Look, man, if you're up against someone who is, when it comes down to it, willing to use violence, and you aren't... if the issue is serious enough that no other resolution presents itself as an acceptable compromise, the one willing to use violence is gonna win over the one who isn't.
Violence is a hard and dangerous task to undertake, with uncertain prospects, especially in the context of societal action. But without the ability to resort to it in times of crisis, no rights are secure.