 anarchism and violence have become closely connected in popular thought, in part because of a concept of "propaganda of the deed". propaganda of the deed, or attentÃ¡t, was espoused by a number of leading anarchists in the late nineteenth century, and was associated with a number of incidents of violence. anarchist thought, however, is quite diverse on the question of violence. some anarchists have opposed coercion, while others have supported it, particularly in the form of violent revolution on the path to anarchy.fowler, r.b. the western political quarterly, vol. 25, no. 4. (dec. 1972), pp. 743-744 anarchism includes a school of thought which rejects all violence (anarcho-pacifism). many anarchists regard the state to be at the definitional center of structural violence: directly or indirectly preventing people from meeting their basic needs, calling for violence as self-defense.right of self-defense perhaps the first anarchist periodical was named the peaceful revolutionist, a strain of anarchism has followed tolstoy's pacifism. == propaganda of the deed ==  late in the 19th century, anarchist labor unions began to use the tactic of general strike. this was often met with violence and some of the strikes even resulted in massacres of the striking workers by militaries, police, and state militias; as well as by mercenaries hired by the bosses. the pinkerton security group was particularly notorious in 19th century america as mercenaries for hire and were responsible for many mass killings of trade unionists and anarchists. in this climate, some anarchists began to advocate and practice terrorism or assassination, which they referred to as propaganda of the deed. united states president william mckinley was assassinated by leon czolgosz, a registered republican who, after his arrest, claimed he had been influenced by the writings of emma goldman and others. czolgosz' actions were widely condemned by anarchists, but the media widely characterized czolgosz as a typical anarchist even though he had never actually belonged to any anarchist organization. goldman spoke sympathetically of him and described his act as the result of a violent society. her defense of czolgosz was met with open hostility from most of the anarchist press. == public perception ==  depictions in the press and popular fiction helped create a lasting public impression that anarchists are violent terrorists. this perception was enhanced by events such as the [
Anarcho-pacifism Issues_in_anarchism Violence