successful non-violent revolutions? a few. The Indian Independence movement, The Velvet Revolution, the People Power Revolution, the Singing Revolution…and that’s about it. But keep in mind two of those revolutions were against the Soviets who were quite literally on their way out anyways.
So would a non-violent revolution against the current state of things, at least in North America (Canada is in a similar boat to the US with this) work? doubtful. You already have two liberal governments in power and still nothing is being done. It would be worse if both conservative parties obtained power. Liberals and Democrats will do and say all the things to be the good guys but potentially take money from corporations/the rich to improve the lives of everyone else? no chance in hell, their pockets get lined by the same people as those on the opposite side of the isle.
The “revolutions” you listed were pretty violent. The Indian Independence Movement was famously bloody. Even Ghandi was murdered by conservatives.
Countless protesters were murdered in the Velvet Revolution. The protesters themselves were peaceful: I’ll give you that. But they were slaughtered for 30 years before a transition of government finally happened. Hell, it even started violently as hundrsds of thousands of Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia and slaughtered protesters.
Demonstrators in the Philipines were similarly murdered in ipen, violent fashion in the People Power Revolution. But, yes. The protesters remained nonviolent as entire families were erased by Marcos.
The Singing Revolution was pretty peaceful, but not without violence (see Bloody Sunday of 1991), but I would argue also that Soviet contr of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were almost entirely by declaration rather than direct oppression. As such, the Soviets offered almost no resistance to their declarations of independence. The oppressive conservative machine just didn’t really exist there when the “revolution” happened.
I don’t think there can be truly peaceful coexistence between conservatives and normal people in the U.S. The conservatives will always seek to oppress the normal people. That is just their nature. A cure is technically possible, but it would require following through this time. I just don’t think most normal people have the stomach for that.
successful non-violent revolutions? a few. The Indian Independence movement, The Velvet Revolution, the People Power Revolution, the Singing Revolution…and that’s about it. But keep in mind two of those revolutions were against the Soviets who were quite literally on their way out anyways.
So would a non-violent revolution against the current state of things, at least in North America (Canada is in a similar boat to the US with this) work? doubtful. You already have two liberal governments in power and still nothing is being done. It would be worse if both conservative parties obtained power. Liberals and Democrats will do and say all the things to be the good guys but potentially take money from corporations/the rich to improve the lives of everyone else? no chance in hell, their pockets get lined by the same people as those on the opposite side of the isle.
The “revolutions” you listed were pretty violent. The Indian Independence Movement was famously bloody. Even Ghandi was murdered by conservatives.
Countless protesters were murdered in the Velvet Revolution. The protesters themselves were peaceful: I’ll give you that. But they were slaughtered for 30 years before a transition of government finally happened. Hell, it even started violently as hundrsds of thousands of Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia and slaughtered protesters.
Demonstrators in the Philipines were similarly murdered in ipen, violent fashion in the People Power Revolution. But, yes. The protesters remained nonviolent as entire families were erased by Marcos.
The Singing Revolution was pretty peaceful, but not without violence (see Bloody Sunday of 1991), but I would argue also that Soviet contr of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were almost entirely by declaration rather than direct oppression. As such, the Soviets offered almost no resistance to their declarations of independence. The oppressive conservative machine just didn’t really exist there when the “revolution” happened.
I don’t think there can be truly peaceful coexistence between conservatives and normal people in the U.S. The conservatives will always seek to oppress the normal people. That is just their nature. A cure is technically possible, but it would require following through this time. I just don’t think most normal people have the stomach for that.