Pros And Cons Of Civil Disobedience

Improved Essays
There are so many things to fight for in this world. There are many things to fight against. There are many ways to fight, Civil disobedience is one of the tactics used by many of those who fight. Civil disobedience is the "refusal to obey […] demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions […]" (Merriam-Webster) Civil disobedience is sometimes simply refusal, but can also be non-violent protests. Usually these tactics are used when fighting a government that is abusing it's power.
Michael Brown, an 18 year old black man, was fatally shot multiple times by Darren Wilson who at the time was a Ferguson police officer. There was controversy over whether or not Darren Wilson should have been

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Civil Disobedience Thoreau declares, “The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think is right” (Ogunye). He ostensibly acknowledges no authority other than that of his own moral sense. In this essay, civil disobedience will be defined as the unwillingness to obey civil laws in an attempt to prompt change in governmental law or procedure, demonstrated by the use of nonviolent methods. The matter in question, then, is whether such civil disobedience is justified in a democratic society. The value of this essay’s argument is fairness; that is, defending human rights and granting each his or her due.…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Research Project: Michael Brown As a matter of fact, about 2,500 unarmed people had been killed in the past 2 years and 331 African American this year have been killed already by police brutality. Michael Brown was the unarmed innocent teen who was shot and killed on August 9, 2014 by Darren Wilson a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri that made nationwide news. Some important background information to know about the Michael Brown case are words like police brutality, black lives matter, and people Michael Brown and Darren Wilson. Police brutality is acts of violence committed by police.…

    • 1675 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Intro- On August 9th, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri, by Officer Darren Wilson. Some witnesses say that Brown was charging towards Wilson when the shots were fired. Others say that Brown never moved towards the officer. What really happened? Was Officer Wilson right to shoot Michael Brown?…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In my opinion, Civil Disobedience has a positive long-term effect in American society. “Civil disobedience is a public, non-violent and conscientious infringement of law carried out to express opposition to law and policy” (Smith p.826). In 2015, after a mass shooting at an African American church in South Carolina, a young woman climbed up a flag pole and snatched a Confederate flag. The woman was arrested and it sparked a lot of outrage in the African American community, a lot of peaceful protesting happened around South Carolina, a few days later. The woman was freed and the state government announced that they will be removing every Confederate flag in South Carolina.…

    • 203 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Four hundred. This is the number of police brutality cases reported in the U.S. this past year. USA Today estimated that there were roughly two victims that were either killed or severely injured through police brutality on a bi-weekly basis. The number of police brutality events occurring each year have been steadily rising and culminated in the highly disputed killing of Michael Brown last year. Brown was an unarmed black teenager who was shot and killed on August 9th 2015 by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri.…

    • 1641 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Civil disobedience is a highly controversial subject, and I understand why. There is a huge difference between Martin Luther King Jr, and the riots that are going on right now because Donald Trump got elected as President. Dr. King's protests were peaceful and did not interrupt everyday life, even though he felt strongly about the subject. The protesters now are disrupting the streets and are committing arson and other crimes (such as burning the flag-which is illegal). Dr. King got a lot further getting societal support using his peaceful protests than these anti-Trump protesters are by burning things and hurting people.…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Power, Violence, and Discrimination an Analysis of the Shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri Austin Dix PSYC 2602-002 Spring 2015 University of Colorado Boulder The shooting of an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown by a white police officer, Darren Wilson, in Ferguson, Missouri polarized the nation and catalyzed a renewed focus on police violence and racial biases in policing. Ferguson, Missouri has 21,000 residents, and is primarily white. Of their 53-man police force, only four are black, and according to the U.S. Justice Department, the Ferguson Police has a highly disparate number of black suspects arrested. Thus, questions were quickly raised after the shooting whether biases or prejudices…

    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Civil disobedience is peacefully protesting against certain laws or refusing to pay fines and/or taxes. The selections titled “Civil Disobedience” by David Henry Thoreau, “Non-violent Resistance” by Mohandas K. Gandhi, and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King all show themes of civil disobedience and peaceful protest. The first article, “Civil Disobedience” is written by Henry David Thoreau. Throughout this article it describes the fault in our government and how it is too controlling.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I strongly believe that civil disobedience does a lot of positive. Unsatisfied citizens have the right to participate in peaceful protests against something that, in their opinion, is unlawful or not fair. There are many inspirational and great examples of both peaceful and violent protesting bringing change. Many of today’s greatest influencers practiced peaceful protesting, and we have many inspiring quotes as proof. There is not a direct answer on why we should protest but there are a great many reasons why it is helpful.…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The love any person has for their country is not only identifiable, but easily measurable. This barometer of patriotism is defined by how willing one is to eagerly study and attend to the laws set down by previous generations. Conscientious citizens aim ever to ensure that the most fundamental rights natural law provides are being extended to every individual who maintains their citizenship; that the laws set forth by government entities do not overextend the bounds these natural rights have in place. Free society must ensure that “no obstacles are put in your way, and no restraints prevent you from acting as you choose” (Butler, 20). Those who truly love their agency will resist any law that places their freedom in jeopardy.…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    All disobedience of law is not civil disobedience Anyone commits an act of civil disobedience if and only if he acts illegally, publicly, nonviolently, and conscientiously with the intent to frustrate the laws, policies or decision of his government. Civil disobedience is flanked by two further form forms of political action. The more extreme forms of action is revolution which involves an attempt to overturn the state as a whole with the aim of replacing existing form of authority with a differing, often organizing according to an alternative set of political ideals. Revolution usually involves political violence- acts violence committed with a specifically political aim. The less radical alternative is political…

    • 1321 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    "You must never be fearful of what you are doing when it is right"(Parks). Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a society because it makes people aware of the issue(s), educates society and makes a statement without harming others. Through peaceful resistance much more can be accomplished compared to using violent resistance or violent tactics. Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat in Montgomery, Alabama to a white gentleman is a prime example of how civil disobedience has accomplished so much through the years. When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man, she was arrested ,but not once did she think about fighting because it was against her beliefs.…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    August 9th of 2014, an African American male who was eighteen years of age named Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, Missouri. It was shown that minutes before his death Mr. Brown was earlier at the local liquor store stealing cigarillos. Mr. Wilson, of 28 years, was the police officer that picked up on the situation as he saw someone to appear as to what the suspect looked like. Once stopping Michael, and him cooperating onto the sidewalk, there was later an altercation between Mr. Brown and Officer Darren Wilson, who is of white heritage. Moments later, Michael Brown was shot and killed by Wilson, after having the officer chase him.…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Police Shooting

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In today’s society it is not uncommon to see people openly talking bad about police or how the police are just here to kill unarmed black people. While I realize that there have been mistakes made by some police officers and police department across the country, as a whole they do not represent all of the police officers and departments in America. Research has shown that a common cause behind unjust police shooting is not based on the race of the suspect but instead has to do with the police officer experiencing anxiety, clouding his or hers judgment and emotions in the given tense situation. The death of Michael Brown is one of the most widely known cases in America of police brutality. It was the breaking point between African-American and police relationships.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    I have always wanted to start my own country. I feel disenfranchised by the political systems in my country, the United States, because I don’t have values in alignment with any major political party. I’m sick and tired of following pointless laws and paying taxes to subsidise programs and facilities that I disagree with when there are programs that I would appreciate the existence of that nobody else seems to care for the creation of. In all honesty, I think that the United States is misappropriating funding and is imposing laws on me that are simply dumb; what are my options to remove myself from this process and what are the options for other people like me? Efforts to distance someone from the laws of their government should manifest primarily…

    • 2295 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Superior Essays