Slate Magazine tweets that violence 'is an important tool for protesters'

The online magazine Slate on Thursday declared that violence "is an important tool for protesters," a statement seemingly giving tacit approval to the destructive protests that have set numerous American cities ablaze over the past week. 

The website tweeted the claim while sharing an edition of its podcast "What's Next," one that examined "a history of violent protest."

In that edition, host Mary Harris and Wellesley College Professor Kellie Carter Jackson discuss the idea of "violence as a lubricant for social change, a form of communication."

Many activists have argued since the protests began that the violent individuals that regularly show up to demonstrations are not representative of the movement as a whole. Some have claimed that the various acts of arson, property destruction and looting have been carried out by white supremacists as part of a false flag operation.