People use violence to resist oppression because their surroundings or atmosphere is harsh and already very violent. If your being beaten everyday (by an oppressor) and suddenly something snapped inside you to rebel, you would most likely use violent force. One example of resisting oppression using violence in my History text book The Americans: Some slaves pushed their resistance to an open revolt. One uprising, about 20 slaves gathered at the Stono River just south of Charles Town. They killed several planter families and marched south beating drums and inviting other slaves to join them in their plan to flee to Spanish-held Florida. ( The Americans pg.35) In this revolt against the slaves oppressors was almost justifiable because Africans and African-Anericans had to go through so much pain and suffering to benefit the "white man."Non-violent resistance can be equally effective though. Boycotting is an example of non-violent resistance if the thing being boycotted is the oppressor or is oppressing you as a group of people.
In conclusion, I stand on the fence. I believe that resisting oppressors can be carried out in two different ways that are equally effective even though the results are