On civil disobedience

In 1849, Henry David Thoreau’s essay, “Resistance to Civil Government,” was a call for resistance to unjust laws created by the government. His ideas gained favor with Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The law of nonviolence says that violence should be resisted not by counter-violence but by nonviolence.” — Mahatma Gandhi

“An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Civil disobedience is relevant today. Thoreau claims that the best method for fighting injustice is through passive disobedience. A person must refuse to cooperate with injustice. Violent resistance is destined for failure. A government is too formidable for one individual to resist, but a dedicated group refusing to cooperate can triumph and defeat injustice.

Protesters must expect violence by the authorities and must not retaliate. Protesters must be educated in advance on how to react to arrest and attack. The organizers of Black Lives Matter and other protests have failed. The protest organizers should appoint cadres of volunteers who check protesters when they arrive for any objects used as projectiles and confiscated. Leaflets should remind protesters of the rules. By definition, civil disobedience must be nonviolent before it’s called “civil.”

Ken Spooner,