Violence Vs Nonviolence: A Dichotomy for Freedom

723 Words2 Pages

Violence is what the world lives off of to protect each other. By this I mean, no matter what the situation may be there is mostly a higher percentage that violence will occur. Not because people want it to occur, but because it's the easier way out and will capture the other people’s attention. Let's take the United States of America for an example. We love our freedom and are country is considered the "land of the free", correct? Yes. But, in order to have our freedom we have to fight for it. This being, not everyone, such as other countries, agree with our freedom and how we have such an organized and wealthy government. The outcome of situations such as these is war, and violence. Not intentional, but we have to do so in order to protect our people and our land. All I'm say is violence sometimes has to be taken into action, but the better way out is nonviolence. Nonviolence started with This was what turned violence into nonviolence. They figured if you kept on feeding the fire with fuel that the fire would get bigger and out of control. They didn't want that. They wanted to control it and face the facts. King and his people were the bigger persons to keep situations under control and handle them in a nonviolence matter, and speak about it. For this, I respect them. Overall, even though violence seems to be the easier way out and a better way to handle situations, it's truly not. It causes situations to get bigger and more violence to occur. The United States of America is at war almost all the time to protect our freedom. These wars get worse because of violence. If only there was a way of handling all situations in a nonviolence way. King and his people sure did show everyone that there is a way. Just speak up instead of making it a war and instead of making things bigger than what they need to

Show More
Related

  • Comparing The Song 'Bloody Sunday And The Sniper'

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    Violence usually solves nothing but perhaps sometimes it can For example in the Irish Civil War after brutal fighting and 2500 deaths they finally became independent. Since then this atrocious war has been the inspiration for many works of literature. The purpose of the song “Bloody Sunday” by U2 was to explain the terrible effects of war while in the short story “ The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty the purpose was to explain what war was really like from a soldier’s perspective. This makes the two texts different because they were both told from different points of views.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr's Essay, Letter from the Birmingham Jail

    544 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some may think that King was only fighting the rights of the African American people, but the truth of the matter, he was fighting for all walks of life. The first argument that I will establish is Pathos. King stated: “If I said anything in this letter that that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything that understates the truth and indicates my having a patience that allows me to settle for anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me (King p.528).

    Read More

  • Examples Of Injustice In Letter From Birmingham Jail

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    talks about how African Americans in the South were being arrested and publicly chastened by the police force for their nonviolent protests. But, he extols these protests because of what they stand for. He says they “…preserve the evil system of segregation…I wish you had commended the Negro demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer, and their amazing discipline in the midst of the most inhuman provocation” (94). Because these people were aiming to end the discrimination they were facing, and did this in a peaceful manner that respected their Judeo-Christian values that all men are created equal, King saw it as exactly what this oppressed group needed. They needed a push of confidence to know that they were being treated unjustly, and that they did have the power to stand up to

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Martin Luther King Jr And Malcolm X

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Non-violence is a powerful and just weapon without cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Martin Luther King Letter From Birmingham Jail

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    King does a great job bringing his audience to reality when he talks about how he has been labeled as an ?outsider coming in? by the Clergymen. King argues that he is part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference serving as their President. King states that they were asked by affiliates in Birmingham ?to be on call to engage in nonviolent direct-action program if such were deemed necessary . . . the hour came and we lived up to our promise . . . I was invited here, I am here because I have organization ties here.? King definitely feels that he had a genuine purpose to be there because of his organizational ties to the people of the community. Probably more so because of the responsibility to do something about the injustice committed in Birmingham. King had a strong belief that people should never be oppressed and the people of Birmingham have been oppressed for far to long. King felt that ?Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.? In this he was saying that if you allowed the unrighteous treatment of people to occur in one area that it will only spread to new areas and affect more and more people. If people see this unjust treatment being committed with out consequences over and over they will come to accept it as okay and something that is accepted. This would in turn be a great tragedy to all mankind.

    Read More

  • Essay on “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    King set the tone early in his letter by respectfully responding to the concerns of the clergymen. He begins by addressing the opposing viewpoint, disapproval of direct action, and their proposal to negotiate a plan. King responds by agreeing that negotiation is the best alternative; nevertheless, he offers a justification of his use of direct action. Before considering direct action he explains his four step plan. First, facts are collected of facts is done to ensure injustices are being committed in the community. If so, negation begins to take place to solve the issue in this case however his efforts to negotiate failed: “Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the latter consistently refused to engage in negotiation.” (88) He then began the process of self purification in which those who are oppressed are trained to handle any physical or mental abuse they may encounter while participat...

    Read More

  • Violence as a Catalyst for Change: A Study on 'The Outsiders'

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton proves the point that violence can be justified if necessary. To inflict change in their lives people often fight with violence instead of peace to evoke change. The world strives for change everyday whether or not you like it. How the people create a change in society whether they use peace or war, it is up to them to decide how to modify our ever changing world. Violence and fight between the Socs and Greasers tells us that both can be justified if it inflicts positive change in society. ‘

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King Jr.

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    King can be considered influential in his preaching of nonviolent protest during the civil rights movement. King quickly realized that there were two alternatives in the struggle against “the forces of injustice'; (Ansbro, 233): violence or nonviolence. He decided against violence for

    Read More

  • Nonviolence or Violence: Which Was More Effective?

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Civil Rights Movement brought many accomplishments to African Americans such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The key issues that African Americans fought for were voting rights, integration and racial equality. They were tired of the discrimination and humiliation they received as a result of the segregation laws imposed on them. “State laws mandated racial separation in schools, parks, playgrounds, restaurants, hotels, public transportation, theaters, restrooms and so on” (Blumberg 40). Lawsuits had been tried to gain rights such as the unsuccessful Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 and the successful Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Although, the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka declared the “separate but equal” clause unconstitutional, de facto segregation continued in the South. During the 1960s, two methods were used: nonviolence and violence. Violence proved to be ineffective since it perpetuated social tensions among Whites and Blacks. Nonviolence was the most effective method in bringing social change in America during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement because it attracted sympathy towards Black people, provoked positive media attention, and promoted unity among African Americans.

    Read More

  • Letter From A Birmingham Jail, By Martin Luther King Jr.

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    Having a non-violent way to approach civil engagement helps people rise from the dark. In the article, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by King Jr., he writes, “So the purpose of the direct action is to create a situation so crises-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation”(236). King Jr. suggests that the only way for Americans to see the need to change is through direct actions and that could possibly get them to negotiate. It related to the article, “from Non-Violent Resistance,” by Gandhi because through a non-violent action, people see the value of actually wanting to create justice. He points out, “Non-violence is the supreme dharma is the proof of this power of love. Non-violence is a dormant state”(Gandhi 316). He refers to all people that if someone gives a person pain, the person receiving the pain should not act back in a harsh attitude, but he/she will win if they show love. However, King Jr. also explains one’s right to express verbally. He writes, “If his repressed emotions do not come out in these nonviolent ways, they will come out in ominous expressions of violence. This is not a threat; it is a fact of history”(MLK 242). It is within the first amendment that all people have the right to free speech in any way, and if people express their emotions in an intimidating way, it is not a threat. Approaching all injustices social issues in

    Read More

  • Violence Against Aboriginal Women

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    Violence causes a great deal of suffering and harm in the world today and yesterday (Cross 2013). Peace and conflict researchers are undeniably justified in their selection of inter and intra-state violence as objects of study because the social context for both the performance and understanding of violence is of central importance (Cross 2013). However it is surprisingly rare to find a definition of violence (Moore 2003). Thus uncertainty prevails as to whether violence is limited to physical abuse or includes verbal and psychological abuse (Moore 2003). Agreeing with Moore (2003), Galtung (1969) said it is not important to arrive at a definition of violence because there are obliviously many types of violence. Violence is not

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King's Weaknesses

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    Again, Mr. King uses religion as a guide to explain why violence could never be used to get the end of the segregation. At that moment and as a strategy, he was probably right. The forces between the parts were to uneven. Besides, Mr. King knew that the federal government barely has capacity of action since they were stuck in a horrible and unpopular war in Vietnam, and riots and demonstrations were happening everyday in the universities across the country. However, if we look at his decisions from today’s point of view and attending to the fact that minorities are still suffering the injustice of economical segregation and the police force abuse, among others injustices, we can say that he didn 't go to far. Then may be we can rethink if appealing to violence to avoid those problems could be considered just as self-defense. For example: when communities are being devastated by poverty, drugs, and criminality, and the authorities don’t do anything to protect them just because they are black, Latin, or American Natives, don’t they have the right to fight back? Moreover, when they have to watch everyday in television the awful crimes that some authorities commit against minorities with no punishment in most of the cases. Don’t they have the right do defend their own life? It is a fact that violence is not desirable, but we have to remind that the end of slavery in the United States cost a civil war, that the

    Read More

  • Cause Of Violence Essay

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout human history, violence, for the most part, has been a perpetual struggle we’ve faced. It does not discriminate against location, color, or creed, and it has an impact, lasting or not, on each of us at some point during our lives. Living in a Western country, many of us have become accustomed to the idea that true violence only lives in the ravaged lands of warring countries or the dilapidated streets of rundown neighborhoods, but in truth it can be found anywhere. Community center’s, schools, churches, and even the most secluded towns all encounter violence, though sometimes behind closed doors, everyone is vulnerable to it. But what prompts it to occur exactly? Violence itself stems from the causality of several different factors,

    Read More

  • The Approach of Nonviolence

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” (Mahatma Gandhi), welcome to the world of non-violence, not similar to ‘disney land’ but merely a small philosophical village coated in white, decorated with crystals and abundant in doves; white resembling peace, crystals for clarity and pure spirit and doves for .. I don’t know, I guess I have been driven by my imagination.

    Read More

  • Violence in Human Life: King and Freud

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, there is Martin Luther King Jr. who practices nonviolence. He does not believe violence to be an effective approach for long-lasting change. In fact, he states in his Nobel Prize Lecture that, “[he is] not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results (King, 4).” The key phrase is “momentary results” which means that violence only solves a problem for a certain amount of time. His example includes how violence won independence for nations. However, no set peace is achieved by it. King regards it as temporary peace. In fact, he states that it creates more complex, unresolved issues, with a never-ending series of self-destruction. He claims that, “It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers (King, 4).” All of those claims just portray destruction in itself. There seemingly lacks a positive ring. Instead, he preaches nonviolence because it concerns the majority of the people and their goals concerns the peace and harmony of the community. His nonviolent approaches include persuasion with the use of words. However, if that fails...

    Read More

More about Violence Vs Nonviolence: A Dichotomy for Freedom

Open Document