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How many violent revolutions have actually brought power to the people?
The French revolution led to the term "reign of Terror" being coined, for good reason. From the chaos rose an absolute despot who waged war against pretty much every nation in Europe, and the institution of a new aristocracy with him.
The Haitian revolution resulted in a military takeover, and had reverberations across slaveholding states and territories i nthe US - fear of a Haitian-style slave revolt led to further crackdowns on free blacks and increased oppression against enslaved blacks. Haiti was forced to pay grossly inflated reparations, and has been the western hemisphere's most impoverished country ever since, even as it is the second-oldest Democracy in the world.
The many European revolutions in 1848 ultimately produced nothing but dead bodies and increased power among the aristocracy and military of the affected nations and kingdoms.
The Boxer rebellion was not a "power to the people movement" but was a violent reactionary attack against the foreign powers in China. It was a "rebellion" in the eyes of the British, but what it actually was was an attempt to reassert the absolute authority of the Qing dynasty emperor. To do so the "rebels" pretty much massacred anyone with white skin or who was a Christian that they could lay their hands on. The rebellion was ultimately crushed and weakened the Qing dynasty considerably - it would collapse 13 years later.
The Russian Revolutions of 1917... Jesus. Do I need to go into those?
The Éirí Amach na Cásca was a spectacular failure, because the bulk of Dubliners actually sympathized with the British for that one. Again all that happened were people were killed and injured and an oppressive presence was strengthened.
And the 1979 uprising against the Shah in Iran resulted in the institution of a military theocracy, and well over a million dead due to the war with Iraq.
So tell me. Thirty years after the deposition of the Shah and the rise of the Mullahs, what do you think violent protest in Iran is going to produce?
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