``But what baffles me is what makes otherwise intelligent people choose tactics that by a rational account not only have a zero chance of success, but also a very high chance of backfiring and producing effects that are opposite to those sought by the movement in question.'' Wojtek
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I'll try to explain. Basically, they (we) got fed up. All that nicy-nicy political civil rights talk and church lady chat about peace, wasn't cutting shit on the street. It was universal message.
It is a mistake to associate the Panthers with Weather Underground, RAF, and Red Brigades. The Panthers were not underground terrorists.
For one thing the Panthers worked within the context of the local political establishment. By doing so, they exposed the fault lines of that establishment and over turned it with mass support---and that worked for awhile.
CG