Someone is being called extreme for a drastic step, and the record shows every moderate step was tried and punished.

This is the exhaustion-of-remedies argument, and it is what turns the revolution from a choice into a necessity. Every peaceful channel was tried — "in every stage," "in the most humble terms" — and each attempt was met with more injury, which means the system has no internal correction mechanism left. A ruler who answers petitions with punishment has closed the last door himself; what follows is not aggression but the only remaining move. It also answers the future accusation of impatience in advance: the record shows they asked nicely, repeatedly, and were punished for asking.