Protesting is a prominent event seen daily on the media channels and outside government buildings. In today’s ever growing world of social media, protesting is more easily organized by bringing together groups of concerned citizens who agree with the debated topic. Protesting can be used to change issues that are better for the majority as well as change issues that would improve conditions for minorities. Upon contemplation of my own personal beliefs on being for or against protesting, I am arguing my point that I am against protest. Protesting is rarely a peaceful event and causes chaos in the areas in which these events take place. This chaos creates environmental hazards for the surrounding areas as well as puts a strain on the …show more content…
Most protesting demonstrations are not peaceful and require police intervention to control crowds or to control people who get out of hand. This types of strain requires other aspects of police work to be delayed or requires extra officers to work who could have possibly been home spending time with family. Police officers have a job to do to make sure public safety is a top priority and protests can sometimes end with peoples safety being put at risk or bodily harm being caused. Protesting also gives a voice to a minority of people who want to change an issue that would only make the situation better for their small group. These types of protest do not take into account what the majority of people want and could facilitate a negative change. When protesting for something that the majority does not agree with could potentially lead to the majority of a group stepping up and cause physical violence. Protesting normally should lead to a change or at least that is the hope of the protestors. I believe that protesting should be eliminated for a more peaceful way to try and receive the change those protesters want. Our governing bodies should have peaceful meetings with leaders of protesting groups to help make changes. Having a more peaceful approach could prevent community disturbances and strain on our police …show more content…
Protesting is rarely a peaceful event and causes chaos in the areas in which these events take place. This chaos creates environmental hazards for the surrounding areas as well as puts a strain on the communities in which these protests are held. When a protest occurs it causes people to be late for work, unable to get to where they need to go, and in some cases bodily injury occurs. These types of situations puts a strain on a community who are not staffed to handle these kinds of
Others protest that has had an effect on America since the Amendment was ratified are protest against war such as Vietnam and Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Civil Rights Movement, and more recently the protest of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Seattle. Also the many strikes and pickets labor union have been involved in through out history. There are differences among these gatherings. The most striking difference is typically if the protest is violent or non-violent. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Henry David Thoreau referred to the use of civil disobedience. In the movie, ?Breaking the Spell? protesters felt they were not being violent since the items they damaged belong to big business.
A Civil Rights leader and a member of a religious organization, Cesar Chaves in his article “He Showed Us the Way” (1978) suggest that the correct way to protest is through a non-violent protest than a violent one, because many people would rather see a problem be solved without violence than with violence. Causing mayhem to property or/and livestock is defying the message that he is trying to put out to the world, also why would someone join a protest if the protesters are just harming or destroying innocent people’s property or/and livestock.
Black Lives Matter. Women’s Marches. In today’s society, we need not look far to see various examples of civil disobedience. Yet, there is still much opposition on the people’s right to speak up - to fight for their rights. Why is this so, when our country seems to have evolved into what it is today, precisely because of it? It is my firm belief that while the United States of America remains a free society - a democracy run by the people - the protesting of unjust laws and traditions will always have a uniquely positive impact in the country.
War holds the approximate greatness of a black hole, and is alike one in many ways. From times immemorial writers have used imagery, language appealing to one or more of the 5 senses, irony, things that go against what is expected, and structure, the way the story is written, to protest war. This form of protest has most likely existed since any point in which the existence of both war and written language intersected, and were a part of human life. Through the use of imagery, irony and structure, writers protest war.
According to Morris Liebman, author of “Civil Disobedience: A Threat to Our Society Under Law,” “Never in the history of mankind have so many lived so freely, so rightfully, so humanely. This open democratic republic is man’s highest achievement—not only for what it has already accomplished, but more importantly because it affords the greatest opportunity for orderly change and the realization of man’s self-renewing aspirations.” What Liebman fails to realize is that while the United States of America has made improvements, the United States still has a far way to go before it can be considered a fair country. Liebman also states that “The plain fact of human nature is that the organized disobedience of masses stirs up the primitive. This has been true of a soccer crowd and a lynch mob. Psychologically and psychiatrically it is very clear that no man—no matter how well-intentioned—can keep group passions in control.” While disagreeing with the first example from Liebman, it would be difficult to disregard the way that many protests seem to spiral out of control. Peaceful protest for the most part remain peaceful, however some may turn violent very quickly. Liebman also believes that there is no such thing as “righteous civil disobedience” as men and women are deliberately disregarding laws set in place to protect the country, and regards it as deplorable and destructive(Liebman). To combat Liebman, a new age of civil disobedience is rolling in, a more inclusive type. With various social media platforms, word of walkouts and peaceful, with an emphasis on peaceful, protests are spread more quickly. These student led activist groups are popping up more quickly and are not lacking in passion. Many students of today are tired of being told their too young and inexperienced to be taking
If something isn’t right, there is a way to fix it. Violence of course is never the answer therefore, non-violent protests were started. Non-Violent protesting had a slow start then it spread around the world when it hit media attention. Non-violent protest also had more effectiveness than violent protests. Non-Violent protests may have taken a while, but the results were successful.
In our country’s history, Civil Disobedience has had positive effects upon legislation and societal norms. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states five basic forms of expression that are to be protected by the government: Speech, Press, Assembly, Religion, and Petition. The Founders, in essence, created a means by which the average citizen can achieve political and social change. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. stated in 1989 that, “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that government cannot prohibit the expression of an idea simply because the society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”* When citizens speak out or
Conclusion: Nonviolent protest are more effective than violent protest in effort to bring about social change.
One would of course be the fact that they are disobeying the law and must be handled in a corresponding matter. However, since as long as they do no physical nor emotional harm to other people, it is merely a demonstration. One could argue that someone is disguising their actual activity by using civil disobedience. For instance, and a group of people may assemble on the route of an official causing a traffic issue and blockade specifically for one person. If this were their true goal and when questioned they responded with it being a demonstration, so long as they kept such disobedience civil, police would have no trouble making way for the official.
Over 4,124,543 people in America have participated in protests. Since so many people across the country participate in these rallies, one may ask why they protest. They do it for many different reasons. People protest to end injustices, to support a cause, to make their views be heard, to be patriotic, and to help humanity. Protests are effective when many people come together and strike, forcing the government to take action.
When nonviolent civil disobedience occurs, the participating citizens are attempting to bring about positive change to the system--change which has not (and may not have) been brought about by words alone. Given that this constitutional republic is intended to be representative of its citizens in accordance with its fundamental laws, citizens are undoubtedly justified in striving for representation for the public will. This is put succinctly by David Thoreau in the poem Civil Disobedience: “It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.” The government should enact the will of its people, and where people see a law as being unjust this disposition is voided. A purportedly representative governing body should be brought to consider the will of its people in earnest, and peaceful demonstration is the next step where words alone
If a person want a peaceful protest, then sit at home and use social media to protest and wait for change. However, violent protest raises awareness and get the issue resolved much quicker than just holding hands and chanting. Violent Protest shows the anger and frustration of the person or people. It also shows how people are willing to risk their life by standing by something they believe in. When violence is used during a protest it gets the point across much quicker. Violence cannot be ignored and it forces the authorities or whomever to take notice.
The use of civil disobedience is a respectable way of protesting a governments rule. When someone believes that they are being forced into following unjust laws they should stand up for what they believe in no matter the consequences because it is not just one individual they are protesting for they are protesting for the well-being of a nation. Thoreau says ?to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable.? People should only let wrong and right be governed by what they believe not the people of the majority. The public should always stand for what is right, stand when they think a government is wrong, and trust in their moral beliefs.
From the Boston Tea Party of 1773, the Civil Rights Movement and the Pro-Life Movement of the 1960s, to the Tea Party Movement and Occupy Wall Street Movement of current times, “those struggling against unjust laws have engaged in acts of deliberate, open disobedience to government power to uphold higher principles regarding human rights and social justice” (DeForrest, 1998, p. 653) through nonviolent protests. Perhaps the most well-known of the non-violent protests are those associated with the Civil Rights movement. The movement was felt across the south, yet Birmingham, Alabama was known for its unequal treatment of blacks and became the focus of the Civil Rights Movement. Under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, African-Americans in Birmingham, began daily demonstrations and sit-ins to protest discrimination at lunch counters and in public facilities. These demonstrations were organized to draw attention to the injustices in the city. The demonstrations resulted in the arrest of protesters, including Martin Luther King. After King was arrested in Birmingham for taking part in a peaceful march to draw attention to the way that African-Americans were being treated there, their lack of voter rights, and the extreme injustice they faced in Alabama he wrote his now famous “Letter from Birmingham.”
One of the many ways people have been fighting against police brutality is by protesting. There have been many people that have protested because of an incident that happened in their state, city, or community. This strategy has been used many times to achieve the results wanted by the people protesting. Protesting is not easy, but with enough people it can be effective enough so that the police department will act on the issue at hand. There have been many cases where protesting encouraged or forced police departments to do something to ease the pressure that was put on them due to police brutality. In the book Police Brutality Opposing Viewpoints by Helen Cothran, Cothran mentions a case in which the U.S. Justice Department proposed reforms