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Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence
Essays on nonviolence
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If people and groups are ignored, that is oftentimes a calculated attempt to downplay on groups statuses in social, economic and political life. As practical experiences made us aware, in societies where differences between groups are very sharp, the mere refusal to acknowledge the existence of other groups seems ineffective. To this, the dominant group makes efforts to dehumanize the contending group. And if this does not achieve the desired results, the dominant group results to physical means- to fight the rival group. But if someone ignores you, laugh at you, fight you, and you win means that you adopted different strategies altogether, different from the tactics adopted by the one who ignores, laugh at you, fight you, which makes you to win.
Gandhi is referring to nonviolent actions as bargaining chips, and as an alternative to political violence. Gandhi might have said this during his nonviolent approach to challenge the legitimacy and the status quo of the British rule of India subcontinent. Gandhi’s nonviolent movement, from the onset, was ignored and mocked. But when the British realized that Gandhi’s message was piercing the heart and mind of the larger Indian population, the British ultimately realized the threat Gandhi’s nonviolent movement posed. Realizing that they cannot continue to ignore Gandhi and his movement anymore, the British resorted to violence, this made Gandhi’s self-rule move materialized faster than anticipated. Gandhi’s use of nonviolence and the British use of violence to clamp down on the nonviolent demonstrators created loopholes, leading to victory for Gandhi and his movement.
The Relevance of Nonviolence; Case Study of Martin Luther King
Since King became active in the civil rights struggle movement, he honestly believed in peaceful mode of challenging the status quo at the time. Dr. Martin Luther King vehemently believed that violent would not solve the black problem. He was conversant of the fact that to challenge an established authority needs much strategy and planning. That for the black movement to alter the social and political landscape of America, the blacks needed to appeal to the sympathy and the empathy of the whites.
Times were looking up for African Americans, their new freedom gave them the option to go down a road of either criminal actions or to make something out of themselves. But the presence of racism and hatred was still very much so alive, Klu Klux Klan, although not as strong as they were after the Civil War was still present. Laws like Jim Crow laws and “separate but equal” came into play and continued to show how racism was alive. Besides these actors of racism, blacks still started gaining a major roll in American society.
The Civil Rights Movement was a series of actions that really peaked in the 1960's. These political actions were aimed at gaining rights for African Americans. However, there were two ways of going about the movement. There were ones who protested peacefully, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and others who wanted a more pro-active way of fighting, like the black-rights activist Malcolm X. However, which way was more proactive? Even though both had great intentions, Dr. Martin Luther King had a better way of trying to achieve rights for the African American community.
In Chavez's argument, he explained the importance of nonviolence during the Civil Rights Movement. He used Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s movement as an example of successful protest using nonviolence. Although Dr. King's example proved to be effective, after he died, several members of the movement resorted to violence which caused the death of thousands of Americans. Chavez argued nonviolence is the only way to protest violence in order to attract support for his cause: the farm workers' movement. Chavez's rhetorical choices, through his tone and allusion to history, effectively influenced farmers to protest without violence.
the segregationists, resulting in the injury and deaths of many of King’s followers. With these points in mind, King came to the conclusion that the best strategy in gaining the rights of African American was the use of non-violent protest. He believed that violence only “intensifies evil,';
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a very prominent part of the movement to end Jim Crow laws. In 1963 he and the SCLC organized a boycott and marched to challenge these laws in Birmingham, Alabama. He and many others were arrested for this and while in jail he wrote to a response to the white ministers that were critiquing him. King was not afraid to stand up to the white people. He explained two kinds of laws, just laws; laws that needed to be followed, and unjust laws: laws that needed to be disobeyed. He is speaking about the Jim Crow laws, they were the unjust laws meant to be broken, these were the laws that needed to go away and go away for good and African Americans were not going to stop until the unjust Jim Crow laws were gone for good and they were not afraid of a fight. But within the African American community there were two opposing forces; the church force who had a non-violent approach and were very complacent, and the militants who were advocates of violence, believed white people were blue- eyed devils and that African Americans were better off not integrating and should create their own nation. King placed himself in the middle of these two forces. King was smart in placing himself in the middle of the two forces because he created a spectrum of options for himself and others who want to join him. King may have been oppressed by the whites, but he was not afraid to fight back and tell them how he felt, and by placing himself in between the church and
The purpose of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s was for blacks to achieve rights equal to those of whites. While this was the common goal, there were differences in the methods used to achieve them—the nonviolent and violent approach. People such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. advocated for the use of nonviolence. On the other hand, people such as Stokely Carmichael supported the use of violence to achieve these aforementioned goals. While the ideas behind Carmichael’s interpretation of Black Power—such as unity and self-pride—are essential, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s nonviolent approach is most effective for the task.
Rodney King a black man who lived in Las Vegas was severely beaten by four white police officers. The officers were brought into court and tried on charges of assault. The officers were acquitted of the assault charges. Immediately protestors took to the streets, to express their angry over the judge’s decision. Protestors found the ruling to be unfair and was fed up with the ill-treatment. The violent protest turned into a riot. A lot of damage occurred; over 50 people were killed, over 2,300 people injured, 8,000 arrests and estimated over $1 billion in property damage. The riots exposed the police abuse, poverty, and lack of economic opportunity. If it was not for the violent protestors no light would have been shed on the way black were being
Mohandas Gandhi is an Indian lawyer and a spiritual leader that led a successful nonviolent resistance movement against the British colonial power. “The tactic of nonviolence civil disobedience in the Civil Rights Movement was deeply influenced by the model of Mohandas Gandhi, (...) Gandhi 's approach of non-violent civil disobedience involved provoking authorities by breaking the law peacefully, to force those in power to acknowledge existing injustice and bring it to an end”. (1) “Provoking authorities by breaking the law peacefully” this is an example of how nonviolent disobedience allows the message to stay focused and reach the point where people in power cannot ignore. Violent actions draw the media away from the message and fuels the rich and powerful; those who hide behind barriers in order to mute the underprivileged. An example of underprivileged people is African American’s during the 1950s who were treated like second class citizens. “Laws separated people of color from whites in schools, housing, jobs, and public gathering places”. (3) The types of methods used to fight against segregation are, “One of the ways African American communities fought legal segregation was through direct action protests, such as boycotts, sit-ins, and mass civil disobedience”. (1) This is how nonviolent disobedience is fought
To begin with, Dr. King believed in nonviolence. An example of Dr. King's dedication to nonviolence found in the eulogy from Benjamin Mays "Nonviolence to King was a total commitment not only in solving the problems of race in the United States, but the problems of the world." For example, he was opposed to the Vietnam war because of the violence. It was not in his nature to be violent. Dr. King's message of nonviolence can also be heard in the article Complete Life "We will match your capacity to endure suffering. We will meet your physical force with soul force. Due to us what you will and we will still love you." He remained true to his belief
Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights leader who grew up in a middle class family and was well educated. King was always against violence, even thru his entire ministry. He believed in an integrated society between blacks and whites in one American society based upon the promises of the founding fathers of American that all men were created equal and had the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Even though, he was physically and verbally attacked he always stood his ground and never fought with violence. While in jail for 8 days Martin Luther King Jr. compose “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The letter was evidently a response to a letter that recently ran in the local newspapers by the Birmingham Clergy. Which had claimed that the protesters were “unwise and untimely”. However, Dr. King chose to express himself in writing instead of violence, by replying “Seldom, ...
“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.
All Dr. King wanted was equality. He never resorted to violence, or vulgar words, that was never his intention. His goals were to open the eyes of the people to see that every human no matter color of skin, no matter gender we deserve equality. He wanted to teach uneducated
Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist who was constantly engaging in peaceful protests to eliminate segregation. He was a minister who believed that there was four basic steps to a nonviolent campaign which are: “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action,” (King). Therefore, he constantly used these steps to perform sit-ins and marches in order to face the unjust racism he and other black people in America were facing at the time. Similarly, he had to use these tactics because the whites in society refused to listen to King when he wanted to negotiate with them (King). Dr. King made many sacrifices throughout his
King traveled the country making speeches and inspiring people to become involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He organized non-violent student sit-ins and fought for the rights of the black population. In his speech, he proclaimed a free and better nation of equality and that both races, the blacks and the whites, should join together to achieve common ground and to support each other instead of fighting against one another. King’s vision is that all people should be judged by their “personality and character and not by their color of skin”(‘I Have a Dream”). All the points he made in his speech were so strong that lots of people were interested in his thoughts. He dreamed of a land where the blacks could vote and have a reason to vote and where every citizen would be treated the same and with the same justice.
promoted the use of non-violent compromise to solve cultural conflicts, leading to his assassination and increased violent conflicts after his death. Although Dr. King used compromise to solve conflicts between him and others, some racists hated him, but it took a long time for someone to build up the courage and kill him. Dr. King still lived a longer life than he expected. Dr. King believed that hate could not drive out hate, and only love could do that, so he used compromise to drive out the hate and violence of conflict. Although Dr. King loved the idea of a free nation, others hated him. Martin used compromise to solve his problems instead of conflict, and it led him far in his life. While using his compromise throughout his life, by the time of his death, cultural conflicts arose, but in the end, they compromised. In the present, people realize that Martin Luther King Jr. made a huge impact in our lives. Now, African-Americans and the black community have the same rights at others without conflict. There are still some racists in the world and there always will be, but Martin Luther King Jr. helped make America the free country it is