. Point being aggression can be a normal healthy response.
Thank you for making a video about how nonviolence isn't sufficient to make true change. *In Minecraft* . This will be a big help on my Minecraft Server.
On top of providing solid advice for my series, this video has such a relaxed vibe that it calmed me down enough to deeply contemplate some familiar ideas. Underrated!
Great video! Non violence certainly helps the oppressors rather than the oppressed. In the Indian independence movement Gandhi was funded by Indian capitalists and his party was dominated by oppressive upper caste people. Therefore the status quo has more or less remained the same after years of independence with capitalists and dominant caste members still call the shots. Dr. Ambedkar, the leader of the oppressed castes and a brilliant mind, never trusted Gandhi and constantly challenged him.
Anarcho-pacifist here. Haven't watched yet, but will reply to this once I have. I am intensely curious what you have to say. Edit: Want to make it clear that the above isn't a condescending comment, but one of genuine curiousity because I know how easy tone is to lose online.
I think I generally agree with what you had to say, and I appreciate the bit towards the ends where you say folks like me shouldn't be excluded from our movements. I think some of the criticisms you had apply more to liberal pacifists than leftist pacifists (ACAB). For me it comes from a religious place primarily. I am a Buddhist and have taken vows of non-violence towards sentient beings. I won't help or participate in any violent actions, but I personally wouldn't condemn a movement or org over self defense. I have made personal vows, they are for me. I think the distinction between people and property is very important in this conversation also, which I know you touched on, but I want to reemphasize. There is a world of difference between killing someone and burning down the local Wendy's. I guess what I am saying is, to give an example, that if they don't convict Chauvin, I hope they riot in Minneapolis, but I also hope that nobody else gets killed. But you won't see me condemning BLM or any of the folks on the ground if it happens. I understand the situation. Edit: Just want to also add because it was mentioned in the video, yes I am vegan. You, the reader, should be too.
Yeah, I felt like a lot of what the video was talking about was acutely applicable to *liberal* nonviolence that is weaponized against leftist movements. If you take that as the definition of nonviolence, then the video has a lot of great points, but if you just take it to simply mean abstaining from using physical harm, then the video's section names and arguments point towards that abstention as being a clearly inferior and bigoted method of acting. I liked how it touched on diversity of tactics, and I get how "liberal nonviolence used to put down insurrection is statist" makes for a less striking section name. All in all, this was still a good video, I just wish it was more specific with the definitions.
I haven't taken any specific vows, but I feel this post deeply in my bones. I may be trying to seperate myself from violence but if someone throws some tear gas at me and there's an able bodied person to throw it back, who am I to stop them? We can still help in support roles. Healers are always needed.
@@zellfaze its very heartening to hear your thoughts, and i feel the same. i think pacifism is a reasonable way of life and philosophy but requires the considerations of these points in this video, a different outlook and perspective, no condemnation of the violence necessary to liberate our characters in our fictional stories we write, i just can't do it myself for personal reasons, and would prefer if things never came to it. but it does, and thats okay. as long as our pacifist ideals arent helping harmful systems.
Im a pacifist also, but atheist so not religiously just based, just morally and practically. From the practical perspective, I don’t think it will ever be effective to use violence and I don’t think it is even possible with the military tech that even small town police have now. I agree with you about the criticism being more applicable to liberal/neoconservative movements. The biggest tell for me as to the utility of non-violence though, is every time the powers-that-be see a movement that they don’t like, the first thing they do is infiltrate it and try to instigate violence and urge/convince members to break laws. They desperately *want* you to be violent because that’s what they know how to deal with and it lowers the public’s sentiment and support for them. When your only tool is a hammer, you need your problems to be nails, and their tool is definitely violence. However, what they don’t know how to deal with is mass civil disobedience and non-violent actions as simple as blocking roads like they did in Australia recently. Strikes can also be very effective when done in mass. Just read the stories of COINTELPRO and you will notice the trend is always trying to turn the groups or its leader violent; they fear what they can’t control and non-violent disobedience is uncontrollable.
You really made me re-think my stance on violence in revolution or protest, thanks! That being said, there was a couple of moments where you seemed to devalue voting and that I disagree with. While it should be far from the only thing people should do, and we shouldn't be naive about its effectiveness, it is absolutely necessary and worthy of focus. We shouldn't rely on politicians to fix our problems or go as far as we want, but having people who believe (even remotely) in change does wonders for how easy it might be to set up alternative means. For example, conservatives in my gov (America) would and have make/made things waaaaay harder to implement. We need people in the government to facilitate activists work. Even if it only means they won't fight back as hard.
Thank you so much for making this video; as a once dedicated pacifist this has taken down my ideas around pacifism and opened my mind to valid reasons to act violently and the effects of pacifism from another perspective.
@@ben1147 "beans and tofu are delicious" Beans? Sure. Tofu?...no lol They may be cheaper but they also don't supply the same level of nutrients your body needs for the price you pay. Also, reliable stats on the matter show that the healthiest and longest living people on Earth have fish and poultry in their diet. Not a single centenarian living in the Japanese countryside (home of the world's highest life expectancy) is vegan. Side note, the highest life expectancy outside of Asia is in Switzerland, a country known for chocolate and cheese lol
I consider myself a pacifist largely for religious reasons, but I also understand that me saying nonviolence is the only way is merely projecting my fairly privlage view onto others. I would slow to condem Somone who killed in self defense, and slower to condem those who have been fighting oppression for years. While I think non violence, or at least less lethal violence (if the state considers idk, vandalism violence but no one is physically hurt go ahead) is the preferred and ultimately best approach to liberation, I understand that if you are in a position where you can choose to commit violence to prevent more violence, that is an extremely difficult call to make. I am not in the position to choose lesser evils, so long as you can acknowledge that it is at least a a little evil. Violence should never be the ideal solution, because then you have a hammer and everything will start looking like nails.
Both MLK and Gandhi knew that violence is an alternative when no other option exists. This is why MLK never condemned rioting and understood why they happened and Gandhi believed that if the British could not be reasoned with, then a violent solution should be sought. But they both believed that a non-violent approach was the best path. I am a socialist and a pacifist and I have to defend myself against my fellow leftist when I tell them that I cannot kill another human being. While I strongly favor a peaceful approach to a socialist revolution, I will no longer condemn a violent approach if that is the only other option. But I cannot participate directly because of my pacifist beliefs, but I can still support the movement in the background. But even if I explain this I get called a "coward" and not a real "comrade".
What's also important to point out is the reality of Alliance building and not being rigid with ones beliefs. I think people too often go "its either all violence or none" but that just isn't true. You can be a non violent agitator yet still not completely discard & when the time comes even support violence. Gandhi's beliefs are some of the most radical ones out there ( his Philosophy isn't just violence bad) yet he was also the most important unifier of the freedom movement bringing together both leftists & right wingers under a common goal cause he knew he couldn't be, especially when it came to politics. There needs to be a synthesis of both violence & non violence I feel personally, under a common goal.
Okay, this is dense with knowledge, history and perspective-inspiring, educational-just all the things. But the way you said "Not really doh" to "Violence is alienating" made me burst out laughing. I think I went back like three times. Thanks for that.
Welp, I guess I'm going to continue just promoting videos from this channel. Beautiful work (on... the very clearly fictional world-building assistance)!
thanks for being a channel, your videos are so insightful I'm just growing up, navigating my political ideas as a 13 year old I can tell my life'll be pretty fucking tough, with how the world around me grows ever capitalist. I feel that a LOT of my generation, and especially people my age who are engaged with politics assign themself to reflexive impotence, as did I before stumbling onto your videos through a recommendation. Your videos help me deprogram those beliefs, and inquire, learn and question more about the world I live in and the beliefs that surround me. Especially since, as a child I grew up with parents and an environment which taught me to repress my curiosity to the point I struggle to question things, accepting the pre-determined default. Your videos give me hope and the will to fight for my future :) There are only a handful of anarchists my age out there, and I feel that I should take on the responsibility of organising these kinds of movements when I'm old enough, but I've never been an organiser type and I'm scared to take on such projects, yet I fear that if I don't, no one else will. Anyways I wanted to drop my thoughts in the comment for more engagement, to spread these ideas to other young, could-be anarchists. -A kid new to anarchism
Man, wish I was thinking and writing comments like this at your age. Your dead right, unfortunately, nobody else is going to come and do the tough jobs for us. It really is just us.
@Vivivofi I'll be 14 in a month. But it does not matter the age, we all learn with what resources we have at the time. Furthermore, we as the youth all play a part in creating the change we wish to make for our futures as well as those after us. More recently, I have been more focused on learning about the systems within our society to identify what the flaws of it are so we can achieve meaningful change. The future is bright if we make it, and remember to take a step back or a break from the political scene if you feel overwhelmed, you are not alone in this :)
honestly, aside from a preference to avoid hurting people, my main reason for advocating non-violence is i feel we're at a disadvantage in that realm of action. the neoliberal establishment control the majority of weapons, the money, the organizations, the law, the man power, the means of production and distribution, and information, and the fascist rebels have large numbers, a foothold in the establishment, much of the arable land, a vast disinformation network, vast possession of and passion for smaller arms, a significant subset of true believers with a penchant for violence nothing to lose and something to prove. we have each other, our minds, our willingness to work together, a curious nature, creativity, a love of parity and acceptance. i don't think we need to restrict ourselves to passive resistance, but we need to build something which can stand if we knock down the existing structure, or people will get scared and clamor for "law and order" then we hand it to the fascists
I need to send this to any "Chaotic Good" guy I play TTRPG's with who thinks a bounty hunter/law-conforming vigilante character is somehow "Chaotic" or "Good"
It could be said that in the face of violence that refuses to abate, refusing to consider violence as a means of stopping it becomes the more reprehensible kind of violence. In fact, I’m fairly sure someone cleverer than me said it better already. ✊💪
Wait this blew my mind, I've just found your lessons and holy shit it's blowing my mind. I appreciate how you've made it digestible for a not highly educated person like me, thanks. I'll continue to learn from you, do you have any pointers to literature I should read?
Right!! I never even considered anarchism as a thing sane people do, but now its totally rocking my worldview… And its awesome! So cool to learn new things that you never even considered possible. Good luck on your path of learning!
I'm glad for this video because I've always wondered why I felt such shame for my proclivity for more violent ways of thinking in terms of responding to capital terror, but tbh, it gets results
idk, self defense isn’t really “violence”, property damage itself (especially when targeting giant evil corporations) isn’t really “violence” either… shooting children, unarmed people, and beating unarmed people to death, torturing them, and lighting them on fire is violence… and that’s the kind of violence that I still can’t get myself to support even if it’s justified as a necessary part of the revolution…
I would really like your take on the love n lighter groups that think that they can ascend their way to liberation living on the 5D earth by meditating, yoga, buying up & colonizing more land for their "new communities" and if their "frequencies" are pure love the Big Bad will dissolve & disappear
It's also notable how they co-opted Eastern spirituality to 'empower' themselves whilst also completely ignoring the actual philosophy and theism that birthed those rituals.. I'm not criticizing a real adherant though, anybody can believe what they want, as long as they hold it genuinely and not just as an image to project
@@Dong_Harvey yes, is an interesting observation when other cultures, worldviews & life ways are interpreted through the lens of euro-western colonial thinking which has become big bizness. I heard a zen buddhist monk recently say euro-western colonial "ascensionism" is "dis-embodied intelligence".
Thanks for the video! Solid stuff! I was hoping to play with these themes in an upcoming Traveller/Cepheus Engine campaign so this has been super informative.
I always learn so much from your videos, I appreciate all the work you do and the heart you put it in. Always make me think about how I view world building and my creative writing
Really interesting. Gives me a lot to think about. I'm currently pondering how other things I believe, like violence breeds violence and force only brings temporary/superficial relief, fit with these ideas
This is super useful for my wordlbuilding! I have been trying to figure some things out for a setting that's a lot like our world, but good. This will also help in my fantasy epic, but it's a lifesaver for that first one.
10 mins in and yeh this is great and useful, thank you for making this! I'm a white middle class quaker and quakers are generally known to tend to be keen on non violence - but most quakers in my country (UK) are white and middle class which, yeh, isn't the ideal lens for forming a good perspective on non violence. I've been looking for a video like this. Very helpful. Thank you.
Non violent protest is better than nothing but history seems to prove it's the violent, destructive protests get the job done. Unless you can get the workers of the World to unite.
The Big Bad is like potential energy. It's not because it's invisible that it doesn't exist, and you will quickly see it change to its kinetic form upon encountering disobedience. Conditions that are peaceful in appearance are inherently violent if attempts to change them are met with repression.
When writing your stories, remember that violence and non-violence work hand in hand, They both bring good things on their own but they are most effective when used together without shunning one another.
The person the British were scared of was a man called Subash Chandra Bose. The British prime minister at that time had stated this. The commander of the Indian National Army (INA), They had even reached Imphal and with Japanese support could have created a whole lot of trouble for the few thousands British in the country. Everything about Bose was censored by the Raj to the general public and they were only made know to general public after they surrender due to Japanese having troubles in the east and had to withdrew support.
Sorry but this is incorrect. The INA "reached" Imphal as a small portion of the Imperial Japanese Army. Japan never had the goal of conquering India (contrary to what all the British apologists on the internet claim).
@@sumanadasawijayapala5372 no the opposite actually. IJA did not have enough manpower to give to INA in Free india campaign. IJA was more focused in Eastern Asia and pacific to defend imperial japanese territories from USA and allied forces
Thank you so much! I really appreciate how much research you put into your videos and how you include both the problems, approaches to solutions, and solutions. When it comes to solutions, I especially like how you talk about how different people should contribute what they're best at and always try to teach others so they can further the cause. I was wondering though, I am in like two Leftist servers (mostly communist) that are aimed at incorporating computer science as part of resisting the state and structural violence. At around 47:10 you mentioned how it's hard to coordinate, pool resources, and plan strategies. Do you think computer science websites/platforms can help decentralized movmeents achieve those goals (i.e. create a new digital space where people can work with other people to plan and communicate about upcoming violent actions AND where people of similar skills can help each other out or maybe teach new people their skills)? Thanks for the video again and I'd like to hear your perspective.
Im not an expert, but I’d say this is already happening to some extent. You’re watching this youtube video, right? Sorry I’m eight months late, but hey, I think that web development is a HUGE resource to resistance movements. Its so new that its one of the few places that many states are, for now, having a little bit of trouble regulating. Any contemporary characters would be wise to take advantage of this vulnerability in the state and capitalism before it disappears completely.
i was intrigued by the video's theme because 'but nonviolence is good, right?' and it is, but in my experience (location: russia), government disrupts even extremely peaceful events. i remember that we* _rented_ a place, it wasn't even in public, and organised a Live Library event - basically, people were playing roles of interactive books and you could ask all the questions you always wanted to know but was afraid to ask, or smth. there were lgbtqia+ people, vegans, activists, etc. It wasn't even... anything, really, just an exchange of experience and talking. Police came and disrupted the event, closing it. I'm not even talking about protests. *let's say 'we' but I wasn't an organiser, i was a book there Edit: yep, I'd like for 'eating meat is violence' to sink in. Probably even sink in deep enough for people to do something about it. *sighs* Edit2: Actually, that's pretty interesting, why aren't you against it? (animal products consumption & animal exploitation, the whole shebang) I've seen you talking about it in several videos as if it's ok.
My story involves a group of people who are marching non-violently until the point of arrest to stop projects in their country that will cause great suffering and displacement of a lot of people in the poorest countries in the world. The plan is to overwhelm the state's ability to arrest by occupying every jail cell in London for a number of weeks in order to effectively jam up this mechanism of state control and force the state to call off these projects from going ahead. I'll let you know if it has any effect. I'm using the recent non-violent protests in the Netherlands as a reference for this story. Their goal was to stop all new fossil fuel projects from going forward and to stop all future grants going to fossil fuel companies to tackle the climate crisis. There were aprox. 9000 arrests made although there were only a few hundred protesters. They would just get arrested, get driven away from the city because the jails had reached maximum capacity, and then they'd simply walk or get a lift back to the protest site and get arrested again. This worked and now the Netherlands have agreed to their demands.
I'm only halfway through the video, and I love this so far. A genuine critique on something many are terrified to criticize. And a real look on historical happenings that shaped our modern day world, that very few will discuss. I love that. However, I have to say before I forget, and I will admit if I am wrong here especially if you cover this later in the video, but one of your major points is how power structures are not only hurt, but are aided, by pacifism and nonviolent movements. But they can actually hinder power even more than violence, and simultaneously gain more support than a violent movement, and that is when the government tries to shun them. Hear me out. While the government has no conscience, people of lower, middle and even some in the owner class do. But that's not the point. It just means pacifism will gain support far more effectively than any other movement. Companies and the government, which run the economy, care greatly about economics. It's in the name of Capitalism, to capitalise, primarily on profits, and increase them everywhere. This is where the idea of civil disobedience comes in. Don't pay taxes like the owners don't, legally or not. Go on strike. Form unions, or join and support them. Boycott products and corporations. Actively shun those who do wrong and spread the word as much as you can, while simultaneously leaning as close to the truth as you possibly can and always take everything with a grain of salt. The problem is, propaganda keeps us divided. There's a reason they now have is convinced everything is at fault of "the other party". When we come together and realize we're all a little liberal and conservative on different things rather than wholely one or the other, or we just unite for a common goal, real change can be made. THAT is what they are afraid of. The owner class is built entirely on the foundation of the working class. And they have put a mind-boggling amount of effort into stopping, or at least delaying, the unity of the people, but movements are forming again. The masses are awakening from decades of misinformation, lies, coverups and propaganda.
Very informative,,by the way even Jesus showed some violence when he went into the temple and threw the tables of the scribes and Pharisee to the ground.
Well, there is a difference between being violent to people and being violent to objects and property. So Jesus throwing tables out didn't hurt the scribes and Pharisee.
"The first lesson a revolutionary must learn is that he is a doomed man". Huey P. Newton
Bro, don't make it sound so enticing
On the Indian independence movement, the most significant violent resistance was the 1946 Naval Revolt. It was actively condemned by Gandhi and the INC (as well as by members of the Muslim League), but it was a major factor in convincing the British to leave India, as they feared the possibility of even stronger violent resistance.
But was the mutiny a full-fledged violent one? From reading about it it started out as a mass strike among all Indian navy men and quickly spread to other military and law enforcement personnel. They used common non-violent tactics like disobeying direct orders from the British, refusing to work, etc. Only when the British used violence in Bombay against the Indian Communist party, who were supporting the mutineers and protesters, did they retaliate and there were soldiers who refused to fire on anymore mutineers. 200 reportedly died and 1,000 were injured. It started out as non-violent and quickly became violent in the end. I think this is how all non-violence movements should be.
@@myronmason8170 I agree, violence should never be initiated by protestors, it should only be retaliatory. That said, this goes toward my point about the Bombay Mutiny ultimately helping the independence movement more that Gandhi's non-violent movement, as it demonstrated the implicit threat of violence if the British did not concede to the non-violent movement's demands. Principled non-violent movements are given strength when there's a violent alternative for the powerful to be afraid of.
In India the Quit India movement was also a violent movement.
Also, same time period of WW2.
There were multiple violent mutinies throughput Indian history that made no difference to the independence movement. If there's little evidence that non violence is a valid strategy against oppression, there's even less to absolutely zero evidence that anarchism actually works without turning upon its own head. The fact is that the Indian independence movement was non violent was intentionally engineered to turn the "white man's burden" myth upside down. Andrew is not an anthropologist nor a historian and is just imposing his own cherrypicked examples, when its clear that as a member of an island country, he has simply never been exposed to cyclic nature of the fire that violence breeds. Of course non violence needs to be coupled with a multipronged strategy, but to claim that violence is a valid one just screams ignorance. Anarchism has never left to any lasting change, and history shows that countless weathermen merely sweep under the rug. The Indian independence movement was a movement of mass consciousness of which nonviolence was one tenet. Andrew's criticism of non violence is even harsher on violence and I've yet to see anything that works
Awesome, now let's all get out there and Write Some Stories.
I got my pen ready comrade
@@Mae_Dastardly Good luck comrade, I've got my typewriter
Writing q story now about a enby interior design student trying to design a modular sustainable farm that could be replicated in cities to help reduce dependance on corporatations like walmart
This is gonna be so useful for my story! :D
Also, a good alternative to the word "delusion" is "self-deception", as it might be a feature of certain mental health conditions
yeah, that was the only thing i wanted to mention
Good to know, thank you!
I was a dedicated pacifist as a teenager, but it was a long time ago and Putin was in only his second presidency then. Living in Russia today, I see no opportunities for a big change other than a third revolution. Make no mistake, I'm not excited for it. When your future is either more senile dictators or a bloodbath, it's fucking scary and depressing.
P.S. I really appreciate not only the content, but the style of your videos. Your choice of visuals is creative and very expressive, and I especially love that you use various art.
This aged well.
Good luck. Hope you're alive and well, and I hope you can pour some gold down putins throat
Hope you're safe out there, comrade.
@@DrW33kend thanks, i'm still kicking, though most of my friends have left the country
Love & strength your way dude
"States aren't ruled by public opinion. Public opinion, by and large is ruled by states". Wow.
Like how the USA runs fascist propaganda, especially here on TH-cam, to keep people thinking in a capitalist bubble and accepting their loss of freedoms
good ol' manufacturing consent!
Framing this as writing advice is what one might call a "pro gamer move"
I know it's euphemism, but I'm going to use this as writing advice
facts
@@lamirmagus3594it’s a euphemism for what? I’m lost
Bro went the route of Juan Pablo Duarte.
Wait, so the point was that it isn't actual writing advice? Jeez, I'm too autistic lmao
vital to worldbuilding, thank you for the inspiration on my next DnD campaign!
Gee I sure do I love roleplaying!
Sounds like a game I'd love to play in.
I always worry I'll come across as a pacifist because I know that that kind of direct action isn't in my skillset. I recognize that it's a useful tool for liberation, but it's not one I can use. I'm more of a support class than a fighter, to lean on DnD-isms. But when I bring up that I choose to focus on the softer side of revolution, I feel like that can often come across as "we should /all/ focus on the softer side of revolution." That's the area where more of my knowledge and skills are concentrated, so when I talk to people about revolutionary strategies I always emphasize stuff about like skill sharing and sustainable community food sources and stuff because that's what I know how to talk about. I don't mean to be dismissive of violent tactics, but I'm still learning how to not sound like I am, ya know?
(This isn't meant to be me asking for somebody to tell me i'm a good little anarchist, just sharing my thoughts on the topic for that sweet sweet Engagement)
[edited to change language for clarity]
Maybe explicitly shout out/express respect for those kind of actions? Ex, something like "I'm limited to speaking about nonviolent actions, because that's my experience, but what i find works is - ". It may still imply you're personally pacifist, but it implicitly acknowledges the validity of non pacifist actions.
I want to help, but I'm still a baby to this "writing" stuff myself. I have this abstract idea that I'm struggling to put into words. In wars (or just conflicts in general) there is much more to it than just a solider, for every troop their is a complex chain of logistics; like cooks to feed everyone, intelligence to inform, leaders to lead, grunts to do task, engineers to build, etc, etc. So instead of thinking about it as solely combat try to think bigger, like if blasting a fictional cop in the face is not for you, maybe starting a network to feed others is, or maybe something under the intelligence branch, like radicalizing others. The specific type of intelligence I'm referring to is underrated, because you cannot have a revolution without revolutionaries.
This all being said, to be a revolutionary is to be a doomed person. Conflict is inevitable for us writers, because whether be a cook or a solider you are still susceptible to oppression. If you really just cannot overcome the fear of being actively oppressed, you could just not revolt. Yeah it sucks but you don't really owe the world if you literally cannot write, some people are just unlucky to be born that way.
Others have said it, but yes, the most important part of any revolution is the support structures that keep people safe, connected, and fed. Violence is often necessary and unavoidable in our stories, but it is not the only valid form of contribution. Every tool in the writers toolbox has a purpose, and when used well, results in the best stories.
One thing we were taught in the military that informs my writing to this day is that everyone’s first job in a militant organisation is soldier, everything else is a speciality. To the extent that it’s relevant to writing these kinds of stories, I think it well and truly highlights the fact that our protagonists all strap targets to their backs when they start to look like a threat to the Big Bad’s source of power and control, so they all must be able to fight back when set upon by the villain or their goons.
Fighters are important, but a good cleric is the backbone of any successful adventuring party. ✊
I came for the liberation, but stayed for the Bill Wurtz, and world building. =D
The expression goes "speak softly with a big stick" you won't be listened to by your oppressors if they think you have no power.
"How Nonviolence Protects The State" really opened my mind. Great video!
~15:30 I'm reminded of a quote I read in a story a friend of mine wrote where one of the side characters told a lib "Love can't trump hate without action." Gah. That was a zinger, lemme tell ya' what.
This is my philosophy. Pacifism is okay as long as it’s not passive pacifism.
While I already accepted violence as an absolute last resort for the revolutionaries in my story, your video has me rethinking my worldbuilding, thanks. I don't think my main character will feel comfortable using it himself, but maybe I'll write him differently in later installments.
I do still believe that misplaced violence can definitely hurt movements though. Vandalizing and looting small businesses can make life worse for the people in the neigborhood who relied on them for employment, daily shopping or even the petit bourgeoisie owner (as i think petit bourgeoisie is sometimes sympathetic to working class struggle) and has no benefit, unlike violence against oppressors. But like you expressed in this video, so can misplaced non-violence.
Again, thanks for the writing tips :)
in german the term for violence ("gewalt") is also used for power / authority, for example in "staatsgewalt" which means state authority
In Yiddish it’s used to mean “goddamnit”
Damn I'm always so thankful for vids like this ... it makes me feel bad that I dont have the funds to support you on patreon but I'll continue liking/ commenting/sharing for now
Either I am actually smarter than I think or this kind of messaging has finally been simplified enough for someone as dumb as me to finally see the inherent systemic abuse of all human life that do not count in the eyes of those who create the class/patriarchal/racist gap. I’m happy with either because of the latter is true, then that means there’s hope.
Thank you for the video. As a non-native speaker of English, there are bits in the video I didn't understand because you were talking too fast for my level of language skill. But thanks for the closed captions, they were immensely helpful!
would you want me to caption any parts? you can link a video and time stamp and i can caption if you want?
There is a difference between non violence and pacifism. A pacifist believes in no violence at all. Someone who is non violent believes in using non violent actions first and if those options don't work then more violent options are the used to promote change. Also our oppressors are people to and have the same right to life as we do. So this is something we should keep in mind..Great video BTW.
I needed to hear this, as a writer.
In D&D, violence can be used by all alignments from Lawful Good to True Neutral to Chaotic Evil so long as the violence aligns with the objective realities of the universe (I.e violence that is Good because it helps people is Good). I love this video's argument that Good characters can be actively (not reactively) violent.
How would a CN character with 18 Int and Wis behave?
This is exactly what i needed for my lib friends, its so hard living in imperial core and trying to explain that the riots were one mostly lied about and two theres actually nothing wrong with it
Edit: Your point on tactics and strategy is spot on and something ive been thinking about recently relating to left unity. Obviously ideological unity is nonsense but we need to move beyond tactical unity to a strategic unity for dismantiling capitalism before it dismantles the earth.
Still i don't see why we should work with MLs and the likes.
@@okofreak01 frankly I don't think we have a choice, it's either work together, or watch the world literally burn
@@okofreak01 MLs are the only ones capable of succeeding.
I dont think we should fight ML’s. They are people that want social change, just like you. Fighting among ourselves will only damage us.
Also, we keep on arguing and arguing pointlessly about tactics and countries that dissolved 20 years ago. Even the fact that we still even are arguing about these petty things just shows how stupid the human race is
You cannot expect a beneficiary of the status quo to understand or desire change. Most people are just comfortable enough to not see the big picture.
Also I believe war is a symptom to the mental disorder of the superiority mindset. That being said, if we defined protection, guardianship, and self defense as non violent there would be more options. The economy itself is supposed to be an alternative to violence, but as you've mentioned, it's not without a cost.
Even the most innocent of animals will use aggression to establish boundaries and protect itself. Gabor Mate is a psychiatrist who wrote a book called "the myth of normal." He discovered a correlation between non aggression and Lou Gerricks disease. He can predict many diseases based solely on personality. Point being aggression can be a normal healthy response.
Thank you for making a video about how nonviolence isn't sufficient to make true change. *In Minecraft* . This will be a big help on my Minecraft Server.
On top of providing solid advice for my series, this video has such a relaxed vibe that it calmed me down enough to deeply contemplate some familiar ideas. Underrated!
Great video! Non violence certainly helps the oppressors rather than the oppressed. In the Indian independence movement Gandhi was funded by Indian capitalists and his party was dominated by oppressive upper caste people. Therefore the status quo has more or less remained the same after years of independence with capitalists and dominant caste members still call the shots. Dr. Ambedkar, the leader of the oppressed castes and a brilliant mind, never trusted Gandhi and constantly challenged him.
thank you saint andrew, my next fictional movement will be way better now!
Anarcho-pacifist here. Haven't watched yet, but will reply to this once I have. I am intensely curious what you have to say.
Edit: Want to make it clear that the above isn't a condescending comment, but one of genuine curiousity because I know how easy tone is to lose online.
I think I generally agree with what you had to say, and I appreciate the bit towards the ends where you say folks like me shouldn't be excluded from our movements. I think some of the criticisms you had apply more to liberal pacifists than leftist pacifists (ACAB).
For me it comes from a religious place primarily. I am a Buddhist and have taken vows of non-violence towards sentient beings. I won't help or participate in any violent actions, but I personally wouldn't condemn a movement or org over self defense. I have made personal vows, they are for me.
I think the distinction between people and property is very important in this conversation also, which I know you touched on, but I want to reemphasize. There is a world of difference between killing someone and burning down the local Wendy's.
I guess what I am saying is, to give an example, that if they don't convict Chauvin, I hope they riot in Minneapolis, but I also hope that nobody else gets killed. But you won't see me condemning BLM or any of the folks on the ground if it happens. I understand the situation.
Edit: Just want to also add because it was mentioned in the video, yes I am vegan. You, the reader, should be too.
Yeah, I felt like a lot of what the video was talking about was acutely applicable to *liberal* nonviolence that is weaponized against leftist movements. If you take that as the definition of nonviolence, then the video has a lot of great points, but if you just take it to simply mean abstaining from using physical harm, then the video's section names and arguments point towards that abstention as being a clearly inferior and bigoted method of acting.
I liked how it touched on diversity of tactics, and I get how "liberal nonviolence used to put down insurrection is statist" makes for a less striking section name. All in all, this was still a good video, I just wish it was more specific with the definitions.
I haven't taken any specific vows, but I feel this post deeply in my bones. I may be trying to seperate myself from violence but if someone throws some tear gas at me and there's an able bodied person to throw it back, who am I to stop them? We can still help in support roles. Healers are always needed.
@@zellfaze its very heartening to hear your thoughts, and i feel the same. i think pacifism is a reasonable way of life and philosophy but requires the considerations of these points in this video, a different outlook and perspective, no condemnation of the violence necessary to liberate our characters in our fictional stories we write, i just can't do it myself for personal reasons, and would prefer if things never came to it. but it does, and thats okay. as long as our pacifist ideals arent helping harmful systems.
Im a pacifist also, but atheist so not religiously just based, just morally and practically. From the practical perspective, I don’t think it will ever be effective to use violence and I don’t think it is even possible with the military tech that even small town police have now. I agree with you about the criticism being more applicable to liberal/neoconservative movements. The biggest tell for me as to the utility of non-violence though, is every time the powers-that-be see a movement that they don’t like, the first thing they do is infiltrate it and try to instigate violence and urge/convince members to break laws. They desperately *want* you to be violent because that’s what they know how to deal with and it lowers the public’s sentiment and support for them. When your only tool is a hammer, you need your problems to be nails, and their tool is definitely violence. However, what they don’t know how to deal with is mass civil disobedience and non-violent actions as simple as blocking roads like they did in Australia recently. Strikes can also be very effective when done in mass. Just read the stories of COINTELPRO and you will notice the trend is always trying to turn the groups or its leader violent; they fear what they can’t control and non-violent disobedience is uncontrollable.
You really made me re-think my stance on violence in revolution or protest, thanks! That being said, there was a couple of moments where you seemed to devalue voting and that I disagree with. While it should be far from the only thing people should do, and we shouldn't be naive about its effectiveness, it is absolutely necessary and worthy of focus. We shouldn't rely on politicians to fix our problems or go as far as we want, but having people who believe (even remotely) in change does wonders for how easy it might be to set up alternative means. For example, conservatives in my gov (America) would and have make/made things waaaaay harder to implement. We need people in the government to facilitate activists work. Even if it only means they won't fight back as hard.
Thank you so much for making this video; as a once dedicated pacifist this has taken down my ideas around pacifism and opened my mind to valid reasons to act violently and the effects of pacifism from another perspective.
"I don't condone violence"
Yeah man, me either.
I don't condone violence I advocate for revalution
So you´re vegan, right??
@@MrJosuesini Thanks for asking but I don't make 70k a year
@@kakizakichannel beans and tofu are delicious and cheaper than meat
@@ben1147
"beans and tofu are delicious"
Beans? Sure. Tofu?...no lol
They may be cheaper but they also don't supply the same level of nutrients your body needs for the price you pay. Also, reliable stats on the matter show that the healthiest and longest living people on Earth have fish and poultry in their diet. Not a single centenarian living in the Japanese countryside (home of the world's highest life expectancy) is vegan. Side note, the highest life expectancy outside of Asia is in Switzerland, a country known for chocolate and cheese lol
This is so valuable for what's going on today
A Trini speaking on Politics? Breath of fresh air
I consider myself a pacifist largely for religious reasons, but I also understand that me saying nonviolence is the only way is merely projecting my fairly privlage view onto others. I would slow to condem Somone who killed in self defense, and slower to condem those who have been fighting oppression for years. While I think non violence, or at least less lethal violence (if the state considers idk, vandalism violence but no one is physically hurt go ahead) is the preferred and ultimately best approach to liberation, I understand that if you are in a position where you can choose to commit violence to prevent more violence, that is an extremely difficult call to make. I am not in the position to choose lesser evils, so long as you can acknowledge that it is at least a a little evil. Violence should never be the ideal solution, because then you have a hammer and everything will start looking like nails.
Not all force is violence. Violence is force that violates rights. Force against violence is not violence it's self. It is defense.
Hey, this is legitimately useful for the game I'm working on.
Both MLK and Gandhi knew that violence is an alternative when no other option exists. This is why MLK never condemned rioting and understood why they happened and Gandhi believed that if the British could not be reasoned with, then a violent solution should be sought. But they both believed that a non-violent approach was the best path. I am a socialist and a pacifist and I have to defend myself against my fellow leftist when I tell them that I cannot kill another human being. While I strongly favor a peaceful approach to a socialist revolution, I will no longer condemn a violent approach if that is the only other option. But I cannot participate directly because of my pacifist beliefs, but I can still support the movement in the background. But even if I explain this I get called a "coward" and not a real "comrade".
What's also important to point out is the reality of Alliance building and not being rigid with ones beliefs.
I think people too often go "its either all violence or none" but that just isn't true. You can be a non violent agitator yet still not completely discard & when the time comes even support violence.
Gandhi's beliefs are some of the most radical ones out there ( his Philosophy isn't just violence bad) yet he was also the most important unifier of the freedom movement bringing together both leftists & right wingers under a common goal cause he knew he couldn't be, especially when it came to politics.
There needs to be a synthesis of both violence & non violence I feel personally, under a common goal.
Non violence is the beast way to spread the word. Gather a support. After the support is won...
Okay, this is dense with knowledge, history and perspective-inspiring, educational-just all the things. But the way you said "Not really doh" to "Violence is alienating" made me burst out laughing. I think I went back like three times. Thanks for that.
Thanks so much for your contribution to the conversation!!
Welp, I guess I'm going to continue just promoting videos from this channel. Beautiful work (on... the very clearly fictional world-building assistance)!
I have a lot of writer friends who would be interested in this kind of stuff, I'll make sure to talk with them about it.
yeah, realy great for world building
;)
I hope more people come across this video and it sparks something in their hearts. You definitely pushed me off the fence, thank you.
This is beautifully done.
thanks for being a channel, your videos are so insightful
I'm just growing up, navigating my political ideas as a 13 year old
I can tell my life'll be pretty fucking tough, with how the world around me grows ever capitalist. I feel that a LOT of my generation, and especially people my age who are engaged with politics assign themself to reflexive impotence, as did I before stumbling onto your videos through a recommendation.
Your videos help me deprogram those beliefs, and inquire, learn and question more about the world I live in and the beliefs that surround me. Especially since, as a child I grew up with parents and an environment which taught me to repress my curiosity to the point I struggle to question things, accepting the pre-determined default. Your videos give me hope and the will to fight for my future :)
There are only a handful of anarchists my age out there, and I feel that I should take on the responsibility of organising these kinds of movements when I'm old enough, but I've never been an organiser type and I'm scared to take on such projects, yet I fear that if I don't, no one else will.
Anyways I wanted to drop my thoughts in the comment for more engagement, to spread these ideas to other young, could-be anarchists.
-A kid new to anarchism
Man, wish I was thinking and writing comments like this at your age. Your dead right, unfortunately, nobody else is going to come and do the tough jobs for us. It really is just us.
@Vivivofi I'll be 14 in a month. But it does not matter the age, we all learn with what resources we have at the time. Furthermore, we as the youth all play a part in creating the change we wish to make for our futures as well as those after us. More recently, I have been more focused on learning about the systems within our society to identify what the flaws of it are so we can achieve meaningful change. The future is bright if we make it, and remember to take a step back or a break from the political scene if you feel overwhelmed, you are not alone in this :)
THANK YOU! You literally made the video I wanted to make after reading Peter Genderloos books on Nonviolence as well! Essential reading!
One of my favorite writing advice channels
honestly, aside from a preference to avoid hurting people, my main reason for advocating non-violence is i feel we're at a disadvantage in that realm of action. the neoliberal establishment control the majority of weapons, the money, the organizations, the law, the man power, the means of production and distribution, and information, and the fascist rebels have large numbers, a foothold in the establishment, much of the arable land, a vast disinformation network, vast possession of and passion for smaller arms, a significant subset of true believers with a penchant for violence nothing to lose and something to prove. we have each other, our minds, our willingness to work together, a curious nature, creativity, a love of parity and acceptance. i don't think we need to restrict ourselves to passive resistance, but we need to build something which can stand if we knock down the existing structure, or people will get scared and clamor for "law and order" then we hand it to the fascists
This so far have been the best rebuttal that I ever heard.
i dont sense any hate in your videos just a need to open peoples eyes, THANK YOU for that
I need to send this to any "Chaotic Good" guy I play TTRPG's with who thinks a bounty hunter/law-conforming vigilante character is somehow "Chaotic" or "Good"
It could be said that in the face of violence that refuses to abate, refusing to consider violence as a means of stopping it becomes the more reprehensible kind of violence. In fact, I’m fairly sure someone cleverer than me said it better already. ✊💪
Gonna use this advice in my writing. Thanks!
Wait this blew my mind, I've just found your lessons and holy shit it's blowing my mind. I appreciate how you've made it digestible for a not highly educated person like me, thanks. I'll continue to learn from you, do you have any pointers to literature I should read?
Wait I just read the drop down menu 🙏🙏🙏 thank you
Right!!
I never even considered anarchism as a thing sane people do, but now its totally rocking my worldview…
And its awesome!
So cool to learn new things that you never even considered possible.
Good luck on your path of learning!
I'm glad for this video because I've always wondered why I felt such shame for my proclivity for more violent ways of thinking in terms of responding to capital terror, but tbh, it gets results
Working on my own project, glad to see some of the stuff I wrote lined up here. Even more glad to learn new things from this video!
idk, self defense isn’t really “violence”, property damage itself (especially when targeting giant evil corporations) isn’t really “violence” either…
shooting children, unarmed people, and beating unarmed people to death, torturing them, and lighting them on fire is violence… and that’s the kind of violence that I still can’t get myself to support even if it’s justified as a necessary part of the revolution…
2004 as 'that far back'... a definitional time for many of us millenials, and we still are needing desperately to process the lessons of that time.
definitely going to use these tips while writing my story! thank you!
I would really like your take on the love n lighter groups that think that they can ascend their way to liberation living on the 5D earth by meditating, yoga, buying up & colonizing more land for their "new communities" and if their "frequencies" are pure love the Big Bad will dissolve & disappear
It's also notable how they co-opted Eastern spirituality to 'empower' themselves whilst also completely ignoring the actual philosophy and theism that birthed those rituals..
I'm not criticizing a real adherant though, anybody can believe what they want, as long as they hold it genuinely and not just as an image to project
@@Dong_Harvey yes, is an interesting observation when other cultures, worldviews & life ways are interpreted through the lens of euro-western colonial thinking which has become big bizness. I heard a zen buddhist monk recently say euro-western colonial "ascensionism" is "dis-embodied intelligence".
Thanks for the video! Solid stuff!
I was hoping to play with these themes in an upcoming Traveller/Cepheus Engine campaign so this has been super informative.
I feel like your advice is very helpful to my writing and world building.
Like OMG your "Becky voice" is sooo good LMAO
Thank you for providing a guide on how "write a story" of change.
This is amazingly helpful, to adjust "my story" of Activism
I always learn so much from your videos, I appreciate all the work you do and the heart you put it in. Always make me think about how I view world building and my creative writing
this is a super helpful video!! its gonna help a lot with writing stuff for a fictional country im working on
I am so happy to have been recommended your channel. ❤️
thank you for this thoughtful, and pointed analysis-really helpful for my writing. critical research and words you provide here.
this really helped with my short story, great worldbuilding video
Amazing to see a Ukraininan movement of Nestor Makhno mentioned in the vid💪 Thank You for such great educational and inspiring content! 👍
Really interesting. Gives me a lot to think about. I'm currently pondering how other things I believe, like violence breeds violence and force only brings temporary/superficial relief, fit with these ideas
"No real social change has ever been brought about without a revolution... revolution is but thought carried into action." ~ Emma Goldman
This is super useful for my wordlbuilding! I have been trying to figure some things out for a setting that's a lot like our world, but good. This will also help in my fantasy epic, but it's a lifesaver for that first one.
I much appreciate this video. I learned many helpful things from it. Thank you.
Very well done! One of your best videos so far. 👏👏👏
Thank you so much for this video and others. I just stumbled on your channel and I couldn't be happier. Thank you!
your videos always bring me to tears. beautiful. :)
10 mins in and yeh this is great and useful, thank you for making this! I'm a white middle class quaker and quakers are generally known to tend to be keen on non violence - but most quakers in my country (UK) are white and middle class which, yeh, isn't the ideal lens for forming a good perspective on non violence. I've been looking for a video like this. Very helpful. Thank you.
Idk why but that ding between sections of the video is really pleasant
ive been working on a story for a few months now, this will help tremendously!
I never knew Andrew would be such a fan of writing and worldbuilding
Non violent protest is better than nothing but history seems to prove it's the violent, destructive protests get the job done. Unless you can get the workers of the World to unite.
The Big Bad is like potential energy. It's not because it's invisible that it doesn't exist, and you will quickly see it change to its kinetic form upon encountering disobedience. Conditions that are peaceful in appearance are inherently violent if attempts to change them are met with repression.
When writing your stories, remember that violence and non-violence work hand in hand, They both bring good things on their own but they are most effective when used together without shunning one another.
The person the British were scared of was a man called Subash Chandra Bose. The British prime minister at that time had stated this. The commander of the Indian National Army (INA), They had even reached Imphal and with Japanese support could have created a whole lot of trouble for the few thousands British in the country. Everything about Bose was censored by the Raj to the general public and they were only made know to general public after they surrender due to Japanese having troubles in the east and had to withdrew support.
Sorry but this is incorrect. The INA "reached" Imphal as a small portion of the Imperial Japanese Army. Japan never had the goal of conquering India (contrary to what all the British apologists on the internet claim).
@@sumanadasawijayapala5372 yes. INA had fought in Imphal too. it wasn't only IJA . They were in small numbers as deputation to aid the INA forces
@@PPSRHD I think you mean the INA was in small numbers to aid the IJA.
@@sumanadasawijayapala5372 no the opposite actually. IJA did not have enough manpower to give to INA in Free india campaign. IJA was more focused in Eastern Asia and pacific to defend imperial japanese territories from USA and allied forces
@@PPSRHD The Japanese Burma Area Army had about 300,000 soldiers at the time that the INA was deployed. How many soldiers did the INA have?
the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house
Awesome video man
This was a very helpful video for my story
You left out one critical part of all this and why these struggles persist and that is CAPITALISM in all its forms.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate how much research you put into your videos and how you include both the problems, approaches to solutions, and solutions. When it comes to solutions, I especially like how you talk about how different people should contribute what they're best at and always try to teach others so they can further the cause. I was wondering though, I am in like two Leftist servers (mostly communist) that are aimed at incorporating computer science as part of resisting the state and structural violence. At around 47:10 you mentioned how it's hard to coordinate, pool resources, and plan strategies. Do you think computer science websites/platforms can help decentralized movmeents achieve those goals (i.e. create a new digital space where people can work with other people to plan and communicate about upcoming violent actions AND where people of similar skills can help each other out or maybe teach new people their skills)? Thanks for the video again and I'd like to hear your perspective.
Im not an expert, but I’d say this is already happening to some extent.
You’re watching this youtube video, right?
Sorry I’m eight months late, but hey, I think that web development is a HUGE resource to resistance movements.
Its so new that its one of the few places that many states are, for now, having a little bit of trouble regulating.
Any contemporary characters would be wise to take advantage of this vulnerability in the state and capitalism before it disappears completely.
i was intrigued by the video's theme because 'but nonviolence is good, right?'
and it is, but in my experience (location: russia), government disrupts even extremely peaceful events. i remember that we* _rented_ a place, it wasn't even in public, and organised a Live Library event - basically, people were playing roles of interactive books and you could ask all the questions you always wanted to know but was afraid to ask, or smth. there were lgbtqia+ people, vegans, activists, etc.
It wasn't even... anything, really, just an exchange of experience and talking.
Police came and disrupted the event, closing it.
I'm not even talking about protests.
*let's say 'we' but I wasn't an organiser, i was a book there
Edit: yep, I'd like for 'eating meat is violence' to sink in. Probably even sink in deep enough for people to do something about it. *sighs*
Edit2: Actually, that's pretty interesting, why aren't you against it? (animal products consumption & animal exploitation, the whole shebang) I've seen you talking about it in several videos as if it's ok.
All jokes aside, I'm legitimately writing a story about liberation in a fantasy world. I will be using this as writing advice, thank you very much
@24:00 Now THAT is an award winning photo.
This has to be seen in Canada. We are far to well heeled, polite, and soft. Nothing changes here because we cannot stop saying "Sorry".
Your domesticated not civilized.
@@sethseth9059 Essentially
Great video!!
My story involves a group of people who are marching non-violently until the point of arrest to stop projects in their country that will cause great suffering and displacement of a lot of people in the poorest countries in the world. The plan is to overwhelm the state's ability to arrest by occupying every jail cell in London for a number of weeks in order to effectively jam up this mechanism of state control and force the state to call off these projects from going ahead. I'll let you know if it has any effect.
I'm using the recent non-violent protests in the Netherlands as a reference for this story. Their goal was to stop all new fossil fuel projects from going forward and to stop all future grants going to fossil fuel companies to tackle the climate crisis. There were aprox. 9000 arrests made although there were only a few hundred protesters. They would just get arrested, get driven away from the city because the jails had reached maximum capacity, and then they'd simply walk or get a lift back to the protest site and get arrested again. This worked and now the Netherlands have agreed to their demands.
great video my friend!
I'm only halfway through the video, and I love this so far. A genuine critique on something many are terrified to criticize. And a real look on historical happenings that shaped our modern day world, that very few will discuss. I love that. However, I have to say before I forget, and I will admit if I am wrong here especially if you cover this later in the video, but one of your major points is how power structures are not only hurt, but are aided, by pacifism and nonviolent movements. But they can actually hinder power even more than violence, and simultaneously gain more support than a violent movement, and that is when the government tries to shun them. Hear me out. While the government has no conscience, people of lower, middle and even some in the owner class do. But that's not the point. It just means pacifism will gain support far more effectively than any other movement. Companies and the government, which run the economy, care greatly about economics. It's in the name of Capitalism, to capitalise, primarily on profits, and increase them everywhere. This is where the idea of civil disobedience comes in. Don't pay taxes like the owners don't, legally or not. Go on strike. Form unions, or join and support them. Boycott products and corporations. Actively shun those who do wrong and spread the word as much as you can, while simultaneously leaning as close to the truth as you possibly can and always take everything with a grain of salt. The problem is, propaganda keeps us divided. There's a reason they now have is convinced everything is at fault of "the other party". When we come together and realize we're all a little liberal and conservative on different things rather than wholely one or the other, or we just unite for a common goal, real change can be made. THAT is what they are afraid of. The owner class is built entirely on the foundation of the working class. And they have put a mind-boggling amount of effort into stopping, or at least delaying, the unity of the people, but movements are forming again. The masses are awakening from decades of misinformation, lies, coverups and propaganda.
Very informative,,by the way even Jesus showed some violence when he went into the temple and threw the tables of the scribes and Pharisee to the ground.
Well, there is a difference between being violent to people and being violent to objects and property. So Jesus throwing tables out didn't hurt the scribes and Pharisee.
violence is bad, except for wars thats good for some reason.