Self Defense: A Philosophy of Violence

From this point of view, Rodney King’s protective reflexes, the disorderly movements by which he struggled to stay alive (he flaps his arms, staggers, tries to get up, stands on his knees) were described as being under his “total control” and as evidence of “dangerous intent,” as if violence were the sole voluntary action possible for a Black body,

By defending himself against police violence, Rodney King became indefensible. In other words, the more he defended himself, the more he was beaten and the more he came to be perceived as the aggressor.

She has never wanted to inconvenience or bother anyone, but in fact she has been taught how to kill men all her life, and they have done so much to bring her to this point. They have taught her violence well, and it does not take much will or much strength to engage in violence. It does not take much technical skill or training, which is precisely

She has never practiced martial arts or received any special training, she never learned to use a hammer, a knife, or a pistol, and yet, under the surface, her experiences of violence have served as lessons in feminist self-defense.36 Without her even realizing it, they have given her the resources needed to reason, judge, act, and strike—that is,

These experiences of the banality of power are commensurable, and they provide the vantage point from which to see Bella as a tragic character in a feminist story, one meant to serve as an example. Bella’s story only truly begins when she decides she has had enough. What occurs before this tipping point is not a novel, but simply a prologue describ