Is Violence Ever 'Okay' In Activism?

This week's episode of This American Life, #381: Turncoat, told the story of Brandon Darby, an activist/anarchist-turned-FBI informant. 

It got me thinking a lot about the rights and wrongs of activism, specifically when violence is used as a means to express an opinion or make a point. 

In this case, Darby's story relates to the potential use of violence at the Republican National Convention in August 2008, and how he took steps to prevent it. He did so as an informant for the FBI, and two activists from Texas, David McKay and Brad Crowder, were consequently sentenced to 4 and 2 years in jail, respectively. Many activists were very upset with Darby's decision, saying he was whoring out to the government. Others thought he provoked McKay and Crowder, then ratted them out. 

I will elaborate on Darby's story as I continue to think about this post, but I wanted to investigate more on historical uses of violence in activism, and when the use of violence is good (or if it ever can be) versus when it's bad.  More to come on this, but until then, click here to see Darby's letter.