The Power Dynamic of Nonviolence

If you can persist in the face of repression, you communicate to your adversary that what they’re doing isn’t so much bad, which it probably is, as much as it is ineffective. Then you begin to drive a wedge between the liberals and conservatives in power. The liberals moan and complain, ”They’re making us look so bad, can’t we think of something to give them to get them to stop or at least slow down?” The conservatives respond, “No, no, no. If we’re more brutal, we can break them.” Nevertheless, IF you can persist in the face of repression, you push that wedge further and further between the factions of power. Here’s the key: the better the nonviolent discipline, the further the wedge will go for any given level of effort and sacrifice. The smoother the wedge, the further it goes. The rougher the wedge, the slower it proceeds.