The people of Ferguson kept using violence as an answer, “violence obscure any message of peaceful protest...It places the community as well as the officers who are seeking to protect it in harm’s way”(PBS). I understand where people would be so upset to protest, but not put other people's lives in danger because of it.…
In the selected texts we read there is one noticeable theme. That theme is racism. Racism has always been a problem in the United States. It is still a problem today.…
In the 1800's, Britain's rule over the Indian people was oppressive. Several attempts were made to influence and alter the Indian culture including forcing English to be taught as a primary language along with creating laws that banned specific muslim practices such as sati, which allowed a widow to be burned to death on the funeral pyre of her dead husband. As they continued to change their culture, movements such at the rebellion of 1857 fought to object to these new rules. These were all violent protests often created by military personnel who in many cases were the main participants in these movements. These protests resulted in thousands of dead and injured people and the impact of the movement was minimal with barely any change.…
The definition of a protest is a statement or an action that expresses disapproval or objection of something. Of the three that we went over in class; Socrates, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X, the one whose position is the most effective in protesting and showing that he does not approve of the current way of living, is Malcolm X. Malcolm X has a no nonsense attitude about what to do with an unjust law or situation. He uses the “any means necessary” approach to the situation where he believes that you not only can, but also must do anything and everything you can possibly do to get what you need as opposed to the other means of protesting from Socrates, persuasion, and Dr. King, non-violent direct action. The views from each of these…
They just cause damage in the surrounding city they claim they want to help. These nonpeaceful defiances of law end up with people bing less likely to support their cause. Instead they would see it as a cause to fight against and try and stop, hurting our progress as a country. Those few protests do ruin the name and credibility of the peaceful defiances of today however. There are many lesser seen peaceful defiances of law such as many strikes that happen throughout the country. These strikes and other peaceful defiances of law prove extremely powerful and effective when the topic gains enough support and backing especially when it is a much needed reform. These are highly organized and have realistic goals, just like the protests and defianes of laws in the 50s and 60s. Of course any new hange in society is met with heavy opposition. Many of these social changes are not over night things that are solved in a few weeks, rather last years. A great example is the womens suffrage movement. The movemtn started in Seneca Falls in 18848 and finally ended with the passing of the of the 19th amendment in 1919 and ratification in…
Nonviolent struggle has been utilized countless times throughout the history of civilization. Contrary to popular belief, many of the world’s greatest wars are fought free of violence. Nonviolent actions offer an alternative approach to conflict resolution; one that does not resort to literal war and prevents blood shedding. The motivation behind these struggles vary, but the desired outcome is always to promote or prevent a change. Conflicts are diverse, and typically they are concerned with social, economic, ethnic, religious, national, humanitarian, and political matters (Sharp, 2005, p. 15).…
In 1961, President Kennedy meet with representatives of CORE and other Black organizations to strategize a new way of fighting segregation. Although the President’s interest was only to reduce the negative attention the movement was bringing in the eyes of the international community, the suggestion of registering Black voters empowered the African American community. With the funds provided by the Federal Government, the SNCC strategized making voter registration their top priority. The Southern Regional Council established a new Voter Education Project in Atlanta. Through this projects, field representatives such as Medgar Davis and Robert Moses were able to help register many Black voters. Notwithstanding the progress, this new strategy…
Peaceful resistance is impossible, especially in this modern society. Peaceful organization turns to riot even when good intentions are present. Inaction and guiltmongering do nothing to help society. It is sad to see people who believe they are doing all the good in the world turn to these methods and use violence though convinced it is really peaceful. "Peaceful" protest accomplishes nothing. American government is predicated on this. The only things that change are violence and political action. Asking nicely saved nobody, and the American Revolution is proof of this. The colonists asked for a long time for fair representation in Parliament but no change came and, in fact, increases in taxes and injustices happened. It was not until the injustices came to a head in gunfire that there was a change, which was an overthrow of the British Empire and the Americans took control of their own lives and governed themselves. Peaceful resistance did nothing.…
Throughout our history as a free society, countless nonviolent protests have arisen as a means to try to create change. Peaceful protest is not a new concept, even in America. Henry David Thoreau, a Transcendentalist writer in the 19th century, refused to pay taxes because he did not support the Mexican War. In Civil Disobedience, Thoreau claims that so many men today blindly follow the government’s wishes and that “in most cases there is no free exercise whatever of the judgment or of the moral sense.” Peaceful protest is a way for men to “be men first, and subjects afterward,” expressing their opinions and acting as a catalyst for change in a free state. Without peaceful resistance, there would be little diversity of ideas; the government would control all policy without much regard to minority opinion, and scant progress would be made. Peaceful resistance is a means in which citizens are able to influence the laws and encourage progress. From Thoreau’s time to now, civil disobedience, to put it in Mr. Thoreau’s terms, has played a positive and necessary role in…
In Chicago, Illinois people protested either by staging sit-ins or “ putting tape over their mouth to symbolize the way police brutality is silencing African Americans”(CBS). This was a very unique and peaceful idea to show the effect of police brutality. Also in Memphis, Tennessee, “Traffic on Interstate 40 was blocked in both directions for hours after hundreds of angry Black Lives Matter protesters marched onto the bridge to show their anger about police killings of black people”(CBS). Blocking the interstate allowed the protesters is voices to be heard by the people who were blocked and the cops that tried to stop them. However, police can get very dangerous when handling protesters. For example, in Louisiana,” police used militarized tactics on peaceful protesters and 200 people were arrested” (CBS). All around the country people are fighting the same problem in a unique way, allowing everyone is voice to be…
That is understandable, but, the reality is, small nonviolent groups can easily be stopped and dismissed in the media. For example, during the Arab Spring in 2011, the 6 April Organization from Egypt, was arrested in the city of Alexandria because law enforcement felt their singing of the national anthem would provoke trouble (Soueif 74-76). Ultimately, nonviolent protests are too easy to be brushed aside by top officials, which hinders their effectiveness. It is clear that violent revolutions are more effective than non-violent revolutions because the fear the revolution causes sparks change, should be seen as a self-defense mechanism against governments, and creates a sense of unity between the…
When governments continuously disenfranchise their population by lack of economic opportunity or education, they have a right to revolt against their governments. Both violent and nonviolent protests develop under the same conditions and fight for the same causes, therefore, both forms of civil disobedience are justifiable. Historically, marginalized groups, especially black communities in the United States, have experienced terror by the hands of police for centuries. After centuries of harassment, black communities have taken a stance against the injustices committed by those who are sworn in to protect them. Civil disobedience, whether violent or non-violent, is universally a justifiable method to achieve social change.…
Dr. Erica Chenoweth, the Associate Dean for Research at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, specializes in studies concerning international political violence and injustice. Her research into this topic has yielded data that sufficiently shows the positive effects of civil resistance compared to violent protests (Chenoweth, 2015). Figure 1 represents the comparison between violent demonstrations and civil demonstrations and the successes that each method achieved. It can be concluded from this analysis that the success of civil campaigns is greater than that of violent campaigns; from 1900 to 2006, nonviolent campaigns have been more than twice as successful as those utilizing violence. If civil disobedience is utilized in the St. Louis community more laws will be passed that will improve the lives of those who advocated for them. Secondly, the safety of its citizens should be one of any sensible government’s primary goals. With that being said, the level of safety that is afforded using peaceful methods of protest opposed to violent means is enough to make any government at least consider advocating for civil campaigns. While no government would encourage its people to challenge it, prominent organizations striving for change in the government would encourage this challenge in order to further its cause. Thus, the NAACP would…
What if Great Britain did not declare war on colonists, would it have pushed them even harder to fight, peacefully that is or use violence for their right to become a self-governing nation? Without violence conducted on by peace, would any movements be ignited? In some cases yes, violence is acceptable for social change. More things have changed throughout history by violence then peaceful protest has ever done. Also, peace will eventually turn to violence. Violence will be viewed as acceptable to some and evil to others.…
Henry David Thoreau was arrested for his refusal to pay a state tax in support of the Mexican-American War. He was opposed to the war because it was intended to expand the slave states. Thoreau not only engaged in civil disobedience, but in his essay “Civil Disobedience”…