“The nonviolent resistor… knows that in his struggle for justice he has cosmic companionship. There is a creative power in the universe that works to bring low gigantic mountains of evil and pull...
MLK was operating under some pretty important unstated assumptions in calling for nonviolent resistance. That's a tactic that can only succeed in specific circumstances which he failed to specify. It never would have worked against, say, Stalin. It worked for Ghandi against the British because other nations could pressure them; because there could be, and was, democratic resistance to the British government; and because the British were never willing to use Stalinist brutality even against people they considered inferior.
The same essential conditions worked in favor of King in the US, with the added boost from the existence of Northern states unwilling to support the brutality of Southern racists and a federal government with, at long last, power to intervene.
It's unfortunate that there aren't any universal remedies for tyranny, but each case calls for different strategies and tactics.
Wonderful piece by MLK!
MLK was operating under some pretty important unstated assumptions in calling for nonviolent resistance. That's a tactic that can only succeed in specific circumstances which he failed to specify. It never would have worked against, say, Stalin. It worked for Ghandi against the British because other nations could pressure them; because there could be, and was, democratic resistance to the British government; and because the British were never willing to use Stalinist brutality even against people they considered inferior.
The same essential conditions worked in favor of King in the US, with the added boost from the existence of Northern states unwilling to support the brutality of Southern racists and a federal government with, at long last, power to intervene.
It's unfortunate that there aren't any universal remedies for tyranny, but each case calls for different strategies and tactics.
Also noticed: https://prisonculture.substack.com/p/coretta-scott-king-and-looking-backwards