“Self-made”.
Reminder, once again, that this man was repeatedly promoted and placed in positions holding the power of life and death throughout his career in the US military. Then he was promoted through the ranks of the US intelligence and diplomatic services.
Meritocracy. Brave and Noble Troops. Leaders of the Free World.
“Renewables suck because solar/wind/whatever is unreliable”.
Did Western media constantly demand that the Mujahideen enter peace talks? Or the Contras? The jihadists in Syria and Xinjiang?
Or are the demands for civility and surrender reserved for those who oppose Western empire?
Compare with the US reaction to Black protest against police brutality vs white sports riots.
How did Gandhi do it vs. the British Empire?
With backing from a century of armed struggle and a fair few military mutinies.
The brits didn’t quit India because Gandhi convinced them to be moral; they quit because they knew they’d be facing increasingly intense insurgency if they didn’t, and lacked the resources to suppress it after WWII.
Somewhat analogous to the relationship between MLK and Malcolm X, although Malcolm never actually stepped it up to active armed struggle.
Thank you for re-educating me. 
Do you think armed struggle is always necessary to achieve such goals? Are there examples of such? I’m going to look myself, but you might already know of something pertinent.
The only successful almost-bloodless revolutions that spring to mind are what happened as the Balkan states separated from the disintegrating USSR. And there are a fair few where almost all of the blood shed was done by government forces failing to suppress it.
But it is possible.
However, the issue with making that work in the USA is:
Thank you!
Before the pandemic hit, I was considering street-performing at a fairly busy intersection at the Detroit-Warren border. I would love to disrupt society with random acts of amusement, beauty, & kindness, as well as with songs that sound like nonsense at first but actually make sense when they’re being listened to.
But I always end up letting my fear of being injured/getting in trouble w/the law stop me, one or the other (or both). I wish I knew someone in my area with whom I could do such things.
Addendum: As soon as he got to “…when your opponent sees your suffering…”, I knew what was coming next. Reminds me of the Japanese, thinking the US would bow down before them after the raid on Pearl Harbor. I’m still tryna figure THAT one out.
also I’m too old by the Western definition of “Youth” to be a Yippie, lulz.
It’s important to note, however, that non-violent resistance does not always need to rely upon the conscience of the oppressor.
Strikes, non-compliance, etc.
Americans desperately fantasising about the prospect of millions of dead Chinese: