Civil Disobience
Find a contemporary (past 10 years) example of a non-violent civil disobedience. Post a link to the article and briefly describe what was happening.
Example. Cindy Sheehan and other Code Pink members were arrested for trespassing on private property to protest the actions of the US Government in Iraq (it was a US Government building that was actually leased to a private entity). Here is her journal about it.
Your turn!
posted by erdecker @ 9:48 AM
24 comments
24 Comments:
In Saudi Arabia, women need permission from their closest male relative before being permitted to leave the country. Wajeha al-Huwaider tried three times to cross from Saudi Arabia into Bahrain on her own and without permission from a male guardian. She was turned back each time but she said she'll continue going to Saudi's land borders and its airports in an attempt to gain "her rights."
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/10/women.saudi/index.html?iref=allsearch
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0908-14.htm
It was a "Die-in" protest that happened on Broadway in New York City. They were protesting the war and protesters were laying in middle of the street to have spectators consider a world without war. The police ended up rounding up large groups of people (protesters or not) and sending them to Pier 57. Most of the detained "protesters" were released with a warning and told not to cause trouble or face prosecution for civil disobedience. The whole point was to open the eyes of the community to the option of peace.
In San Francisco, 1,300 Local 2 employees marched down the streets in protest of there pay from their parent company Hilton. There argument was how an average worker was only making $30,000 a year while Hilton's CEO made over a billion last year. They all marched down the streets of San Francisco and went right up to the hotel. (this is a union organized act of civil disobedience but none the less it is people marching to fight a higher cause).
http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/12/07/protest-and-non-violent-civil-disobedience-at-chevron-31-arrested/
December 7 2009 Mobilization for Climate Justice- protestors sat outside and blocked entrances to the Chevron building. They were protesting global destruction of communities, the environment and the global climate. They targeted Chevron because the company was undermining efforts to combat global warming. Most were arrested but then eventually released.
http://obrag.org/?p=14281
115 people were arrested in 18 U.S. cities for non-violently protesting abusive business practices of for-profit health insurance companies. They demanded that the corporations stop spending so much money on lobbying congress and advertising, which is being paid for by people's premiums.
Angry crowds demanding the restoration of democracy defied curfews and took to the streets across Nepal, throwing stones at security forces and burning government offices in Nepal.
http://articles.latimes.com/2006/apr/10/world/fg-briefs10.2
After the Copenhagen climate summit's failure to come up with a fair treaty to avert climate change three Greenpeace activists gate crashed a head of state's dinner hosted by the Queen of Denmark. They snuck in and broke out signs saying "Politicians Talk, Leaders Act". Knowing full well that they (and two other activists) could be arrested, the "Red Carpet Four" acted on unfair treatment of their cause. They were arrested and were just released after serious pressure from international forces.
http://www.guardianweekly.co.uk/?page=editorial&id=1423&catID=17
ATLANTA - Tens of thousands of immigrants spilled into the streets in dozens of cities across the nation Monday in peaceful protests that some compared to the movements led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and farm-labor organizer Caesar Chavez.
“People of the world, we have come to say this is our moment,” said Rev. James Orange of the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda in Atlanta, where police estimated that at least 50,000 people marched Monday morning.
At the Mississippi Capitol, 500 demonstrators sang “We Shall Overcome” in Spanish. In Pittsburgh, protesters gathered outside Sen. Arlen Specter’s office to make their voices heard as Congress considers immigration reforms.
-http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12250356/
http://www.nocooperacion.org/
A Cuban organization dedicated to civil resistance of the dictatorship. in October of 2007 they protested the 'fake' elections that occurred, pickets and all.
On September 2003, Protesters were upset that airport expansion will lead to increased noise levels, loss of land for housing and agriculture and the demolition of historic areas.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3137838.stm
3-day protest at insurance giant Blue Shield in Mission Valley
Through non-violent action, the group hopes to highlight what participants perceive is one of the fundamental problems with the US health care system – abusive business practices of for-profit insurance corporations. The protest was a prayer service, a rally, and a sit-in. The public was welcome to participate.
http://obrag.org/?p=14281
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=7214012
Christians called to disobey?
there was a document that was signed in order to save the sanctity of life, marriage between one man and one woman, and religious liberty.
http://www.mahalo.com/iran-protests
Over 100000 Iranians held a candle-light vigil protesting the recent election and to mourn for those killed in previous protests.
John Murtari spent 21 nights in jail with two arrests because of his want for the right to have an equal relationship with children.
http://www.kids-right.org/relocate.htm
During the 2006 midterm elections, an organization called UFPJ, a colation of national and local groups that oppose the Iraq War and the government's policy on warfare, became involved in the Voters for Peace campaign. It encouraged individuals to pledge that they “will not vote for or support any candidate for Congress or president who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign." More than 100,000 people signed the pledge prior to the election.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?list=type&type=16
Ramon F Banzon
June 15, 2009 was the largest street protest and since 1979 in Iran. The Iranian supporters of Mousavi (a candidate in the recent election) were upset at suspected voter fraud.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/06/irans_ disputed_election.html
The people of Estonia protested Soviet Russia's stifling of independence in 1991. People acted as human shields to stop Soviet tanks from reaching TV and radio stations. IN SOVIET RUSSIA, (at least Gorbachev's Russia) TANKS ARE STOPPED BY YOU!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience#Estonian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic
In Baldwin, New York a women is facing eviction from her house that she changed dramatically. This is because of her subprime loan she took out in 2003, and two years later her interest rate increased far beyond her pay. So now she enlisted "home defenders", people trained in civil disobedience, to help her out. She says that she won't get evicted, the only way their getting her out of her house is with handcuffs.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/18/rtr.homedefenders/index.html?iref=allsearch
The US has been persuading the Israeli government to stop settlement construction. However the process is taking too long and the suffering Palestinians, lead by Mohammed Khatib, need to act right away. That is why they have taken nonviolent action against Israel's construction of settlements and the wall on Palestinian land in the West Bank. They hope to make life safer for themselves so they are no longer living in fear. Here is an excerpt from an article detailing the steps they have taken so far and what a day is like for them…
November 4, 2009 “Palestinians who see nonviolence as their weapon” By Richard Boudreaux… “Every Friday, Mohammed Khatib's forces assemble for battle with the Israeli army and gather their weapons: a bullhorn, banners -- and a fierce belief that peaceful protest can bring about a Palestinian state. A few hundred strong, they march to the Israeli barrier that separates the tiny farming community of Bilin from much of its land. They chant and shout. A few teenagers throw stones. Khatib helped launch the weekly ritual five years ago in an attempt to "re-brand" a Palestinian struggle often associated with rocket attacks and suicide bombers.”
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/04/world/fg-nonviolence4
ben thats the same one i did
The definition of civil disobedience isn't limited to just individuals protesting a cause; Google threatening to pull out of China because of censorship and alleged hacking is a perfect example of nonviolent civil disobedience.
I suppose this would be more of a Thoreau-esque mode of operation.
I am really surprised that no one has said anything about China yet... well Abir did, but what about the <a href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/features/article_1463482.php/Monks_lead_Tibetan_"civil_disobedience"_in_China__Feature__>Tibetian monks?</a> They have been resisting the government, wanting freedom for their religion, and have been continually raided and arrested. They are even disobeying at this very moment, hiding from the government in their monasteries. I'm pretty sure that's as recent as you can get.
- Thomas D
The Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004 was a protest against a corrupt presidential election. The person who "should have" won, Yushchenko, took a symbolic presidential oath in an attempt to show that he was the true leader. At the same time, people were nonviolently standing out in the cold weather to essentially say that if the "true" winner's victory wasn't acknowledged, they would split up Ukraine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Revolution
On Feb. 20, 2009 Police in Baltimore the first arrest related to support homeowners who refuse to vacate their foreclosed homes.
An activist with the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now — faces criminal charges after breaking into a home in southeast Baltimore to protest the foreclosure crisis sweeping the country. Charges are held for this is considered trespassing. Depending on the intensity of the case, the punishment could go up as high as a felony.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,498669,00.html
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