Adrian Salgado

Per.1 Ms. McFadden

4/22/15
Should we use Violence or Non-Violence to solve our Problems?

We live in a non-perfect world full of injustices that are not always justified.
Where the two most common and contrary methods of facing these injustices are by
using violence or non-violence. Although we all are entitled to our own methods to
deal with an injustice, I believe that the best way is to use non-violence as nonviolence doesnt lead to further violence and because there are many more ways to
respond using non-violence compared to violence. For example, two of the greatest
Civil Rights Activists Martin Luther King and Malcom X both fought for equal rights
for African Americans but MLK used non-violence while Malcom X used violence. As
we all have the same goal in mind to end the injustice but the tactics we use may or
may not achieve us that goal.

People who argue towards using violence have probably heard the phrase
you must fight fire with fire. Such as Malcom X who believed that the only way to
stop an injustice is to use violent methods. Shown in his quote a man with a rifle or
club can only be stopped by a person who defends himself with a rifle or cub
(Digital History Doc). But in reality how effective is this form of what some may call
self-defense? Self-defense is when you protect yourself from an attack but when you
start hitting back to the point that you can be the oppressor it is no longer
considered self-defense. Given practically any real-world solution using violence to
stop violence will most likely not end up in your favor. As the oppressor is almost

always physically, socially, stronger or outnumbers you. For example, a bully is

usually older and bigger than his victim so fighting back wouldnt really work. Which
is why instead of trying to fight fire with fire you should use the opposite water or in
this case non-violence.
People who use violence usually dont think of the situation before-hand,
while people who use non-violence understand their situation more and end up with
solutions that will end the problem once and for all. Non-Violent methods include
things such as speeches, protests, marchers, and etc. These tactics require lots of
people in order to work, which some may say consider as a con, but in reality it is a
pro as there is strength in numbers and numbers show just how important
something is. As seen in the movie Selma things such as marches might not work
the first time as how even though the march was non-violent the marchers were still
assaulted, but after a few more tries they were successful. So although using nonviolence might take a longer time to display an effect it is still the better choice to
use. As shown in MLKs quote Fewer people have been killed in ten years of nonviolent demonstrations across the South than were killed in one night of rioting in
Watts (Digital History Doc).

One example that shows the effectiveness of using non-violence to stop

violence is the story of Daryl Davis. Mr. Davis was an African American man
musician who was able to make friends with people who members of the KKK.
Which eventually brought down the KKK in Maryland. He was able to do this
because he was able to show these KKK members that blacks and whites may not
be the same but they are also not entirely different. Which ties into the quote by

MLK hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. This process was not fast
as the trust and friendship was earned throughout the years but by using nonviolence he was able to end the KKK that not only was beneficial for him but was
beneficial for all other African Americans that lived in Maryland.

So in the end it all comes down to using fire to expand the flame or using
water to put out this fire of violence and hatred once and for all. The possibilities of
non-violent solutions are endless but all the violent ones are revolved around you
overpowering the oppressor and not coming up with a solution at all. Sometimes
choosing to use non-violence when all options point towards using violence show
just how strong you really are. Because we live in a world that strives for peace and
in order to achieve this we must stop all violence with the power of non-violence.