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Is Civil Disobedience a valid method of protest?

Is Civil Disobedience a valid method of protest?

  • Yes, but only with a permit.

    Votes: 3 6.4%

  • Yes. No permit necessary.

    Votes: 37 78.7%

  • No.

    Votes: 6 12.8%

  • I have no idea.

    Votes: 1 2.1%
  • Total voters
    47
Is civil disobedience and passive resistance the same thing? ala Ghandi.....I mean
 
sawyerloggingon said:
I don't want to be a word Nazi here but if you want to focus on a word the civil in civil disobedience, it doesn't mean you are behaving in a civil fashion, it means you refuse to obey civil laws.

Refusal to obey civil laws is an effort to induce change in governmental policy or legislation, characterized by the use of passive resistance or other nonviolent means.

Point is, if you break the law you get arrested, yes even if you are non violent.
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I think you have described civil disobedience correctly, but you didn't add the positive impact for a group by the arrest of fellow citizens who are non-violently standing up for what they believe in. In other words, the arrests tend to be counter productive as they inspire more to take their place.
 
petaluna said:
Is civil disobedience and passive resistance the same thing? ala Ghandi.....I mean
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They can be the same but do not have to be the same. There are forms of passive resistance that do no break any civil laws, boycotts for example, or gathering in a public place with a permit to protest. There are other forms of passive resistance can be civil disobedience. For example, if you go limp when being arrested it is considered resisting arrest, and can be an additional charge placed on you in the court system. I know this from experience.
 
Catawba said:
I think you have described civil disobedience correctly, but you didn't add the positive impact for a group by the arrest of fellow citizens who are non-violently standing up for what they believe in. In other words, the arrests tend to be counter productive as they inspire more to take their place.
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You can't let people decide when and when not to obey laws on their own. Break the law you get arrested. Letting protesters break laws is a path to anarchy.
 
Absolutely valid, so long as one is willing to accept the consequences of their actions. If you block business, streets, or public buildings, you can and will be forcibly removed and arrested. We knew the risks 40 years ago, and many did indeed suffer the consequences. Was it worth it? Yes, to me it was. Everyone has to decide for him/herself whether the importance of the issue is worth accepting the consequence.
 
If anything, it's the most valid. You'd prefer a violent riot? Anything less than disobedience isn't really a protest, and anything less than civil is violence.
 
It depends upon the times and the situations. Much of the time when it is employed in this country, it is ridiculous. People grab onto it to use it to infringe upon the ability of the people to conduct business as usual, armed only with the certitude that they are morally superior.
 
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Fiddytree said:
It depends upon the times and the situations. Much of the time when it is employed in this country, it is ridiculous. People grab onto it to use it to infringe upon the ability of the people to conduct business as usual, armed only with the certitude that they are morally superior.
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Very valid point. I used the civil rights movement earlier in the thread for a reason, in that particular case the powers that be were obviously wrong and stubbornly and willfully deaf to the ideals that everyone is on a equal legal footing, in that case and a select few others it seems civil disobedience was the only option left. Many times people go to the tactics before exhausting other options IMO.
 
Councilman said:
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So you think it's okay for a bunch of filthy bastards to defile private property etc. and the most of them are too damn stupid to even know why they are there, because they are dumb-assed liberals who play follow the leader and in this case it's Obama who started the BS class wars in hope of just such an event.
These protesters are breaking a number if laws and that has nothing to do with my feelings about civil rights. I know more about than you will ever know and there is a way to protest with breaking the law.
As for the buses it will take buses to haul these fools off.
Did you know brainiac that 100 of these ignorant fools were interviewed and 34 % said that America was just as bad as Al Queda. In my book that's about enough damn it, these son of beatches don't realize than if they were the Commie society they crave they would all go to prison or a gulag if they lived they the initial attracts.
Keep your hate speech to your party, mine doesn't buy in to the hate from the Left.
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You are seeing they fringe extrem in reguards to this group. Kinda like the nuts they always show for the Tea Party. Most of the 99% are good decent folks just trying to send a message. Guess what? Writing a frigging letter will not work! It goes right in the damn trash. They are at least DOING SOMETHING!

I wish to hell I lived closer as I would join em. Of course I have a job but could protest on weekends and help cook food:)

BTW.. Where did I spew any hate speech? You gonna get all snippy cause I called YOU out on YOUR HATE towards these folks? Hypocrite!
 
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sawyerloggingon said:
You can't let people decide when and when not to obey laws on their own. Break the law you get arrested. Letting protesters break laws is a path to anarchy.
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I never suggested that. I was just explaining one of the ways that non-violent civil disobedience (including arrests) is an effective form of protest.
 
Fiddytree said:
It depends upon the times and the situations. Much of the time when it is employed in this country, it is ridiculous. People grab onto it to use it to infringe upon the ability of the people to conduct business as usual, armed only with the certitude that they are morally superior.
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How is that any different than any non-violent protest movement throughout history?
 
Valid ≠ Effective ≠ Ethical

It's valid. Peaceful or non-peaceful - it's still a form of protest. Whether it's effective or ethical depends on the cause and the level of disobedience compared to the cause.

Personally, I think that "Civil Disobedience" is only truly ethical when it's directed towards government. If it's directed towards or affects other people or legal enterprise, it should be punished to the full extent of the law (those involved should expect it). If it's directed towards government, especially if it leads to change, those involved deserve leniency (after the fact).

Boycotting and permitted picketing, etc. are, in my opinion, valid, effective and ethical manners of protest against individuals and legal enterprise. If you can't get a permit to picket, then you may need to protest the government about the permitting process.

Passive resistance is a noble protest against violence and oppression.
 
GreenvilleGrows said:
Passive resistance is a noble protest against violence and oppression.
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Agreed........it is why I am very proud of the protesters for protesting about the economic oppression of the 99% by the 1%.
 
Requiring people to get a permit to protest is an example of civil disobedience.
 
Permits are silly. They are given out when the protest is conveniant to the powers that be. However, the entire point of protests is to be inconveniant to the powers that be. See the problem?
 
rocket88 said:
Henry Thoreau...
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"I wish I was still in prison....but my damn Aunt paid my taxes!/looks angrily at Aunt/ Auuuntiiiie! I was making a political and moral point by staying in theeeeeerrreeee!"
 
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Whatever it takes.....short of assasination...Governments tend to be slow to learn....Ghandi,Thoreau,King do answer for those who read, trouble is.....too few do this...reading of the classics.
Disappointing in that I am in the minority (again)
 
I hate when the correct answer is not a choice.

Just YES.
 
First of all "Civil Disobedience" is an oxymoron. You can't be civil and disobey at the same time. If you are disobeying the law you are breaking the law. Things are sometimes so simple that the concept is lost in the simplicity.
 
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