Sure. Let yourself become “internal” and then assassinate and terror-bomb and sabotage them. I wasn’t suggesting pacifism, I was suggesting not outsourcing your “self-defense” to a state.
Militaries can never give you self-defense, they can only give self-defense to themselves, more specifically military high command. Or the military-industrial complex if you’re feeling fancy. You are a source of taxes, morale, and manpower.
One thing to remember is that the alternative to a military is being able to spend all the money and resources and labor and life that was going to the military on other projects. Even spending it all on self-defense if need be.
Haiti’s independence war, the October revolution, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Irish independence movement, the French revolution, India’s independence guerillas, Indonesia’s independence guerillas, women’s rights movements (including suffragette terrorism), the Black Panthers, Christians in the Roman empire, Al Qaeda fighting off NATO, …
I’m not suggesting pacifism, I’m suggesting decentralized violence that isn’t at the command of a state.
Unironically, yes. Shape the tools of violence for the situation, keep them in the hands of those they are meant to defend, and suddenly it’s a lot less evil.
It’s the same way your grandma knitting you a scarf is less evil than a sweatshop knitting you one.
I mean self-defense is not bad. US is just not defending itself from anyone.
Self-defense from a self inflicted problem though?
If only we had countless examples from history of people successfully defending themselves without a military…
That only works for internal resistance I believe? Like, Ukrainians can’t defend against the Kremlin with a sitting strike
However, we definitely need more sitting strikes nowadays. We’ve grown complacent in exchange for small pleasantries
Sure. Let yourself become “internal” and then assassinate and terror-bomb and sabotage them. I wasn’t suggesting pacifism, I was suggesting not outsourcing your “self-defense” to a state.
Militaries can never give you self-defense, they can only give self-defense to themselves, more specifically military high command. Or the military-industrial complex if you’re feeling fancy. You are a source of taxes, morale, and manpower.
One thing to remember is that the alternative to a military is being able to spend all the money and resources and labor and life that was going to the military on other projects. Even spending it all on self-defense if need be.
We have only grown complacent because they have everyone starved on the edge of poverty and no one can afford to risk it.
Do we?
Haiti’s independence war, the October revolution, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Irish independence movement, the French revolution, India’s independence guerillas, Indonesia’s independence guerillas, women’s rights movements (including suffragette terrorism), the Black Panthers, Christians in the Roman empire, Al Qaeda fighting off NATO, …
I’m not suggesting pacifism, I’m suggesting decentralized violence that isn’t at the command of a state.
Ah, bespoke artisanal violence. That’s the difference
Unironically, yes. Shape the tools of violence for the situation, keep them in the hands of those they are meant to defend, and suddenly it’s a lot less evil.
It’s the same way your grandma knitting you a scarf is less evil than a sweatshop knitting you one.