The Act of Civil Disobedience as a Mechanism of Resisting Oppression

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The Act of Civil Disobedience/Non-Violence as An Effective Mechanism of Resisting Oppression
Over the years, people have been using non-violent tactics to resists inhumanity, oppression, and other atrocities. The term "civil disobedience" can be defined as the refusal to comply or adhere to authority's commands. Many groups and individuals have used civil disobedience as a tactic of creating change. Arguably, the most popular individual to employ this tactic was Mahatma Gandhi of India, whose actions would later inspire the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr in the united states. Gandhi called his non-violent resistance a distinct form of political action "satyagraha." Satyagraha was holding fast to truth in one's everyday activities. Therefore, this paper will focus on the act of civil disobedience or non-violence and how it was effectively utilized by Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr in their fight against oppression.
The nonviolent tactics established by Gandhi became the bedrock of the civil rights movement. Gandhi emphasizes that the use of some violence is what distinguishes satyagraha from passive resistance (Gandhi, Mahatma). During the formation of the civil rights movement, African Americans had gotten tired of the atrocities that were being done to them by the whites. For instance, the levels of discrimination were very high. The white was allowed to live in classy estates while the African Americans could only afford to live in the ghettos. Besides, African Americans were not allowed to step foot in the estates made for whites only. The job market was also very selective as African Americans were only allowed to work in farms and other jobs whose pay was little. Therefore, the civil rights movement was formed to put an end to such atrocities and inhuman activities. The civil rights movement leader, Martin Luther, believed that the movement would bring an end to the oppression. The movement aimed to carry out peaceful demonstrations that would, in turn, persuade the leader to stop the inhuman acts that were being done against the African Americans.
The non-violent tactic resulted in major changes following the formation of the civil rights movement. The movement followers knew that violent demonstrations would not result in any changes. Rather, it would worsen the situation since more regulations would be set to curb the violence. There would be a lot of fighting and shooting by the white police, something which the movement's leaders did not want. Therefore, peaceful demonstrations became the main tactic that would, in turn, influence change. Martin Luther was a respected leader, and some people were criticizing his support for protests. However, he made it clear that the protests were peaceful and aimed at creating change that would end the inhuman acts against African Americans. Martin Luther showed strong support for his argument by leading the movement and encouraging the followers to have peaceful demonstrations (King). Luther was applying Gandhi's repertoire to ensure that the needs of African Americans were taken into consideration. The civil rights movement borrowed Gandhi's techniques and made them routine. As the civil rights movement continued to become resistant under Martin Luther's leadership, the authorities felt the need for a change.
During the formation of the civil rights movements, Gandhi's propagation of ending inhuman activities has gained fame in the United States of America (Chabot). The techniques have proven to be a success in India. Therefore, the African Americans chose to embrace it as a way of fighting for equal civil rights. They were living under oppression with no hope of change since they had no leaders in the government to fight for their rights. Therefore, forming movements and engaging in civil disobedience was the only way to create change. The civil movement remains in America's history due to its success in reducing the oppression against African Americans. The techniques used during the civil movement era continue to be applied in different aspects of life and have proven successful. For instance, civil disobedience has become a common factor in the workplace. Whenever the workers need a pay rise or other needs' satisfaction, they choose civil dissilience and engage in peaceful demonstrations. Therefore, Gandhi's technique remains a great inspiration to people as they use it to fight for their rights in different aspects of life. Civil disobedience transcended its origins in India and played an essential role in the civil rights movement's success in the United States (Chabot).
Gandhi's non-violence technique aimed to eliminate the inhumanities and atrocities, obtain justice for every human being living in the nation, and strengthen the cooperation between the common citizen and the authorities. Instead of choosing violent demonstrations, Gandhi chose to use non-violent techniques of boycotting activities. This would persuade the authorities to stop the oppression. His techniques were to push for the civil rights of Ind...