Nonviolent Organizing
Prominent leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King Jr. are known all around the world for teaching and practicing nonviolence while fighting for human justice and peace. They are graced throughout history books, not only for their commendable actions but for their effective manner of inducing change around the world. Although these prominent figures leave everlasting footprints on the soil of this earth, there are many more that have contributed and still contribute to the struggle of human survival.
In writing You Can't Kill the Spirit, Pam McAllister attempts to capture the hearts of women around the world. Through the fight for justice, women suffer the risk of being arrested, losing their jobs, homes and even losing their lives. This book illustrates the stories of women who have fought for their right to be recognized and heard. It's about the right to be granted civil liberties not based on laws of the land but based on human dignity that all people should have a right to obtain. Yet through their tribulations the spirits of those who have died and struggled for the cause, live on and are depicted through the actions of those who continue to fight for freedom through nonviolent interventions. By identifying the categories of protest through persuasion, noncooperation and intervention, the contribution in which the dimensions of nonviolent organizing is demonstrated is displayed throughout the book.
Beginning in 1976 mothers, daughters and granddaughters of Argentina started demonstrating in the Plaza de Mayo on behalf of their missing children who seemed to be disappearing with no trace of ever reappearing. Although public demonstration was forbidden in Argentina, the Mothers of the Plaza, in which they were later named, continued to withstand tear gas and constant arrests. This act of nonviolence demonstration later caught the attention of media and many women around the world who were experiencing the same travesties involving their missing children. (McAllister p 24)
Eroseanna Robinson was arrested on January 26, 1960 by governmental authorities for not paying taxes for over ten years. Her act of resistance was based on the fact that a large percentage of the budget is used for war purposes, in which she did not support. Upon fasting and praying for ninety-three days in jail, along with long time supporters and activists, Robinson was unconditionally discharged from prison. Many women would later follow in her footsteps of nonviolent noncooperation.
By alluding to popular activists in today’s society and the use of inspirational photos, the article shows support to women’s rights and inspiration for other women to fight for their rights. Quoting Madeleine Albright with “there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other,” it helps integrate the idea that, no matter how hard a few people work to change something, it takes a larger group to highlight the
Mohandas Gandhi and Mao Zedong were two great leaders who succeeded in many ways through their actions and decisions. Gandhi was an Indian leader and Mao a Chinese leader. However, their approach to success, peace, and ultimately, a revolution, was very different. Mao favored peace through violence, and Gandhi favored peace through non-cooperation and standing up for what is right. He also believed that these changes would be accomplished by “conscious suffering”, which was the way he put it.
In Cesar Chavez’s article, he uses many rhetorical devices to help give the reader a better understanding of how important nonviolence vs violence is. Chavez explains how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi have endowed reasons of nonviolence worth following.
During the Argentine dictatorship known as the Dirty War (1976-1983), thousands of people were systematically abducted by the government in order to eliminate all opposition to the regime. These "disappearances," which the dictatorship never admitted to committing, happened across class and age lines, but most of the kidnapped were young students and blue-collar workers. Despite the fact that associations and meetings of any kind were forbidden, a group of housewife mothers decided to protest the disappearance of their children. They began to gather every Thursday afternoon at the same time in the main square in Buenos Aires, Plaza de Mayo, walking alone or in pairs to avoid being arrested for disorderly conduct and wearing white kerchiefs on their heads to be easily identifiable. By showcasing their grief in public, the Madres de Plaza de Mayo turned their motherhood into a performance, and their bodies into political tools, to hold the government accountable. A 1985 Oscar-nominated documentary by Lourdes Portillo and Susana Muñoz, named after the group, not only recorded the Madres' performance of their collective identity, but was also instrumental in providing a broader audience for said performance.
Civil disobedience has been around for a long time. In Bible times Christians would disobey laws that would go against their beliefs, such as the law that they couldn’t preach. (Acts 4) Christians still disobey laws in many countries that do not let them practice their faith, some end up in jail or killed.
Despite the belief that fighting with violence is effective, civil disobedience has been tried throughout history and been successful. Fighting violence with violence leaves no oppertunity for peace to work. By refusing to fight back violently, Martin Luther King Jr. took a race of people, taught them the value of their voice, and they earned the right to vote. Henry David Thoreau presented his doctrine that no man should cooperate with laws that are unjust, but, he must be willing to accept the punishment society sets for breaking those laws, and hundreds of years later, people are still inspired by his words. Mohandas K. Gandhi lead an entire country to its freedom, using only his morals and faith to guide him, as well as those who followed him, proving that one man can make a difference. Civil disobedience is the single tool that any person can use to fight for what they want, and they will be heard. After centuries of questioning it, it appears that the pen truly is mightier than the sword.
Between the years of 1976 to 1983, the period known as the ‘Dirty War’ was in full force in Argentina. During this period, thousands of people mysteriously went missing, and are referred to now as the ‘Disappeared’. It is believed that many of the disappeared were taken by agents of the Argentine government, and perhaps tortured and killed before their bodies were disposed of in unmarked graves or rural areas. Whenever the female captives were pregnant, their children were stolen away right after giving birth, while they themselves remained detained. It is estimated that 500 young children and infants were given to families with close ties to the military to be raised. Within this essay I would like to touch on the brief history of the Dirty war and why the military felt it was necessary to take and kill thousands of Argentina’s, and also the devastating affects the disappeared, and stolen children are having on living relatives of those taken or killed. It is hard to imagine something like this happening in North America relatively recently. To wakeup and have members of your family missing, with no explanation, or to one day be told your parents are not biologically related is something Argentina’s had to deal with, and are continuing to face even today.
... will always be remembered with other great non-violent activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela, despite this, his determination, dedication, and selflessness will always remain unparalleled.
Throughout history, leaders, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Susan B. Anthony, have helped to bring equitable balance to mankind. Individuals who represent opposing views mold and change the course of history; without such risk takers, life may never progress for the good of humanity. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1994.
Martin Luther King, Jr. advocated nonviolence to suppress oppression in his essay, “The Power of Nonviolent Action.” King's factual and reasoned approach is intended to win his adversaries over by appealing to their consciences. King realized that the best strategy to liberate African-Americans and gain them justice was to use nonviolent forms of resistance. He wanted to eliminate the use of violence as a means to manage and establish cooperative ways of interacting. Moreover, King states that the “oppressed people must organize themselves into a militant and nonviolent mass movement” in order to achieve the goal of integration. The oppressed must “convince the oppressors that all he seeks is justice, for both himself and the white man” (King, 345). Furthermore, King agreed with Gandhi that if a law is unjust, it is the duty of the oppressed to break the law, and do what they believe to be right. Once a law is broken, the person must be willing to accept the ...
Throughout history, violent reformation movements were traditionally used, but non-violence has been proven just as effective. Non-violence is the clear distinguisher between right and wrong. When violence is followed by non-violence, there is only so much fighting that can go on. Mohandas Gandhi was a known pacifist and a spiritual and political leader of India during the Indian Independence Movement. Gandhi studied law in England before returning to India to fight the caste system by doing chores an untouchable would do.
Gandhi and King both agreed that nonviolence is accomplished by revolutionizing the relationship between adversaries, and that its strength lies in their commitment to justice. However, Gandhi puts emphasis on a need for personal suffering in the practice of nonviolence, a stance that is somewhat less aggressive than
...He showed how one single man can alter history, a nation and a frame of mind. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a great example of another non-violent leader who followed in Gandhi's path. Gandhi was a miracle for his people and for the future of the world.
Non Violence movements are more prefered because they are more peace and a not physically threatening anyone. Over the years there has been non violence demonstrations and movements that are all working towards women’s rights or their other goals. There has been many successes over time, but they often do not get the recognition they deserve. Codur and King explain more into details on why women have been neglected from changing societies norms. “Women’s contributions to social and political change have been ignored, perhaps deliberately erased from human history, is now generally accepted” (Kurtz 402). I hate to see how long women have to keep on fighting for different yet similar goals that society negates them from. Women being the inferior group will never receive the recognition of their work over the centuries and will never be treated as equals.
Gandhi's teachings of non-violent resistance, known as satyagraha, has had a lasting effect and influence on the world today. He has been the role model for many famous, influential people such as American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. and former South African President Nelson Mandela. His continued influence can still be felt today in many non-violent peace organizations around the world bearing his name or teaching his philosophy.