By any means necessary is a translation of a phrase coined by the French intellectual Jean Paul Sartre in his play Dirty Hands. It entered the popular culture through a speech given by Malcolm X in the last year of his life. It is generally considered to leave open all available tactics for the desired ends, including violence; however, the “necessary” qualifier adds a caveat—if violence is not necessary, then presumably, it should not be used.
I was unaware of that connotation. But I don’t think it changes the equation. There’s a million different ways to interpret “by all means necessary”, the vast majority of which would not be construed to include violence. If this were a forum in which Satre/Malcolm X references were the norm, then that would be different. But it isn’t.
I and the one person currently in the room with me immediately took “by all means necessary” to suggest violence. I think you’re in a minority in how you interpret it.
“By all means necessary” very much means “don’t hesitate to use violence”. When that phrase isn’t required to grant sanction to violence (as when used in military orders), it instead gives sanction to whatever acts aren’t already implied (such as the violation of military protocol and/or use of prohibited weapons/tactics).
Wikipedia thinks otherwise:
I was unaware of that connotation. But I don’t think it changes the equation. There’s a million different ways to interpret “by all means necessary”, the vast majority of which would not be construed to include violence. If this were a forum in which Satre/Malcolm X references were the norm, then that would be different. But it isn’t.
I and the one person currently in the room with me immediately took “by all means necessary” to suggest violence. I think you’re in a minority in how you interpret it.
OK, I’ll update on that.
“By all means necessary” very much means “don’t hesitate to use violence”. When that phrase isn’t required to grant sanction to violence (as when used in military orders), it instead gives sanction to whatever acts aren’t already implied (such as the violation of military protocol and/or use of prohibited weapons/tactics).