The police yelled up to the young woman, ordering her to descend the flag pole at once, but she ignored their calls and focused on her own breathy voice instead. The steady rhythm of psalms rolled from her tongue as she unhooked the dirty flag from its rig, dangling precariously nearly three stories in the air from nothing but a single strand of belaying rope. The Lord is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid? When her feet finally touched the ground, Bree Newsome simply put her hands up and smiled brightly, the dethroned fabric now motionless by her side. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. In the weeks following, thousands of dollars were raised
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While marches, petitions, and typical protests are fantastic ways of exercising free speech, the government has no reason to pay attention to these demonstrations. Breaking laws, however, makes the protesters’ and activists’ opinions the government’s problem because the movement for change infiltrates the legal and judicial systems. If you have hundreds of people being arrested while protesting the construction of a pipeline that would poison drinking water or uproot Native American burial grounds like we saw with the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone XL Pipeline, for example, politicians are a lot more likely to take a second look at why there is opposition to the project and what alternatives may exist in order to quell any tension, minimize injustices, and, if nothing else, save law enforcement and correctional facility resources. Not only that, but outrage quickly grows across the country when media depicts peaceful protesters being harmed by swarms of police in riot gear. This causes leaders to alter their stances and behavior in order to portray at least a facade of justice, as well as maintain general cooperation by the public. This demonstrates how peacefully breaking laws can be used to speak directly to legislators and government officials in order to gain rights for various groups and
While marches, petitions, and typical protests are fantastic ways of exercising free speech, the government has no reason to pay attention to these demonstrations. Breaking laws, however, makes the protesters’ and activists’ opinions the government’s problem because the movement for change infiltrates the legal and judicial systems. If you have hundreds of people being arrested while protesting the construction of a pipeline that would poison drinking water or uproot Native American burial grounds like we saw with the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone XL Pipeline, for example, politicians are a lot more likely to take a second look at why there is opposition to the project and what alternatives may exist in order to quell any tension, minimize injustices, and, if nothing else, save law enforcement and correctional facility resources. Not only that, but outrage quickly grows across the country when media depicts peaceful protesters being harmed by swarms of police in riot gear. This causes leaders to alter their stances and behavior in order to portray at least a facade of justice, as well as maintain general cooperation by the public. This demonstrates how peacefully breaking laws can be used to speak directly to legislators and government officials in order to gain rights for various groups and