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116 points wslh | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.2s | source
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amatecha ◴[] No.42162344[source]
The degree of wisdom and truly "evolved" thinking demonstrated in this letter is deeply inspiring. Simultaneously, it conversely seems to support the idea that you can't really reason with fascists because their hunger for power (and destruction) is essentially insatiable and they won't stop because someone spoke some convincing words.
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throwaway10oct ◴[] No.42162476[source]
I respectfully disagree because Gandhi's approach may seem idealistic, but in reality, nature functions on the basis of survival of the fittest.

Nonviolent methods often require the possibility of violence as a backdrop to be effective. Otherwise, they might not yield the desired results.

While Gandhi's philosophy sounds nice in theory, it may not always be the most practical in real-world scenarios.

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1. abhiyerra ◴[] No.42167007[source]
I agree with you. No one seems to remember the Quit India movement during WW2 which was led by Gandhi which was violent. Or that Gandhi was not the only Freedom Fighter and others like Subhas Chandra Bose were working with the Axis powers to fight against the British.

Or that the soldiers that actually fought for the British in WW2 western theater came back with the ideas of democracy that didn’t really exist in India because of the various puppet governments that people actually interacted with.

This is also true in the USA where you have figures like MLK who had complementary aggressive forces like Malcom X.

It is interesting also because India has turned from Gandhi in a lot of ways. A lot of my own family now think that Gandhi was a useful idiot. Useful at the time, but long past his due and that there needs to be a refocus on a more assertive Hindu identity like Bose.