What is violence? Who gets to define it? Does it have a place in our movements? These age-old questions have returned to the fore during the Occupy movement. But this discussion never takes place on a level playing field; while some delegitimize violence, the language of legitimacy itself paves the way for the authorities to employ it.
In response to the recent backlash against diversity of tactics, we’ve prepared a new feature—The Illegitimacy of Violence, the Violence of Legitimacy—explaining why we consider this an important principle for anyone invested in the pursuit of liberation.
A print-ready pdf of this text is available here.