Violent protests are not a just response to political oppression: A positive argument

This writeup is part of a series of debates where I was presenting the argument in favor of the motion that violent protests are not a just response to political oppression.

Good Morning Madam Chairperson, members of the jury, and the house at large. Today, I will be speaking for the motion: Violent protests are not a just response to political oppression. We gained independence from the British in 1947 through a method of non-violence led by Gandhi Ji. After Gandhi Ji came, many people did not believe him and wanted to riot by burning homes, attacking camps, and killing thousands of soldiers. But it didn’t work, did it? This shows that non violence is a good form of protesting as no one is hurt and with patience, it can be successful. Did you know that in the recent farmer protests, more than 248 farmers died! Inspired by the non-violent movement of India, leaders like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr led protests that were non-violent, and they were highly revolutionary!

Let me start my argument of why peaceful protests are a just response to political oppression by stating a few advantages of non-violent protests. Firstly, a study shows that peaceful protests attract more than 11 times more public participation then violent protests. This explains that peaceful protests can be more efficacious as more people can come together and share their combined opinion on something. Secondly, the success rate of non-violent protests is 51%. And violent campaigns are successful merely 27% of the time. Doesn’t this show that peaceful protests are so much more effective? Thirdly, a peaceful protest is peaceful, and so there is a lot lower risk that you will get hurt if you choose to help protest. Peaceful protests are often also more organized because the people participating have a calmer approach. And finally, the last advantage and most important of them is that peaceful protests remind people that even when governed by an oppressive government, the power still lies with the people.

Talking about the disadvantages of violent protests, did you know that the failure rate of violent protests is 60%! There are massive numbers of death and huge amounts of destruction. Doesn’t that make violent protests an unjust response to political oppression?

I would like to end my argument with a quote by John F Kennedy. Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable. Thank you.