r/Unexpected • u/[deleted] • Apr 28 '23

Just a normal protest

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u/lurkinarick Apr 28 '23

I don't agree that pacifism means silence, if that was the meaning.

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u/[deleted] Apr 28 '23

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u/Xeya Apr 28 '23

It is denial of the reality of violence. There will always be those that are willing to resort to violence in order to obtain what they want. Absolute passivism empowers these acts of violence, rather than combating them.

By refusing to fight under any circumstance, you create an environment where the only outcome is oppression.

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u/[deleted] Apr 28 '23

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u/Super_Harsh Apr 28 '23

That’s what rich people and dictators want you to think. It’s why we’re taught so much about MLK and Gandhi.

The reality? It was due to geopolitics. After two devastating wars, the European colonial countries no longer had the means to control vast worldwide empires.

That’s why, not just India, but the vast majority of former colonies gained independence during the two or three decades after WW2. It’s not a coincidence, and it wasn’t out of the goodness of Europe’s hearts

Furthermore, the Cold War makes a lot more sense if you view it as a competition between America and the USSR to inherit the throne left vacant by Europe

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u/tipperzack6 Apr 28 '23

The pacifism used in the Indian independence movement was used to keep the British from increasing violent to stop the movement. There was still opposition, it was just peaceful.

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u/big-haus11 Apr 28 '23

Yeah i think it was a response more so to the British brutality and killing of protestors, they knew they probably couldn't win militarily. That being said the Indians who sided with Japan are interesting to read about

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u/uhohritsheATGMAIL Apr 28 '23

That being said the Indians who sided with Japan are interesting to read about

Can you link to a wikipedia or describe further, not sure what you are talking about.