"the piebalds in rote are the cringe trope of how oppressed minorities can't resist violently"
wrong. the piebalds are about how resistance groups can be infiltrated and sabotaged for selfish gain, and bribed by foreign governments. laudwine does have real pain, and real convictions, but his convictions are wrong. and most importantly, he is being bribed and manipulated to move against his own best interests by the Pale Woman.
this is something that happens in real life, all the time. the fbi and cia famously do this to foreign countries, causing instability for economic gain, and to activists within the country. the outing of people and reprisals are the problem, the infighting. and i also think it's important to realize that the resolution to this whole plot line is a massacre of the piebalds by the witted. so clearly, the message of the piebald storyline is not "we should find peaceful resolutions to our problems and not resort to violence".
i definitely have my own issues with this story, mostly the fact that it was resolved off screen. but i do think it is way more nuanced than people give it credit for.
