Blocking streets at random is not nonviolence

The title pretty much sums it up. With demonstrators thinking that blocking random streets or expressways in the U.S. and Europe emulates the nonviolent movements of yore, they would be in for a rude awakening if they talked to the ghosts of King or Gandhi. Blocking a random street - one in which it hasn't been announced that demonstrators will be taking over (the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march was announced beforehand, the bridge and highway were closed, and only then were heads beaten and Liberty gang-tackled) - is an act of potentially great violence.

On any random street at any time there might be a thousand different reasons why someone in a car, cab, or bus, needs to keep moving. They may be having a heart attack or other catastrophic illness (my dad had a heart attack and drove himself to the hospital, so I have direct knowledge of an exact instance where stopping someone's car may kill them). They may be on the way to the airport, with another ten thousand reasons why they shouldn't miss their plane. Life events like that, too many to mention, could be stopped, altered, or lives totally upended by a group of a hundred people walking onto a street, laying down, and not moving. My dad might have died. These tactics were not used in Gandhi's movements, or in the '60s Civil Rights movements in the States. When did it became a popular tactic, with a large number of the people participating believing that they are practicing nonviolence?

a reply to: Aleister

I get what you are saying but if all they do is block a street for 20 minutes then that is better than many other things that some have been doing.

I watched the Nashville Police statement on it happening there and they made the right call IMO to not arrest them. If they had tried then the street would have been blocked much longer and they were monitoring for emergency vehicles.

Now as for the subject of if someone is having a heart attack or if say my wife was in labor.

well....

I don't know about you but I would be on the median and if they insist on laying in the road then it will be like what we called jelly rolls when I was in the military. If you happened to come across a sleeping bag of the sorts you needed to check to see if there was a gooey filling left inside. Because I am going to roll through to hell with the repercussions we can deal with that latter at the hospital.

I see it as a windfall for the jurisdictions it happens in myself. Send out a handful of cops with ticket books and fine everyone there $500 each for blocking a public road and public endangerment. Issue Bench Warrants for any that don't pay (now they are wanted criminals).

People have the right to protest. What they don't have is the right to say "support our protest or we will punish you".

a reply to: Aleister

violence
[vahy-uh-luh ns]

Synonyms
Examples
Word Origin

noun
1.
swift and intense force:
the violence of a storm.
2.
rough or injurious physical force, action, or treatment:
to die by violence.
3.
an unjust or unwarranted exertion of force or power, as against rights or laws:
to take over a government by violence.
4.
a violent act or proceeding.
5.
rough or immoderate vehemence, as of feeling or language:
the violence of his hatred.
6.
damage through distortion or unwarranted alteration:
to do editorial violence to a text.

source

Oh i forgot.

Pick which version of violence it is.

originally posted by: Grimpachi

I get what you are saying but if all they do is block a street for 20 minutes then that is better than many other things that some have been doing.
it shouldnt be about what else they could be doing. it should be about what they are doing..how do you feel about the highway being blocked for over an hour? not a street. a highway...yes i know a highway is a street but you know what i mean..im talking multiple lanes of 65mph traffic




I don't know about you but I would be on the median and if they insist on laying in the road then it will be like what we called jelly rolls when I was in the military. If you happened to come across a sleeping bag of the sorts you needed to check to see if there was a gooey filling left inside. Because I am going to roll through to hell with the repercussions we can deal with that latter at the hospital.

^^^^what if there is no median? in cleveland the protestors blocked the shoreway for over an hour.
there is no median on the shoreway...
it is what it sounds like...its on the shore.
water on one side and a grade on the other that leads towards buildings...
no median. thereis a small walk area along some of it, maybe big enough for a motorcycle...

the problem is if you ran them over or something to that effect even in a situation where your wife was in the hospital, you'd have legal issues...maybe you would get off the hook due to the emergency but that is not a guarantee and it would take time and money...
thats not right...

peoples right to protest does not block your right to drive to the hospital. or home or for a beer run.

i dont understand how some people are cool with it...not saying you are in the situation i presented but i have seen many people in multiple threads talk about how people have the constitutional right to do it and thats just not the case.

people have the right to protest. sure. they have the right to free speech. sure
they do not have the right to protest wherever and whenever they want.

cops were telling people to stay in their cars with the windows up and the doors locked...on the highway...
shouldnt be that way.

they should have hauled their asses in but oh no.
cant rock the boat...

I have a right to freely travel, granted by the US constitution and by the UN Human rights declaration.

If a protestor is using his/her right to protest to abridge another citizens rights then the protestor has undermined his entire movement.

It may be better than burning and looting, but it is still illegal and if your preventing me from traveling and thus violating my rights then it is likely you are no better than the people you are protesting.

a reply to: XTexan

Fair point.

Wrong, but not violent. Thats just ridiculous.

originally posted by: XTexan
I have a right to freely travel, granted by the US constitution and by the UN Human rights declaration.

If

It may be better than burning and looting, but it is still illegal and if your preventing me from traveling and thus violating my rights then it is likely you are no better than the people you are protesting.

agreed

apparently they think their right to protest trumps me traveling to my destination.
does not matter if it is an emergency or not.

its just another selfish act of me me me..
what i want
what i get
what i perceive and F you

i wish the cops would have hauled every single person blocking the shoreway in cleveland right to the station and charge them.
let them bond out or whatever and face a court date. hit em in their pocket...

it shouldnt be tolerated

a reply to: Grovit

No i think the issue at hand is the determining factor here.

For instance. What if they were protesting the killing 100,000 children at once in a stadium?

Then would you be ok with them stopping traffic and getting everyones attention?

When would you consider it ok to get everyones attention and disturb everyones perfect little days, how big of an issue does it have to be for you to be ok with it?

WE NEED TO LISTEN, LISTEN, TO PEOPLE NOT REACT thats the real solution.

originally posted by: onequestion

No i think the issue at hand is the determining factor here.
not its not..the issue does not matter

For instance. What if they were protesting the killing 100,000 children at once in a stadium?
first, what are you talking about and second, no...it would still not be ok. it is still unlawful

Then would you be ok with them stopping traffic and getting everyones attention?
nope. wouldnt be ok with it

When would you consider it ok to get everyones attention and disturb everyones perfect little days, how big of an issue does it have to be for you to be ok with it?
never. it is never ok to block the street and force travelers to stop in their tracks...

WE NEED TO LISTEN, LISTEN, TO PEOPLE NOT REACT thats the real solution.

the fact is people have the right to travel to work. from work.
to wherever they are going.
another fact is an issue that may be important to protestors may not mean # to the next person.
people have things to do. they have places to be.
you know..work, school.
picking kids up from school.

i dont know where you work but some places dont play.
the foundry let you slide with a doctors note and thats it.
late or miss work cause you got a ticket or arrested? tough
my employer does not care that i am not there cause you had an issue with something.

why should my life be disturbed because you have a problem with something?

i dont understand it.

your issued with whatever have nothing to do with me and i dont see how i should be put out cause you want to march.
its wrong and its illegal...
bottom line

peoples destination should not matter.

if i am traveling to the store for munchies i am more concerned with that than whatever you are protesting.

a reply to: Grovit

Yeah see. Right is the real problem your having.

You dont care about what anyone else thinks or what their going through.

That exact idea is whats killing us in the US.

Why me? Why i? Me Me Me. Meanwhile the person you just said that about is trying to help someone who isnt themselves.

Coincidence? Irony? Dumb?

Its ok man, you cant be right about everything, everyone is learning lessons no one is perfect.

originally posted by: onequestion
a reply to: Grovit

Yeah see. Right is the real problem your having.

You dont care about what anyone else thinks or what their going through.

That exact idea is whats killing us in the US.

that is not 100% true
i care about some things. i care about what some people are going through.

thats not the point though...
paint it however you want.

it could be the biggest issue in the world....
does not make it right for you to prevent me from getting where i am going.

i will tell you though. forcing me to stop and sit in a locked car while you protest causes me to care about the issue a whole lot less.

try to make me be the bad guy all you want. dont care.
i do not have the right to disrupt your travels for issues i care about.

why cant you understand that?

a reply to: Grovit

So what issue would be big enough for you to get other people involved for help, nothing?

No matter what its unlawful right?

No matter what its not your problem right?

a reply to: onequestion

That's the problem right there. the "what ifs"

This is a case of "you will listen to us and support us"

It's the same as slowing down the internet as a protest over the Grand Jury decision. Petty maybe But just because you disagree with how the judicial system works why should that play a part in my life.

Lets say I don't like my neighbor on the left playing loud music but it doesn't bother you. As a result I shine a bright light in your bedroom window 24 hours a day until you support me against the other neighbor. Makes sense right?

What if tomorrow I gather enough people to protest the amount of chips in potato chip bags and we block interstate highways. Would you support that? Why should we be charged such high prices for air!! Damn the man!

10,000 kids weren't killed in a stadium. A person attacked a police officer and paid the ultimate price.

YOU ARE RIGHT WE DO NEED TO LISTEN. STOP BREAKING THE LAW AND STOP PROTESTING WHEN CRIMINALS GET KILLED WHILE BREAKING THE LAW.

originally posted by: onequestion

So what issue would be big enough to need as many people as possible involved to help?
get all the people in the world for your precious issue. just dont prevent me from getting to where i am going

No matter its unlawful right?
if theyre blocking traffic to a stand still yes

No matter what its not your problem right?

thats right.
no matter what it is not my problem.

a reply to: onequestion

So your saying it's ok to break the law as long as you think it's for a good cause?

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71
a reply to: onequestion

So your saying it's ok to break the law as long as you think it's for a good cause?

that is exactly what he is saying. he just does not put it in those terms.
look through the ferguson threads or the 8 thousand threads he has started about the big bad police.

a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

Yup.

Theres probably something wrong with the law if its preventing people from creating positive change.

I dont care about the law.

originally posted by: Grovit

originally posted by: onequestion

So what issue would be big enough to need as many people as possible involved to help?
get all the people in the world for your precious issue. just dont prevent me from getting to where i am going

No matter its unlawful right?
if theyre blocking traffic to a stand still yes

No matter what its not your problem right?

thats right.
no matter what it is not my problem.

I hope you never have to ask someone for help one day buddy. Cause its not their problem.

a reply to: onequestion

You'll care about it a whole lot when you need it I bet