Social Activism- Monday- Period 1- Class #5

[smartestone]

It was back in the classroom today now that actual posting of class could be done, and Hermione was getting right down to business. "Today we're going to talk about something called civil disobedience," she told him. "This is when when you don't agree with a rule, you simply don't follow it. That's the most commonly-known form of it, anyway. Oftentimes people will go out and break that law to make a point. If you've heard of Ghandi, or Henry David Thoreau, you've probably heard of it being associated with them. It's in most cases a form of nonviolent protest, where people might not pay their taxes if they don't agree with the system, or in this country you had draft dodgers in the Vietnam war, where people would refuse to be drafted into the service. People will organize boycotts or sit-ins and some of the things they do might get them arrested, but they might consider it a statement, so arrest isn't that big a deterrent.

"Now, I don't want anyone to think I advocate breaking the rules, because I don't. But there are times that you might feel that it's the best course of action. Such as when your school is taken over by a power-hungry pink-clad cow who uses horrible forms of punishment on the students and you want to make things as difficult as possible for her." Hermione paused, realizing that that had maybe been a mini-rant, and cleared her throat. Maybe she had a tiny bit of experience with this one. "Or so I hear. So let's discuss. What's a situation that you can think of where this has been used, and was it a good idea? Or is there another way that you think you can use this form of protest to make a point?"

Comments

Discussion

[smartestone]

What examples of civil disobedience can you name, and were they good ideas? Or is there a way you can think of to use this?

Re: Discussion

[geewhizfellas.livejournal.com]

"Uh, well," said Butters, thoughtfully, nervously, his fingers tapping together and his eyes searching the room as if half expecting someone to come out and get him into trouble if he admitted to something, "there was this one time where the class visited a meat factory and, boy, it sure was gross! And so my friend Stan decided he was gonna be a vegetarian, and we all broke in and stole all the baby calves that were gonna be made into veal and we kept them in our bedroom and wouldn't release 'em. Does that count as civil disobedience, or is that something else, ma'am?"

"Either way," he added, "it didn't work out so good. The calves got kinda smelly and messy and then Stan, why, he broke out into all these sores and so that wasn't such a good idea, I don't think."

Re: Discussion

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"I've seen some people desert an army when they realized they were on the wrong side," Squall answered. "That was a good idea. If they hadn't been on the wrong side, it wouldn't have been a good idea."

He shrugged. "Also, it's important to remember that actions have consequences, and if you intend to break a rule, you have to be willing to deal with the results."