Violent Protest-Yay or Nay?

Mahatma Gandhi is heavily against the use of violence as a form of civil disobedience. He used the term satyagraha to mean a form of non-violent civil disobedience, saying that, "The spirit of non-violence necessarily leads to humility. Non-violence means reliance on God, the Rock of Ages... It is a test of our sincerity. It requires solid and silent self-sacrifice. It challenges our honesty and our capacity for national work. It is a movement that aims at translating ideas into action. And the more we do, the more we find that much more must be done than we had expected. And this thought of our imperfection must make us humble." This humility allows action to speak for its creed and relies on the strength of how right the position truly is.

This form of civil disobedience is pertinent to modern day protests. Peaceful protest is a common and effective way to bring attention to issues plaguing our nation today and help with the progression of movements like Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter aims to address the prejudices of society and is not encouraging of violence. If people were to act violent, it taints the name of the movement and further defends harmful stereotypes. Gandhi believes that “Non-violence is complete innocence,” and by committing to non-violence, it is appreciative and inclusive of all life; non-violent civil disobedience “is pure Love.”