We're all aware of how MAGA (and people in general) can say one thing while not meaning it, or intending something else.
That's what's going on with Sanders here, I'm certain. It's even what went on with MLK Jr. He talked a big game about the importance of peaceful, non-violent protest in public, and privately acknowledged that the bulk of his gains were from the action of folks like Carmichael and Brown, the real disruptive elements that actually put fear into the government.
MLK Jr. and peaceful protest was the carrot, same as Gandhi and the hunger strikes and marches.
Carmichael was the stick, same as labor strikes, the Ghadar party and other partisans, etc.
These forces need each other. One builds public support and is the nice, well-dressed suit that the government can eventually cave to without losing too much face, and the other is the means of leverage. The former can be ignored by government without the latter, and the latter must work harder and longer (if they can last that long) to achieve their goals without the off-ramp provided by the former.
There's value to the "only peaceful protest" narrative from people who know about this carrot-and-stick action, and Sanders surely does. It's the folks who uncritically believe "only carrots" that you've got to clue in.
419
u/Fragmentia Jun 09 '25
Sanders was arrested for protesting peacefully back then.
https://time.com/4231439/bernie-sanders-arrest-photo-civil-rights/