Ask HN: What is and isn't acceptable forms of protest?
Interested in hearing the differing views of this community and your take on recent events in the states.
Acceptable: just about everything else bearing in mind empathy and mutual consideration of others.
The idea that protests cannot be violent is strange to me. non-violence is a particular strategy, not a requirement.
What's important is to show that everyone agrees on a policy. Politicians are social creatures. Colonists care about cost-benefit. Politicians only care that they'll hold on to power; nobody wants to be backing the guy on his way down.
I think most protests are not consistent enough. Protests are a marathon, they need to be done over years, consistently. We had tear gas and chemical sprays for the first years of corruption protests, but as time went on, the protesters became more peaceful, and the police started to have sympathy for them.
A good modern example is gay rights. I'm not sure if 'protest' is the best word, but it has been done over many years and non-violently.
That said, it's not for all situations. Protesting Japanese occupation resulted in rape and torture. Violence didn't work either.
So violent protests against violent oppression is acceptable. Violence against not violent issues are not acceptable (like vegans against farmers, eco-activists protests, etc).