Think there’s a mismatch. He didn’t say threat or violence against authority is pointless, he is stating that undirected or misdirected violence, vandalism, and such. Like this comic is not related, because they are facing authority, but the protests he would object to would be ones that are done way away from anyone or anything that can even possibly be relevant. Torches and pitchforks toward the leadership or whatever direct or proximal cause of stuff that you didn’t like, but don’t expect to win hearts and minds if you instead randomly vandalize or interfere with unrelated stuff.

Civil rights protests that were remebered as part of driving change were directly facing the issues, rather than just blind screwing around.