tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3563811638411839784.post7955037561673109520..comments2023-05-15T07:11:30.874+02:00Comments on Leherensuge: Civil disobedience and the Basque national problem (1)Majuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12369840391933337204noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3563811638411839784.post-27210499394901766812008-02-12T05:52:00.000+01:002008-02-12T05:52:00.000+01:00I'm not talking about "pacifism" but about nonviol...I'm not talking about "pacifism" but about nonviolence: about civil disobedience, which is an active form of political struggle that chooses not to use violence (for several reasons, most important of which, in my opinion may be effectivity). <BR/><BR/>One of the issues we had in that debate I mention in my post is related to the fact that the ideological declaration of our organization (MOC) explicitly acknowledged the right to self-defense: for the "pacifists" claimed that paragraph to be wrongly there (a historical compromise, blah, blah), while the "resister" faction considered it to be essential. <BR/><BR/>We never believed that teh right to self-defense is wrong nor that self-defense by violent means is deplorable. No way. We thought that, in many circumstances, the possibility of achieving successes, of "winning the conflict" is not mre at hand because of the use of violence, as most of the struggle is political anyway and the use of force only create divisions and gives justifications to the rival. <BR/><BR/>Basically (in our case): ETA's violence causes little or no harm to their rival (Spain) and is unlikely to do so in the future. Instead it causes divisions and gives pretexts to their enemy. So some other more effective strategy should be considered. <BR/><BR/>The goal is not to justify this or that but to liberate the Basque people. If a strategy of outright disobedience can achieve a greater consensus and cause at least the same difficulties to the residual Spanish empire, it's probably the way to go. <BR/><BR/>But disobedience means much more than the occasional shy gesture: it means that basically the Spanish state should be made to disappear from the social reality and that any residual forced presence would be systematically challengd by, of course, nonviolent means. <BR/><BR/>Anyhow, it's just a meditation.Majuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12369840391933337204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3563811638411839784.post-59902212762328954592008-02-11T23:57:00.000+01:002008-02-11T23:57:00.000+01:00Pacifism is a deeply anti-human ideology. It is al...Pacifism is a deeply anti-human ideology. It is also an expression of weakness. (see George Orwell's essay on the subject)<BR/><BR/>As George Orwell also said: "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." I've often thought this when, for instance, liberals go on about physical force antifascism being "authoritarian." The only reason they have the freedom to say that kind of shit is because men laid their arses on the line to protect freedom.English republicanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16640500000189617893noreply@blogger.com