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Effects of disobedience on society
The effects of disobedience
Effects of disobedience on society
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I strongly feel as though positive resistance has a negative impact within a free society. Some people may strongly disagree with my opinion on the matter, but the issue is much deeper than what meets the eye. It is not the act in which is committed by peaceful protestors, but it is the impact on which it has on those who mean no good to society that have caused me to form such opinion. I strongly agree that peaceful resistance and protest is better than violence however, it also causes uproars within society. There are some people in society that are unconcerned about the welfare of others and have a selfish mentality which causes them to feel as though as long as the circumstances are well for them, that there is no need for justice or change. …show more content…
As Rosa Parks did as she refused to leave her seat on the bus in 1955, her act of peaceful resistance was harmless, yet it led to boycotting, racial attacks, and the disobedience of people in order to prove a point to those of the opposite opinion. Rosa Parks made a significant statement to the world and eventually led to the desegregation of whites and black, however, it also led to corruption within a town. Rosa Parks’ act was innocent, yet meaningful, however, it was the disapproval of her act by those who were already satisfied with the law that caused such chaos and confusion within Montgomery. As Justice Frankfurter once said, “there have been no easy solutions for man’s inhumanity to man”, but we still have to acknowledge the fact that this issue is still present. People treat each other cruelly and aren’t concerned about the welfare of all, they’re only concerned about
The forceful subjugation of a people has been a common stain on history; Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail was written during the cusp of the civil rights movement in the US on finding a good life above oppressive racism. Birmingham “is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known,” and King’s overall goal is to find equality for all people under this brutality (King). King states “I cannot sit idly… and not be concerned about what happens,” when people object to his means to garner attention and focus on his cause; justifying his search for the good life with “a law is just on its face and unjust in its application,” (King). Through King’s peaceful protest, he works to find his definition of good life in equality, where p...
On December 1, 1955, Parks was taking the bus home from work. Before she reached her destination, she silently set off a revolution when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. As a black violating the laws of racial segregation, she was arrested. Her arrest inspired blacks in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to organize a bus boycott to protest the discrimination they had endured for decades. After filing her notice of appeal, a panel of judges in the District Court ruled that racial segregation of public buses was unconstitutional. It was through her silent act of defiance that people began to protest racial discrimination, and where she earned the name “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” (Bredhoff et
In today’s world, social justice, otherwise known as equality and egalitarianism between the races, genders, and religions, is highly sought after. In addition to modern struggles, many movements throughout the course of history that date from even before the 1930s until just recently have been started to demand equal rights for certain ethnic groups. Coretta Scott King’s memoir, Montgomery Boycott gives the reader an inside view of Martin Luther King’s personal life during the Montgomery City Bus Line boycott for impartiality in public transportation after Rosa Parks’ famous arrest. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, she discusses how the Southern population in the 1930s allowed racism and the Jim Crow Laws to become socially
Peaceful resistance to laws positively impact a free society because if there isn't, how will people hear the voices of the oppressed and mistreated? Peaceful resistance comes a long way in trying to advance the rights and customs of the oppressed today. For example, The Salt March of 1930 was based on the Salt Act of 1882, which excluded the people the India from producing or getting salt, only British officials. Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of this protest. According to an article by time.com, it says that "The protest continued until Gandhi was granted bargaining rights at a negotiation in London. India didn’t see freedom until 1947, but the salt satyagraha (his brand of civil disobedience) established Gandhi as a force to be reckoned with and set a powerful precedent for future nonviolent protestors, including Martin Luther King Jr.(Sarah Begley,2015)" This means the salt march was a start for India's independence. Also, Gandhi's brand of civil disobedience set precedents for future nonviolent protests. Another Example of how peaceful protests
On December 5, 1955, thousands of African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama walked, carpooled, or hitchhiked to work in an act of rebellion against segregation on buses. This bus boycott was not the first of its kind – black citizens of Baton-Rouge, Louisiana had implemented the same two years prior – but the bus boycott in Montgomery was a critical battle of the Civil Rights Movement. Though the original intent of the boycott was to economically cripple the bus system until local politicians agreed to integrate the city’s buses, the Montgomery Bus Boycott impacted the fabric of society in a much deeper way. Instead of only changing the symptoms of a much larger problem, this yearlong protest was the first step in transforming the way all Americans perceived freedom and equality. Though the boycott ended when the Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional, this was not directly caused by the refusal to ride buses, and thus cannot be defined as the primary triumph of the boycott. Instead, the Montgomery Bus Boycott succeeded in changing the consciousness of millions of Americans, specifically southern blacks. A revolution of the mind was the greatest success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and this transformation occurred due to the small validations throughout the boycott that African Americans, as unified, free citizens, had power.
When Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery in 1955, she engaged in one of the most iconic acts of civil disobedience in American history. She was arrested, and her nonviolent resistance of segregation laws led to the famous Montgomery bus boycott. Although many people hail Parks’ act of civil disobedience as one of courage and great importance, today the topic of civil disobedience is controversial. Some criticize this form of protest as a path to anarchy, and others say that it is not defiant enough. However, peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society because it can help marginalized groups, challenge immoral war, and combat harmful corporate interests.
On December 1st, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the front of a bus to a white man. It was this simple act of defiance that, arguably, began the Civil Rights movement which lasted from 1955 through the 1960’s and altered the face of our nation forever. Following the arrest of Rosa Parks for her simple denial, African Americans in Montgomery began boycotting the bus system, one of the first major stands against racism in the 1950’s. On the heels of the Brown v. Board of Education segregation trial which had ruled in favor of school integration, this boycott, which proved successful after the seat separation was removed, effectively began the civil rights movement with which we are now so familiar with. The civil rights movement in America aimed to gain civil liberties and rights which were guaranteed by law but withheld from them in society. While the movement lasted from about 1954 to 1968, it was not until the 1960’s that other minorities such as American Indians and women began to join the fight. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s was possibly the most important domestic social movement of the twentieth century. At the very least, it was the most important social confrontation to grip America since the Civil War.
In “The Role of Law in the Civil Rights Movement: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-1957,” author Robert Jerome Glennon discusses how historians have neglected to see the impact the legal system has had on the civil rights movement, particularly the Montgomery bus boycott. Outwardly, many have assumed that the bus integration that later transpired was the result of the boycott which began after Rosa Parks’ arrest in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955. However, in actuality, the success of the Montgomery bus integration was largely attained due to the work of litigation, specifically the Browder v. Gayle case.
Peaceful resistance to laws almost always initiates a demand for laws to be addressed and changed, in hopes of creating a positive outcome with more freedom for the people of the United States of America. In Rosa Parks’ case, her courageous decision to peaceably resist the Jim Crow laws for the
Commonly, Rosa Park’s arrests for refusing to yield her seat on a bus for a White man is a popular misconception of being the primary stimulant that kindled the uproar of the historical boycott of Montgomery’s buses known today. Contrarily, unprecedented, racially provoked violence, and discriminative and segregated events prior to Parks’ conviction motivated leaders to organize their communities for the challenge to break barriers of government’s disregards to Negro’s rights and race equality. Parks was the catalyst that spread to the community for the immediate need for change. Despite, Negroes limited sources, and assumptions they were impressionable and unintelligent; nevertheless, their stance made an economical impact to public transportation, crippled businesses’ revenue, and pressured the government to arbitrate laws against segregation. Within the short period of Parks’ arrest, Negroes were able to brainstorm various strategies that led to the success of the boycott, which included but not limited to the following: proper marketing, assertive leaders, and implementing a civil plan.
Rosa Parks was a member of the NAACP, lived in Montgomery Alabama, and rode the public bus system. In the south, during this time the buses were segregated which meant that black people had to ride in the back of the bus behind a painted line. White people entered the front of the bus and were compelled to sit in front of the painted line. Most buses at the time had more room for white riders who used the service less than the black ridership. Yet, they could not cross the line even if the seats in the front were empty (Brown-Rose, 2008). Rosa Parks made a bold statement when she sat in the “white section” of a Montgomery bus. She was asked to surrender her seat to a white man, but she did not move and was soon arrested. Her brave action started the Montgomery bus Boycott, with the help of the NAACP, none other than Dr. Martin Luther King’s leadership as part of the Montgomery Improvement Association. As its President, he was able spread the word quickly which brought national attention to the small town of Montgomery’s bus Boycott. The boycott was televised and brought so much attention that the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public transportation was unconstitutional; a success spurring a more
Racism and prejudice have been dominant issues in the United States for many years. Being such a major issue is society, racism is also a major theme in one of the best pieces of American Literature, To Kill A Mockingbird. People, particularly African Americans, have been denied basic human rights such as getting a fair trial, eating in a certain restaurant, or sitting in certain seats of public buses. However, in 1955 a woman named Rosa Parks took a stand, or more correctly took a seat, on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She refused to give her seat to a white man and was arrested for not doing so. The reasons and consequences and the significance of her stand are comparable in many ways to Atticus Finch's stand in To Kill A Mockingbird. Rosa Parks worked for the equality of all people. She was elected secretary of the Montgomery branch of the National Advancement of Colored People, unsuccessfully attempted to vote many times to prove her point of discrimination, and had numerous encounters with bus drivers who discriminated against blacks. She was weary of the discrimination she faced due to the Jim Crow laws, which were laws were intended to prohibit "black[Americans] from mixing with white [Americans]" ("Jim Crow Laws"1). Also, due to the Jim Crow laws, blacks were required to give their seats to white passengers if there were no more empty seats. This is exactly what happened on December 1, 1955. On her way home from work, Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white man and was shortly arrested (National Women's Hall of Fame1). Even though she knew what the consequences were for refusing to leave her seat, she decided to take a stand against a wrong that was the norm in society. She knew that she would be arrested, yet she decided that she would try to make a change. Although her arrest would seem like she lost her battle, what followed would be her victory. Rosa Parks's stand was so significant that she is called the mother of the civil rights movement (National Women's Hall of Fame1). Her arrest served as a catalyst for a massive boycott for public busses. Led by Martin Luther King, for 381 days, African Americans carpooled, walked, or found other ways of transportation. Despite the harassment everyone involved in the movement faced, the boycott continued and was extremely successful.
Peaceful resistance itself does not affect a free society. A people-group can protest any number of laws: voting rights, taxes, and the legality of murder. A majority of society must determine what is best for itself. If the principles of a resistance aligns with the ideals of the society, the pursuit of betterment positively impacts that
The advancements of African-American rights during this movement would have been impossible without specific individuals who have inspired thousands and have acted as martyrs for the cause. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a black woman, was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to give her seat on bus to a white passenger. Parks was arrested that day for breaking Jim Crow laws that regulated race interactions in the city and throughout the South. Black civil rights leaders and activists in Montgomery were motivated by Parks’ act of defiance, allowing the city’s African-American community to successfully organize a boycott of the Montgomery’s segregated busing system (Textbook, pg 822). The boycott put economic pressure on the bus company as most members of the black community in Montgomery found other means of transportation for about a year. As a clear result of Rosa Park’s rebellious act against an unjust system, the Supreme Court would go on to declare segregation in public transportation to be illegal in all states in 1956 (Notes, Lesson 2: Civil Rights Continued, 4/23/14). The bus boycott also led to the establishing of a new prominent leader in...
According to Martin Luther King Jr., “There are two types of laws: there are just and there are unjust laws” (King 293). During his time as civil rights leader, he advocated civil disobedience to fight the unjust laws against African-Americans in America. For instance, there was no punishment for the beatings imposed upon African-Americans or for the burning of their houses despite their blatant violent, criminal, and immoral demeanor. Yet, an African-American could be sentenced to jail for a passive disagreement with a white person such as not wanting to give up their seat to a white passenger on a public bus. Although these unjust laws have been righted, Americans still face other unjust laws in the twenty-first century.