When the world is engulfed in injustice, it calls for brave men and women to fight back, but the question is how should one fight? Most would resort to violence to kill off injustice, but this leads to even more violence and chaos in most cases than intended. If someone is going to be shot the first reaction is to fight off the killer. However, Cesar Chavez implies in his powerful essay the weakness of violence in a unjust situation and instead the power of nonviolence.
Appeal to history is used as an argument that use past cases as a guide to the future. It is used by the author in the article when he looks back at nonviolent protests in the past and how successful they can be over violence. One example being Gandhi’s marches in which he taught that “[t]he boycott…is the most nearly perfect instrument of nonviolent change, allowing masses of people to participate actively in a cause” (Chavez 61-64). Chavez also states that if victory were attained through violence, it “…would come at the expense of injury or perhaps death” and it will only be temporary as it will just “… [replace] one violent form of power with just another just as violent” (Chavez 67-68, 75-77). The author makes it clear that history has proven the nonviolent protests holds more leverage as the oppression it is against, whereas violence can only lead to injuries and deaths of many and only result in a similar or worse
The four basic steps in campaign nonviolence by Martin Luther King are negotiation, self-purification, direct action and perception of the facts to determine if injustice is alive. On the Selma movie it is beautiful, the injustice abuse of those times found in African races loss of their human rights family love!! But being a little more accurate this film from my analytical point presents the struggle for civil rights as a political game calculated to the millimeter. No lack of ideological and strategic discussions that enhance the speech of social change Martin Luther King, whose pragmatic dye is manifested not only in scenes discussion with his colleagues and opponents (the talks with President Lyndon Johnson are remarkable for the intelligence
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi once said, “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.” What Gandhi is saying is that nonviolence is a stronger force than using destructive tools like guns or explosives. He is saying you can achieve your goals without the need to use violence like harming innocent people or causing chaos and havoc. Historical figures like Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela used non-violence civil disobedience Although non-violent civil disobedience is the best way to bring change to an unjust system, it is not always successful.
Martin Luther King Jr. in his fight for civil rights, then transitions to compare and contrast between violence and nonviolence. With the use of very explicit sentences, he declares that the use of nonviolence is superior and more powerful than its counterpart. While violence leads to “injuries and perhaps death on both sides” and could end in “total demoralization of the workers,” nonviolence “supports … a just and moral cause” and “is of crucial importance to win any contest.” His portrayal of injury and death as a result of the use of violent tactics combined with the wholesomeness of nonviolence encourages the reader to support Chavez’s claim that nonviolence is a superior form of protest. To gain credibility, Chavez establishes the idea that violence is detrimental to everyone involved, regardless of one’s position on civil rights or whether they are the perpetrator or the victim of this violence.
The third argument King has in favour of nonviolent resistance is in how it creates a stage for oppressed groups to speak their truths. King views nonviolent resistance as the only morally sound method in addressing these issues. When reading this, I found it to be slightly unclear, however, I have concluded that it is because hate breeds hate, which is why a different approach is needed being nonviolent resistance. This would prove to be a powerful movement, but frustrating as one must expect to face various forms of violence but stay in a state of peace within oneself. In intentionally placing oneself in violent scenarios and not having to endure extreme mistreatment in attempt to address another.
By alluding to King—a civil rights leader and a strong believer in nonviolence—Chavez shows that nonviolence can be amazingly effective. King led a nonviolent campaign during the civil rights movement geared toward ending segregation and securing equal rights for African Americans. King successfully utilized
In order to achieve true freedom one must discover that you can break unjust laws through peaceful protest. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and “The Speech at The March Washington” by Josephine Baker each article passionately argues about the disadvantages of the black community, the equality and power of education. We must learn to act with patients and not guns we must protect are self’s with a pen and paper not violence. Dr. King once4 said “Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is unique in history which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it.
Dr.Kings death giving them the opportunity to remember the principles of which their struggle has matured. Further, into the article, he infers that the use of nonviolence poses the opposite effect of violence. The effect being the attraction of support from people that would
Martin Luther King wanted to spark emotion in both the African American and white audience. He wanted to spark the emotion in the African American for them to join the non-violence movement. Dr. King said, “but there is a type of constructive nonviolent tension that is necessary for growth” to bring emotion in fellow African American to the growth of racial equality. He wanted to spark the emotion in the White community to lessening the aggressiveness by giving insight on the everyday life of the African American. In paragraph 10 he quotes, “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity”.
King’s teaching of Nonviolent Civil Disobedience was best tactic because fighting violence with violence creates more problems where his teachings combated the whites’ violence without being
In order to further prove that nonviolence is the way to stop racism and gain equality, Dr. King writes: “I'm grateful to God that, through the Negro church, the dimension of nonviolence entered our struggle. If this philosophy had not emerged, I am convinced that by now many streets of the South would be flowing with floods of blood” (). In this quote, Dr. King once again argues that non violence and peace are the best ways to stop the cycle of violence. The phrase “the dimension of nonviolence entered our struggle” shows that even though they are struggling, nonviolence can help them.
For example, during the African-American civil rights movements, many blacks took part in nonviolent protests and other forms of resistance to the segregation and racism. Unfortunately, the protesters would have to stay strictly nonviolent, lest they would be subject to many forms of persecution. Unfortunately for them, nonviolence and peaceful protests also meant vulnerability to attack. Another problem was the fact that peaceful protests could easily become violent, and very fast. Peaceful resistance could be a gateway to other, more violent forms of resistance.
Hearts of the oppressed will always cry out in desperation; waiting for anyone to swoop in and liberate them from their cruel reality. Few are capable of mustering up the gumption to throw their neck on the line in defense of the defenseless. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is one such man. Trading in his comfortable life for one of danger and ridicule, King was catapulted to the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement following the profound leadership he demonstrated during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. As a well-educated, African American pastor, he provided a unique perspective on the racial issues at hand.
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.