Blog Post 7

During the Civil Rights movement, Malcolm X in his earlier career did support the use of Violence in protests to gain Black rights. Some of the tactics that Malcolm used during his earlier career was counterviolence, only because the White people had done it to the black Community for so long, He even states in one of his speeches, that "If it is right for America to draft us and teach us how to be violent in the defense of her, then it is right for you and me to do whatever is necessary to defend our own people right here in this country."

Malcolm X and the Black panthers used symbolic violence throughout the course of the Civil Rights movement. They would often carry weapons strapped to their shoulders and hips as a sign saying that they will use them if they had to and that it isn't correct to brutalize the black community. This can be considered Terrorism because to the White community, these groups of people are causing Black civilians to rise up and start carrying weapons as well, causing the people on the White side to feel threatened and unprotected. However this can be viewed as morally correct, because from the Black perspective they were brandishing these weapons, not with an intent to kill, but with an intent to stop random acts of violence against the Black community.

In my opinion, Violence is a double edged sword. Because whoever is the first group to use it, then the other group feels threatened and/or wants revenge for the violent actions, causing them react worse and even more violently. When it comes to Social Movements I feel that there is a delicate balance of both sides, one with violence and one with a more political side. Yes I feel that violence can be an answer.