[an orange character is driving a bulldozer, facing a house]
I am going to bulldoze your house

[a yellow character is shocked]

[yellow asks politely, hands clasped]
Could you please not do that?

[orange, pushing the bulldozer's controls, answers]
NO!

[yellow walks away from their house, looking dismayed]
Well, I guess I tried to do everything I could
Too bad

[orange smiles smugly as they bulldoze yellow's house]

https://thebad.website/comic/respectable_resistance

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[–] 12 points 1 day ago (3 children)

We already have a society where violence is accepted as a method of change. Look at the Iran War, or any of the other wars of aggression. Are they not trying to use violence to make changes in Iran?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    Are those things accepted morally or accepted perforce? You don't accept them morally, it would seem. Are you not part of this world? Are you alone in those views? Are those views absent from the American conceptual space? Of course not. Power differentials allow unpopular actions, and the trend toward imperial presidency in America has created a massive power differential.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    Are those views absent from the American conceptual space?

    Pretty damn close. And if you look at other wars and conflicts, the idea that we should even consider other options besides violence is often considered dangerously naive, if not outright treasonous. There's a reason why we have a military budget higher than the next 9 countries combined, and why spending was at an all time high even under Biden. Yes, the ruling class is generally more warmongering and has to drag people along to a degree, but they are able to do so without too much trouble, and their propaganda is effective.

    I guess my point is that it's not so much a question of whether violence is an accepted tactic, which I think it always has been and probably always will be, but rather which conditions and targets are acceptable. If violence is seen as acceptable only under certain conditions, then once those conditions are eliminated people can turn to peace while having internally consistent beliefs. And should those conditions arise again, they can switch between war and peace as necessary.

    Like, if innocent people are in danger and violence is the only means of protecting them, you don't need to convince everyone, "violence is cool and good," and then afterwards convince them that's wrong. You just need to convince them, "using violence to protect the innocent is cool and good," and they can keep believing that their whole lives.

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