Top 10 non-violent protests, you can't ignore

Bed-In for Peace
Beatles legend John Lennon married his second wife Yoko Ono on March 20, 1969. Five days later, in lieu of a traditional honeymoon, the couple holed up in the bed of the Amsterdam Hilton's presidential suite, welcoming media for a week straight to display their deep opposition to the Vietnam War. They followed up a couple months later with another bed-in at a Montreal hotel, where Lennon and a group of supporters recorded the song "Give Peace a Chance."

Seminal Essay
  Henry David Thoreau, the Harvard-educated 19th-century philosopher and poet, remains a major symbol of peaceful resistance because of his 1849 work, "Civil Disobedience," in which he questions why people would obey a government whose laws they believe to be unjust. On account of his opposition to slavery, Thoreau refused to pay taxes, an act that briefly landed him in jail in 1846 (a relative bailed him out).

Lady in White
As one of the four mounted heralds of the Suffrage Parade on March 3, 1913, lawyer Inez Milholland Boissevain led a procession of more than 5,000 marchers down Washington D.C.'s Pennsylvania Avenue. The National American Woman Suffrage Association raised more than $14,000 to fund the event that became one of the most important moments in the struggle to grant women the right to vote — a right that was finally achieved seven years later. 

The Salt March
On March 12, 1930, at the age of 61, Mohandas Gandhi left his ashram with a band of 78 handpicked volunteers and headed for the sea. The Mahatma's destination was the village of Dandi, 241 miles to the south. Once he arrived at the beach, 24 days later, Gandhi proceeded to pick up salt, the production of which was controlled by the occupying British government. It was a simple gesture that served as the start to India's independence movement.

Flint Sit-In
As a nascent union, the United Auto Workers, formed in 1935, had a lot to fight for. During the Depression, General Motors executives started shifting work loads to plants with non-union members, crippling the UAW. So in December 1936, workers held a sit-in at the Fisher Body Plant in Flint, Michigan. Within two weeks, about 135,000 men were striking in 35 cities across the nation. Although the sit-ins were followed by riots, the images of bands playing on assembly lines and men sleeping near shuttered machines recall the serene strength behind the movement that solidified one of North America's largest unions.

Standing Up by Sitting Down
Even though African Americans constituted some 70% of total bus ridership in Montgomery, Ala., Rosa Parks still had trouble keeping her seat on Dec. 1, 1955. It was against the law for her to refuse to give up her seat to a white man, and her subsequent arrest incited the Montgomery Bus Boycott. One year later, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision that made segregated seating unconstitutional. Parks was known thereafter as the "mother of the civil-rights movement."

Fists in the Air
African-American track athletes Tommie Smith (first place) and John Carlos (third place) used their wins in Mexico City's 1968 Olympic Games to show their opposition to the continued oppression of blacks in the U.S. They stood in black socks to represent black poverty; Carlos wore beads to symbolize black lynchings; together they raised their black-gloved fists in a cry for black unity. The silver medalist on the podium, Australian Peter Norman, wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge on his tracksuit in solidarity. It cost him a hero's welcome upon his return home. Both Smith and Carlos were removed from the Games; none of the three men ever recanted their stances.

Flowers vs. Guns
From an anti-war demonstration in front of the Pentagon on October 21, 1967, organized by the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, came images that encapsulate a decade of flower power. Not even the National Guard was a match for mellow hippies looking to push change with nothing more deadly than a few petals.

The Unknown Rebel
After the death of pro-democracy leader Hu Yaobang in mid-1989, students began gathering in Beijing's Tiananmen Square to mourn his passing. Over the course of seven weeks, people from all walks of life joined the group to protest for greater freedom. The Chinese government deployed military tanks on June 4 to squelch the growing demonstration and randomly shot into the crowds, killing more than 200 people. One lone, defiant man walked onto the road and stood directly in front of the line of tanks, weaving from side to side to block the tanks and even climbing on top of the first tank at one point in an attempt to get inside. The man's identity remains a mystery. Some say he was killed; others believe him to be in hiding in Taiwan.

March on Washington
 
More than 200,000 people gathered in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963 to demand equal rights for African Americans. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech and roused a nation to action.

Read More

10 Protests of Modern times which shook the world!

1.   The Occupy Movement (2011-present)

 

A world-wide demonstration against the so called 1% and global social and economic inequality, the Occupy movement is an international protest movement aiming to make the economical and political relations in all societies less vertically hierarchical and more flatly distributed. Different groups all over the world have different foci on the protests, but among them it’s primary concerns being about the belief about large corporations and global financial system controlling the world in a way that kept the poor poorer and the rich richer with every passing moment. The protest started with slogans like, ‘’We are the 99%,’’ and what started as a protest against the Western economic distributions grew up to be a world- wide revolution against the minutely controlled economic system of the world that is believed to be favoring the top 1% and leaving the rest 99% to suffer compromise.

FINAL CONCLUSION: Most of the protests we have seen in the list are not from long ago or from the worn pages history books. They happened right in front of our eyes as we carried on with our normal lives. The normalcy of our day-to-day commute may have kept us ignorant about the wind that is changing tides around the world. A significantly common attribute among all the protests we have discussed seems to be ‘’social media and networking’’. Yes, the social networking advancement in the world has certainly helped the protesters all over the world to keep in touch with each and everything that happens around them and support each other in the objective of achieving the same unified goal of a bigger, better and a brighter future in all aspects of our lives for all of human-kind.

2. Brazilian Protests (2013)

 

Mainly initiated by the Movemento Pasee Livre (Free Fare Movement), a local organization advocating for free public transportation, 2013 protests in Brazil are a series of on-going public demonstrations in several Brazilian cities. Also known as the V for Vinegar Movement or Salad Revolt, the Brazilian Spring demonstrations were started to protest against the increases in bus, train and metro ticket prices in many Brazilian cities, but however it grew to include other issues such as police brutality and by mid June, 2013 it had been the largest movement Brazil had seen since the 1992 protests against then-President Fernando Collor de Mello

3.  Turkish Protests (2013)

A series of protests and demonstrations against the freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and the government’s encroachment on Turkey’s secularism that started on May, 2013, initially sparked to detest the urban development plan for Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Park. The protests were ignited by brutal outrage due to the eviction of a sit-in at the park protesting the plan. The protests with no centralized leadership and with only small groups organizing environmental protests across the country; the movement has been compared to the Arab Spring, the Occupy movement and the Revolutions of 1989 and May 1968 by many key observers. However, on 6^th June, PM Erdoğan seemingly not buzzed even due to all the protests said that the developments plans would go ahead despite the protests and he also announced he will not be sorry for the excessive police violence on the protesters after the announcement. According to the Turkish media, rather than violent and forceful means, humor and internet technology has been the primary weapon for the protesters.

4. Arab Spring (2010-present)

The Arab Spring is a list of on-going protests and all kinds of revolts both violent, non-violent riots, civil wars taking place all over the Arab World against their respective governments and existing economic, political, social and educational systems. As of yet, respective rulers from Tunisia, Egypt (twice), Libya and Yemen have been forced from power. Civil uprisings and major protests have shaken the governments in countries like Bahrain, Syria, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco and Sudan. Countries like Mauritania, Oman and Saudi Arabia are catching up with the revolutionary wave of protests and demonstrations. Many observers have compared the Arab Spring movements with the Revolution of 1989, also known as the ‘Autumn of Nations’ that swept through the Eastern Europe and the Second World, in terms of scale and their significance.

5. Protest against the War in Afghanistan (2001-present)

This is perhaps one of the longest protests in history that has ran over a decade already and still persists with more and more countries coming into the picture. The first-major protests date back to the initial days of the official launch of the war in October, 2001. The War in Afghanistan has given way to many large protests around the world in countries like Australia, Canada, France, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States. The war, as we all know, led by the United States has yet resulted in 140,000 foreign military troops being sent to war, billions of dollars being used to fuel the war and has reported a number of 31,000 people being killed by the war, along with approx. 3000 foreign troops.

6.  Malawian Protests (2011)

The Malawi Protests started with a proposition of winning the political and economic reforms or concessions from the government of Malawi. In the month of July, Malawian organizations protested against the poor economic management and the carefree governance by the President Bingu wa Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party. After just two days of protests, more than 100 casualties and around 300 arrests were reported. More demonstrations were carried out in the month of August and September and even due to the intervention of the UN representative, the protests broke through Red Wednesday through a national vigil.

There have been many big and bloody protests in history with colossal mass involvement which have certainly pole-shifted our lives from what it used to be and changed our ideas about life as we know it today. Some of the historical protests are being carried out as we speak, hence here we have ten of the biggest protests that man-kind has ever seen.

7. Colombian Student Protests (2011)

This is also an on-going student protest movement taking place all over Colombia. The protest, like the Chilean protests; is a series of demonstrations against the education system in Colombia. The protest began as a direct reaction against the planned reform on the country’s education system. Due to the protests the planned reform was withdrawn from the parliament on the 16^th of November, 2011; something student leaders called a victory for the movement. A protest carried out on the 24^th of November, 2011 was announced the first bi-national protest for education in history, according to the Chilean Magazine ‘The Clinic’ as students from both the countries had in common South America and right-winged presidents.

8.  Chilean Student Protests (2011-2012)

Widely known as the Chilean Winter, referring in particular the massive protests that were carried out in August in the year 2011 or also the Chilean Education Conflict as it was labeled in Chilean media were basically a series of student-led demonstrations across Chile. The protesters being the students mostly are in demand of a new framework for education in the country that provided more direct state participation in secondary education and an end to the existing profit-motive in higher education. Most of the universities in Chile are private and only a 45% of high school students study in traditional public schools. Even though the number of university students has increased significantly there hasn’t however been any significant improvement or either establishment of new public universities since the Chilean transition to democracy in 1990.

9.  Irish Protests (2008-2013)

This is one of the on-going series of protests, occupations, and demonstrations taking place all over the Republic of Ireland. The movement started in the year 2008, when Ireland officially declared it had gone into recession, and the budget being ‘’the toughest in many years’’ as labeled by the Irish government included many controversial measures such as a proposed income levy which was eventually restructured. After this many people started losing their jobs and before anyone saw it coming, millions of people were out in the street demonstrating against the system; from students, factory workers to taxi drivers all of them were upset about having to give their jobs up and demanding the system to change to a better and more facilitative one.

10. Indian anti-corruption movement (2011)

The 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement intended to set up a strong legislation and empowerment against the endemic political situation of corruption in India. The movement was a pile of protests and demonstrations that swept India almost over-night.The anti-corruption movement in India was among the Top Ten News stories of 2011. The movement was led by many influential leaders among which Hazare & Baba Ramdev supporters stood out the most. There were many group protests all over the country but the most significant protests were carried out in the Ramila Maidan in India for almost a period of 40 days. Over a 100 million protesters were directly linked with the ‘’Bharat Swabhiman Andolan’’. The protest was well facilitated with basic requirements for the protesters like medical facilities, drinking water, toilets and also a media center.

Read More

9 World's Greatest Protest

It’s surprising to see the number of protests in history that were initiated with peaceful propositions at the start and turned pretty violent as they headed close to their ends. Often times, peaceful protesters get rowdy and start havoc because of being treated unjustly by police and other opposing forces. Sometimes protests are even opposed with simply more protests carried out by opposition groups, parties and political groups in the most recent cases. Protests are basically people’s way of demonstrating against something/ someone that isn’t up to their expectations or up to the potential of what reality should have been like for particular issues. Protesters demand change, and immediate change for that matter and perhaps that is the very reason they do not hesitate to cross any extent that reality has to offer in order to get their expectations compromised, if not met completely.

1. Cherokee Indian Resistance to Forced Relocation (1838)

Objective: Avoid having their land seized by the United States government

Method of Protest: Cherokees stood their ground, and made no preparations to move.

Results: U.S. troops destroyed the homes and property of the resisting Cherokees, forcing them to move west on a journey that would leave approximately 4,000 dead from disease and starvation.

Was the Protest a Success?
No. The path the Cherokees took from their homes is still knows as the Trail of Tears.


2. Gandhi’s Salt March (1930)

Objective: Independence of Colonial India from British Authority

Method of Protest: To avoid paying the British tax on salt, Gandhi decided to get his own salt. To do this, he walked 240 miles over the course of 24 days, joined by a growing number of followers.

Results: Gandhi was jailed, but the protest drew national attention to his cause and he was eventually released.

Was the Protest a Success?
Not immediately, but it is considered a watershed moment for India’s struggle for independence, which was finally obtained two decades later.


3. The White Rose Resistance (1942–1943)

Objective: Undermine the Nazi Rule of Germany

Method of Protest: Distributing leaflets that philosophically challenged the ideas of the Nazis.

Results: The six main members of the group were arrested and beheaded.

Was the Protest a Success?
No


4. The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956)

Objective: Lessen racial segregation and inequality for blacks in the American South

Method of Protest: Montgomery’s black population refused to use public transportation.

Results: An Alabama district court ruled that the racial segregation was unlawful. The decision was appealed but upheld by the Supreme Court.

Was the Protest a Success?
Yes. It also served as the impetus for the civil rights movement of the 1960s.


5. Pureora (1978)

Objective: Stop deforestation of the Pureora forest in New Zealand

Method of Protest: Built tree houses, refused to leave them

Results: The Government agreed to permanently stop logging operations and the area became a park.

Was the Protest a Success?
Yes. It has also inspired many other tree-sitting protests, with varying levels of success.


6. Tiananmen Square Protests (1989)

Objective: Political reform and free media in the authoritarian Chinese government

Method of Protest: Seven weeks of peaceful marches and demonstrations

Results: The People's Liberation Army of China opened fire on the protesters. The exact death toll of the massacre is still unknown; estimates range from 200 and 10,000.

Was the Protest a Success?
No. The current Chinese government does not acknowledge the killings. All online information about the massacre is censored in China.




6. The Lust Lady Strike of San Francisco (1997)

Objective: Ability for strippers at San Francisco’s Lusty Lady club to form a union

Method of Protest: Strippers went on strike protesting outside the club and asking patrons not to enter unless the women were allowed to form a union.

Results: After a lengthy legal battle, the dancers were permitted to form a union

Was the Protest a Success?
Yes


7. The Singing Revolution (1986-1991)

Objective: Independence from the former Soviet Union for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Method of Protest: Protesters gathered in the streets where they sang songs of national pride, which had been outlawed by the Soviet occupiers.

Results: After four years of demonstrations, many involving song, and the deaths of 14 protesters in Lithuania, all three countries gained sovereignty.

Was the Protest a Success?
Yes


8. Demonstration against Invading Iraq (2003)

Objective: Stop the United States from invading Iraq

Method of Protest: An estimated 6 to 10 million people around the world publicly protested the impending war.

Results: The invasion of Iraq happened anyway.

Was the Protest a Success?
No. They still have troops in Iraq to this day.



9. The “Lactivists” at Applebee’s (2007)

Objective: Stop discrimination against public breastfeeding at Applebee’s Restaurants

Method of Protest: A “Nurse-in” was scheduled — across the country, breastfeeding mothers would nurse their infants in plain view of Applebee’s.

Results: Applebee’s put out a statement saying “This situation has provided an opportunity for us to work with our associates to ensure we’re making nursing mothers feel welcome….we will also accommodate other guests who would be more comfortable moving to another area of the restaurant.”

Read More