Peaceful Protest Research Paper

And although the idea of peaceful protest was to have zero violence, it never seemed to happen that way. Lewis tell us, “Violence does beget violence, but the opposite is just as true” (Lewis and Ayden en 1:100)(see figure 1). At least so they hoped. MLK, Lewis, and Lawson all believed that if they did not start any problems and remained peaceful then there would be no issues. They were wrong.

When it comes to America's History you can clearly see how peaceful protest has brought this world to what it is today. If it wasn't for people such as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks who voiced their opinions in a nonviolent manner, it's possible that our world would not have reached this equivalent state. While it is true that peaceful resistance has positively affected our society for centuries, these brave people have faced the consequences. For example, King was arrested after one of his nonviolent protests and sent to Birmingham Jail. While there he wrote the now famous piece "A Letter From Birmingham Jail".

On the other hand, using nonviolence allows people to participate and fight for what they believe in through non-violent ways like boycotts, marches, and strikes. These effective nonviolent “weapons” allow people to fight for change and keep their sense of strength and justice which would have otherwise been lost through

Non violence protest has been practiced by multiple people all over the world, and it has shown to be successful. Specifically Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with his form of non violence within the Civil Rights Movement. He is a legend, he has influenced many people to follow his tactics, in order to make the world a better place and to progress the country. Cesar Chavez is a Civil Rights Leader himself and writes an article on DR. King’s 10 year anniversary of his untimely death and his article was on how non violence protests are better than any form of violence by using elements of pathos and ethos.

Initiating a violent protest will alert their communities of the issue but in a negative way. While a peaceful protest is more likely to positively bring awareness to the issue and spark change. Standing alone can be hard because it means going against social proof. People who stand alone on certain issues and beliefs notify their communities to the existence of a

"If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so. "-Socrates. Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society because the society is not free unless it's able to check the government. As long as the protest of the law remains peaceful it is a good thing. It is the public telling the government that they will not let them gain to much power and crush their human rights.

Peaceful resistance to laws positively affect a free society. Throughout history, there have been multiple cases of both violent and peaceful protests. However, the peaceful protests are the ones that tend to stick with a society and are the ones that change the society for the better. In April 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter about just and unjust laws while he was in Birmingham jail for peacefully protesting. King came to Birmingham because "injustice is here".

We have to right to assemble, to speak freely, and to protect ourselves (1st amendment (Freedom of speech) and 2nd amendment (Right to bear arms)). Peacefully resisting is one of the means of expressing our opinions and exercising our beliefs and freedoms.

The first amendment allows us to share our opinions in several different ways. Peacefully resisting laws we disagree with is an important way to share our opinions and make a difference. Rosa Parks did not cause harm to any passenger on that bus, and she made an incredible impact. In today's times, we often have protests when a group of people feel that someone was unjustly killed, commonly centering around police brutality. These peaceful protests are perfectly fine to have.

Nonviolent movements and protests have appeared throughout history, most, if not all, eventually achieving what they set out to go. From Dr. Martin Luther King Jrs.’ March on Washington campaigning for civil rights for African-Americans, to the National American Woman Suffrage Association’s demonstrations for voting rights for women, to British Parliament repealing the Stamp Act due to colonial boycotts on tariffed goods, nonviolence has prevailed in being successful. What can be accomplished via war can also be accomplished via peace. People standing up for what they believe in and demonstrating their beliefs peacefully helps accomplish more than them hurting themselves and each other to try to change things.

The point of a non-violent protest is to “…create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue” (King). Its goal is to force attention on the problem. It ultimately gives to the community no other choice but to face the problem and try to fix it. What Martin Luther King wanted was for it to gain attention so that they will be able to negotiate with “white moderates” and agree on a common ground. He did that to be able to negotiate which was his second step but it did not work.

" This is non-violence at the peak of its power, when it cuts into the profit margin of a business..." (Doc. F) The non-violent protesters knew exactly what to do, exactly what would work, and exactly what would come out of it. This was a luxury that their violent counterparts did not have and is another reason as to why non-violence made more sense for the time

The consequences of peaceful protesting is, the marchers from Selma to Montgomery, had to go back and march three times. The first march wasn 't what they wanted to achieve and got sent back to the bridge. The second march was when they were crossing the bridge. The police officers attacked them with stick, teargas, clubs, arrested innocent people, guns were fired, knocked people to the ground, whips, rubber tubing wrapped in barbed wire was a weapon that the police officers whipped at the marchers. The third time they went to march, they won Federal Protection and they successfully marched for their cause.

Everyone wants to be heard. Everyone wants to be noticed. Everyone wants to make a change in this world, and allowing them to do something in protest peaceful gives them that voice that they so desperately crave and desire to have on this ever so cruel

Rallies may start off peaceful but others who may agree with those protesting don’t always do it peacefully this causes riots and looting, which is the farthest thing from peaceful. There is a fine line from marching down the streets peacefully and making your opinion know like Martin Luther King Jr did in 1965, in Alabama to help fight for the right of African-Americans to vote. Then someone saying it’s okay to loot and destroy cars and stores because they are expressing their opinion.