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Chapter 9: ~ Nonviolence and Armed Defense _onvio.en eo “ dL In recent years a sense of desperation has grown in the Negro community. This despera- tion is rooted in the failure of the civil rights movement to achieve, and of the white power structure to surrender, enough to satisfy. This has resulted in a significant growth of organiza- tions such as, on the one extreme,the Muslims (Black Separatism),and on the other extreme more traditional inteaqratinniat grouninge which are sMVee Sieieies MSP rasiOMiss CTOCUPINE S whith are non-affiliated, tend tu be emotional in their tone, and seem reluctant or unable to discuss, advocate, ~or train followers in nonviolence. The result has been an increase in attacks on the concepts and tactics of nonviolence, and an increasing interest Healthy debate between these two important tendencies in direct action (nonviolence versus armed defense) has been rare. Respected leaders ' of nonviolent groups have been reluctant to pub- licize the opposition, and the advocates of armed defense generally do not care about white public 110 opinion, hence have limited their propaganda work to Negro circles, But healthy debate is essential if we are to understand the two tenden- cies, and if we are to have an accurate perspec - tive on civil rights in the next few years. Advocates of various brands of Black Nationalism and armed defense (they overlap, but are not synonymous) criticize nonviolence on these general grounds: Argument 1: Nonviolence does not look out for the safety and life of individuals. Lead- ers of nonviolent movements talk in terms of spilling"our" blood, rather than spilling "theirs." This ia nonsense. Why should the innocents be made to auffer? Who are these leaders, to be willing to sacrifice their followers to racist madmen? It is important to safeguard our lives, and the lives of our families, Nonviolence cannot do this because it does nothing to deter violence on the part of mobs, police authorities, etc. _ In order to avoid many kinds of direct violence against innocent Negroes, and in order to avoid violent reprisals against civil rights demonstrators, it ise necessary to make sure potential attackers understand that the price of attack will be high. In many instances, notably in Monroe, N.C., deterrence theory" has paid off. Knowledge that Negroes are armed and will defend themselves deters aggression. Rebuttal: In any direct action campaign where the opponents are determined, campaigners will suffer. This is the experience of history, whether 111