From a young age, we are taught that any and all forms of violence are completely and totally unjustifiable, regardless of the motivations behind said violence. We are taught that the people in charge know what they’re doing, and that they have our best interests in mind. We are taught that disdain for the systems of the world is allowed, as long as such disdain remains within the bounds of the world.

I’m here to tell you all that that’s all bullshit. Violence isn’t desirable, far from it. I would go as far as saying that violence for violence’s sake is horrific. But revolutionary violence is necessary and justified for the safety of oneself and the safety of others, or when used against a status quo that reinforces itself with violence of its own.

Capitalism and the state as we know it are based on illegitimate, bogus, and hypocritical ideas, and thus need to use acts of violence to justify and cover up the violence inherent to them.

Is it not violent to deny healthcare to millions of Americans?

Is it not violent to let millions of homeless people freeze in the streets?

Is it not violent to separate children from their parents at the border?

Is it not violent to have the militant arm of the state kill black Americans because of the color of their skin?

Is it not violent to let children suffer and wallow in abject poverty?

Is it not violent to try and groom the most vulnerable high school graduates into joining the military?

Is it not violent to enable the complete and total destruction of the Earth?

Is it not violent to force each and every person in this country to choose between work or starvation?

We may not think of these things as violent at first thought, because these acts of violence have been so institutionalized that they’ve become normal to us. Any justified society should shudder at the thought of people going hungry because they can’t afford food, but this is an everyday occurrence in the world as we currently know it.

We are all socialists because we reject the status quo and the violence it uses to reinforce itself. We seek to establish an equal and just society where peace is upheld.

But, as Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panthers, once said, “We are advocates for the abolition of war, we do not want war, but war can only be abolished through war. And in order to get rid of the gun, we find it necessary to take up the gun.”

We live in a world where the right to obey has been thrust upon us, and those in power have given themselves the right to kill. Using revolutionary violence to demonstrate against those in power and the way the world is is an unabashed act of self defense and the defense of others. It’s sad that things have to be this way, but violence against property is the only way to get the attention of a world that cares more about property than human life.

And so, I leave you all with one more quote, this time from Malcolm X: “Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.”