...Resistance towards a government can come in many diverse ways which could all impact key areas of the society whether it is locally, regionally, or even nationally. When it comes to positive or negative impacts of peaceful resistances toward the laws of a free society, I tend to lean towards more of the positive influences as I am a firm believer in non violent acts of disobedience and history can back me up on this. When we travel back to the civil rights movement era, there has definitely been many violent and non violent resistances displayed throughout the era but when you look at the results as a big picture I believe that peaceful protests were what made the civil rights movement a success. Before the civil rights movement protests seemed to come in...
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...Is it possible to solve every problem through peaceful means and without any violence? Throughout history, there were many events that changed and shaped how society is today. Out of all the events in history, the Civil Rights movement is arguably one of the most important event. The main goal of the Civil Rights movement was to end discrimination and achieve equal rights, such as equal voting rights. Although people shared the same goal, they had different views on how the goal should be reached. Many believed non-violent methods were the right way to go while others insisted that violence had to be used. Protestors and leaders, like Martin Luther King Jr., thought non-violence was crucial to the accomplishment of their goal. On the other side, many other activists like Malcom X, supported the idea of violence mainly because non-violence was not going to work. Violence is necessary...
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...In the time of the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans faced intense discrimination, unjust segregation, widespread poverty, and police brutality. In the fight for justice, many forms of protesting ensued, both violent and nonviolent. Two prominent leaders marked their names in history with opposing forms of demanding freedom and equality. In the beginning of the movement, Martin Luther King Jr., leader of the SCLC, set the stage for spiritually aggressive non-violent protesting. Malcolm X, on the other side, preached the importance of defending themselves and breaking away from the oppressors denying them their freedoms. Malcolm X, member of the Nation of Islam, preached against the idea of integration and “[forcing themselves] on...
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...A Commitment to Non-Violent Protests: As an African American teenager and student in 1968, I’ve gotten used to facing violent opposition and being around inconsiderate and unsympathetic whites. It has recently come to my attention that not enough people understand how effective non-violent protest has been to our lives. The Civil Rights Movement has definitely made people, including me, realize how important their voice and opinion can be, which has significantly changed America. Peaceful protests work far better than taking a violent approach to it. With nonviolent protests, there are fewer obstacles to conquer and less physical involvement and commitment. Even though some non-violent protests are not successful and fail to achieve their...
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...Concession is more effective than repression, as it can mitigate the causes of popular resistance. The ability to reduce support is the principal measure of success. Additionally, effective policy must counter the specific challenges posed by non-violent protest. As a result, the long-term successes of concession-based policies prove the usefulness of this method. However, most policies involve a balance between concession and repression. The unsustainability of repression demonstrates that concession is necessary to this balance. However, non-violent repression, such as the use of state media to suppress free speech, remains useful. It pairs well with concession, as it can silence key resistance figures. Due to this, concession is the most...
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...article about protests argues that non-violent resistance is more effective than violent protests. He develops his claim by alluding to Marin Luther King Jr and Ghandi's peaceful protests. Chavez's ___ diction emphasizes the principles of non-violence to compel readers while also juxtaposing violent and non-violent protest outcomes. Chavez's purpose was to convince the audience that non-violent resistance is the most powerful form of reform movement and to encourage the audience to change their violent actions. He establishes a factual and persuading tone for those who consider violent protest to be most effective, but shows non-violent resistors hope for change. Through...
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...civil disobedience, or non-violent protest. Gandhi rallied thousands to disobey the oppressive and racist British government as an Indian nationalist movement to free India. Under his leadership, the Indian Congress launched a series of mass movements: the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Non Cooperation Movement in 1920s and 1930s. The former was triggered by the historic Salt March, when Gandhi led a group of followers from his ashram on a 200 mile march to Dandi on the west coast in order to prepare salt in a violation of British law. Gandhi soon earned the title “Mahatma,” or Great Soul. In August 1942, the Quit India movement was launched. The British resorted to brutal repression against non-violent protesters. It was evident that the British could only maintain the empire at enormous cost to themselves. At the end of World War II, the British began to transfer power to the now sovereign State of India. Throughout the major events of his life, the concept of Satyagraha, or non-violent, peaceful resistance remained a foundational basis for all of his major movements. Gandhi’s philosophy of Satyagraha encompassed his most central core value and belief of the truthful pursuit of non-violence. This idea is displayed through the formation of his ideas on civil disobedience, his implementation of the historic Salt March, and his reaction to the Quit India movement. Satyagraha provides a structural foundation for Gandhi’s ideas on the subject of non-violence and truth and the...
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...Gandhi and non-violence After the sound of the gun, a great man was killed. The whole India held the funeral ceremony for him. People will always remember this great leader. His name is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Gandhi was the leader of the national liberation movement and the Indian National Congress Party. He is the father of modern India. His “non-violence”(ahimsa) and philosophy affected the international movement of nationalists around the world. Elements of Gandhi's philosophy were rooted in the Indian religions of Jainism and Buddhism. The Acaranga Sutra, a Jainist text, describes the fundamental need for non-violence: “All beings are fond of life; they like pleasure and hate pain, shun destruction and like to live, they long to live. To all, life is dear” Gandhi strongly believed that if violence was used to deal with the issue between India and the Britain, the result would be more violence. Gandhi’s emotional speech concluded his principle that all violence was evil and could not be justified. When I was in elementary school, I have heard about a story about Gandhi. In the age of 15, Gandhi stole a small piece of gold from his brother’s bracelet. After that, Gandhi felt extremely guilty. Therefore, he wrote a repentance letter to his father. Gandhi thought his father would punish him heavily. However, his father forgave him. Actually, Gandhi’s father was very proud that Gandhi could admit his mistake bravely. Gandhi was deeply moved. This is the first lesson of...
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...The American Civil Rights Movement in the late 1960s represents an important event in world history. The positive changes it brought to voting and civil rights continue to be felt throughout the United States and much of the world. Although the struggle for black equality was fought on throughout the United States. Lawmakers, law enforcement officers, public officials, and private citizens particularly from the south worked together to maintain the segregated way of life that had dominated the southern states since the end of the Civil War in 1865. Furthermore the people from the south ensured the preservation of segregation by the constant use of threat and violence against people who sought to end it. In contrast, the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement chose the tactic of nonviolence as a tool to dismantle the institutionalized racial segregation, discrimination, and inequality in the south. The movement was guided based on Martin Luther King Jr.’s principles of nonviolence and passive resistance. The success of the American Civil Rights Movement and the fight for racial equality in the United States is a testament to the determination of millions of African Americans who fought against discrimination in the 1960s. Instead of using the alternative strategy of using an armed uprising such as one of Malcom X, Martin Luther King Jr. championed and thrived on the strategy of protesting for equal rights without using violence. King's non-violent approach was inspired and derived...
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...What was the role of internal resistance in East Timor’s independence from Indonesia in October 1999? East Timor’s much-deserved independence from Indonesia was a multidimensional achievement, with a wide range of economic and political implications. Internal resistance was certainly not the sole contributing factor – there was great interplay between numerous forces, such as the actions of Indonesian armed forces and paramilitary affiliates, Jakarta’s evolving political environment, and pressures from governments abroad, which led to the nation’s independence. However, internal resistance as a part of the independence struggle was particularly unique in East Timor as it manifested in two forms – violent resistance and non-violent resistance – each creating impacts of varying magnitudes. I chose the role of internal resistance as the focus of my research due to the intriguing nature of this very distinction. This essay will attempt to demonstrate that internal resistance of both forms worked to strengthen nationalism and unity among the East Timorese, and garnered crucial international support that was necessary for East Timor’s independence. Historically, a nation’s first response to an invasion is armed resistance, whether it is sanctioned by the government, or carried out by guerilla forces. Such was also the case in East Timor, where The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) became the face of East Timorese armed resistance upon Indonesia’s invasion in...
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...many times the protesters did not succeed, due to the fact that the government often ignored these problems even though they were aware of their wrongfulness. In the minds of the committed protesters, they too believed that the social movements ultimately did not succeed. Activists participating in social movements were driven by democratic ideals affecting them and their communities and often disregarded political reform as success. Some of their ideals could not be implemented by the government and were only recognized within the activist community. Although protests did provide change, with regards to civil rights of excluded groups, many protests struggled for more “radical transformation” then what they achieved. Similarly, black activists in the United States of America (USA) of the 1960s ultimately were seeking more than to achieve the civil rights acts (Carson, no date: 19.)...
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...remove your prejudice." In the dialogue which follows, Gandhi outlines four themes which structure his arguments. 1. First, Gandhi argues that ‘Home Rule is Self Rule’. He argues that it is not enough for the British to leave only for Indians to adopt a British-styled society. As he puts it, some "want English rule without the Englishman ... that is to say, [they] would make India English. And when it becomes English, it will be called not Hindustan but Englishtan. This is not the Swaraj I want.” 2. Gandhi also argues that Indian independence is only possible through passive resistance. In fact, more than denouncing violence, Gandhi argues that it is counter-productive; instead, he believes, “The force of love and pity is infinitely greater than the force of arms. There is harm in the exercise of brute force, never in that of pity.” This is essential throughout Hind Swaraj. 3. In order to exert passive resistance, Gandhi reasons that Swadeshi (self-reliance) be exercised by Indians, meaning the refusal of all trade and dealings with the British. He addresses the English when he states, “If you do not concede our demand, we shall be no longer your petitioners. You can govern us only so long as we remain the governed; we shall no longer have any dealings with you." Gandhi makes an intriguing argument here; if the British want India for trade, remove trade from the equation. 4. Finally, Gandhi argues...
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...history, we arrive at three of the most recognizable activists known to the world. Firstly, Ghandi was an activist who fought against the British-ruled colonization of his native country of India in the early 20th century. He is famous for his practice of non-violent resistance, and rejection of a hierarchy classed society model. Most of Ghandi’s philosophy’s centered on a belief that human nature is innately good, and that the majority of lasting change could not be achieved through violence but through spiritual force which he believed was far more influential. Ghandi believed in a “Soul force- Satyagraha” as opposed to physical force which he demonstrated through operations of civil disobedience (Chaparian and Cockerton, 160). Ghandi believed his practices could transform the thinking of his foes and turn their hatred into embracement. An example of Ghandi non-resistant protest was the “Salt March” in which Gandhi organized a non-violent march protesting the British Salt Tax which affected a mass majority of marginalized citizens of India. Martin Luther King is another famous social change activist, and he was largely influential during the civil rights movement. King shared many of Gandhi’s beliefs regarding non-violent resistance and spiritual opposition; in fact Dr. King was largely influenced by Gandhi. Dr. King was one of the most inspirational leaders in human history and focused on changing the minds and emotions of his oppressors in his fight for equality. His strong stance...
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...Peaceful resistance positively impacts the free society in which we live. Through peaceful resistance, one can express their views without the violence or uproar that often comes with it. It has solved many fundamental problems in the US government. Henry David Thoreau expressed his distaste for the Mexican-American war by refusing to pay his poll taxes. He did not believe in no government, did not want to start an uprise, or create an anarchy but instead create a more just government. Thoreau wanted a government in which protected its people and was fair to all. He also opposed slavery and wanted equal rights for all. “There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men. When the majority shall at length vote for the abolition...
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...September 2010 Both Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. were goal-oriented leaders. Gandhi desired self-rule for India. King wanted first class citizenship for African Americans. Instead of separating religion and politics, both men incorporated both in their leadership roles. Both men chose nonviolence as their strategy because they had felt that it was the only practical solution capable of achieving their objectives. The ideas of nonviolent movements were difficult to achieve, but they were not impossible to accomplish which is shown in the work of these two great leaders Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Two men from two different time periods but yet they have the same views on how to establish a nonviolent movement. Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. were civil right activists who took a form of action to obtain equal rights amongst their society. The way they handled nonviolent situations was by taking a non direct action. Also the sacrifice that they had to go through whether it had been by being passive resistance or simply by injustice laws that had to be broken. Gandhi developed his theory of Satyagraha (“soul force”), which implicates social justice through love as well as suffering the consequences. Having to read two distinct stories at distinct time they both manage to have something in common which is CHANGE. We end with MLK- demanding that the actions for equal rights will be now! He then goes on to discuss how the time is being set to be neutral. That...
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