Nonviolence has failed. Or has it?

by Matthew Harris-Gloyer

Is Nonviolence THE Way? I ponder this question as I read an article in the most recent UTNE reader. (Read it at www.utne.com)

In the article, Peter Gelderloos writes that nonviolence has utterly failed all throughout history. Even MLK, Gandhi, U.S. peace movement and others have all failed in their attempts to bring about change, says Gelderloos. I must admit that he proffers a convincing argument. He writes that the peace movement distorts the full story concerning the self-proclaimed achievenments of the peace and nonviolence movements. The fact that there were numerous factors leading up to Indian independence, the U.S. Civil Rights in the 50′s and 60′s, and the ending of the Vietnam war in the 70′s are forgotten and distorted by many who advocate nonviolence. Gelderloos is correct that there was a militant wing that helped to force British capitulation to the Indians and the Black Panther Party was gaining in its militancy and the fact of disaster in Vietnam is well documented.

I think that Gelderloos is correct in all of the above and that history is complex. Yet, I also wonder what happens when we forgo all attempts at making change through an alternative method to violence. What happens to our souls when we make that short step to picking up the gun?

And, I also think about how I have the luxury and privilege to even consider such a question. It seems to me that perhaps many who do pick up the gun do not have much of a choice. Isn’t there a Zapatista saying that goes something like, “It is land or death.”? For the Zapatistas of the Mexican Yucatan, their very livelihood and their lives were (and continue to be) threatened by the inauguration of NAFTA brought about by U.S. President Bill Clinton. Thus, on the 1st of Jan 1994, the Zapatistas took by armed force several towns and have been struggling for their life ever since. Who am I to declare that their action was not the best thing to do?

I would like to return to the peace and nonviolence movements to end this short essay. If Gelderloos is correct, that the nonviolence movements have utterly failed, then what is stopping me from picking up a gun? For, if a gun has proven itself to be the better change maker, then what am I waiting for? Perhaps my answer to that question will arise in a forthcoming essay. Until then…