(December 15, 2024 at 7:15 pm)The Grand Nudger Wrote: It may feel that way, but studies of extremism show that extremists don't hurt more mainstream dissidents the way we think they might. A violent extremist normalizes the previously unheard of and makes other lesser™ forms of that same extremism seem more acceptable.
Yes, I agree with that. The way I would frame it is to say that, in isolation, nonviolent strategies outperform violent ones. However, in the context of a greater nonviolent movement, a violent minority does have the effect of motivating otherwise resistant people towards the support of nonviolent group. Unfortunately, with the UnitedHealth shooting there isn't really a larger nonviolent movement advocating for reform. I'm not sure Bernie Sanders, for example, is still leading such a movement. There's a sense in which he's passed the baton down to A.O.C., but she hasn't really mobilized people on this issue.
That said, even though I agree such effects exist, I would still object to the use of violence on principle and consistency grounds.
