Malcolm's ethic of violence
Malcolm's rejection of nonviolence is expressed in large part by his ethic of violence. He claimed that it was hypocritical to ask African Americans to be nonviolent in the face of White terrorism. He asked, "How are you going to be nonviolent in Mississippi, as brutal as you were in Korea?", pointing out the violence required by African American soldiers to defend the nation. "When your churches are attacked and young girls are killed, how can you explain remaining nonviolent in Mississippi and Alabama when you become violent toward Hitler, Tojo, and someone else you don't even know"? In addition, he critiqued how no one expected White people to be nonviolent in the face of an attack whereas Black people were expected to be. According to James Baldwin, who agreed with Malcolm, "violence and heroism have been made synonymous in the United States, except when it comes to blacks."
Malcolm disagreed with the nonviolent movement's utilitarian tenets as well. His oft-repeated phrase, "By all means necessary," sums up his philosophy of oppressive resistance. He advocated for using greater force to subdue an opponent because doing otherwise is impossible. Malcolm reasoned that in order to combat oppression, nonviolence was ineffective. In Malcolm’s opinion, nonviolence was also dishonoring to Black men. He suggested that “everything in the universe does something when you start playing with your life, except the American Negro". He lays down and says, "Beat me, daddy". Further, children will be ashamed of parents who take a nonviolent stance. In summary, as Cone explains, “Malcolm felt that nonviolence was ‘unmanning’".
Malcolm further argued that nonviolent education was a White society ruse to render Black people powerless. He stated that nonviolent Black preachers were being utilized by Whites to disarm unsatisfied Blacks, likening them to Novocain, which allows you to suffer without violence. Louis DeCaro, a Malcolm expert, claims that Malcolm's answer to the dominant "Christian" mentality that guided the civil rights movement was "very sound" in this regard. He had a gut feeling that the famous quotes from Christ about forgiving one's adversaries and turning the other cheek had been misinterpreted.
