"Peaceful Protest": A Difficult Oxymoron to Crack in History

 "Peaceful Protest": A Difficult Oxymoron to Crack in History~ Daniel Asipita

It is seldom to find protests that are absolutely peaceful and violence-free in the records of history. Protests recognized as the most peaceful in history had pockets of violence and casualties.

In 1930, there was the Salt March, a major non-violent protest in India led by Mahatma Gandhi. It was directed against the British government's tax on salt, which greatly affected the poorest Indians. This protest lasted for two months, March and April of 1930. Gandhi led the demonstration against the repressive salt tax by marching through the western Indian state of Gujarat to the town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea coast. He set out on foot on March 12, accompanied by several dozen followers. After each day's march, the group stopped in a different village along the route, where larger crowds would gather to hear Gandhi rail against the unfairness of the tax on poor people. Hundreds more would join the core group of followers as they made their way to the sea until April 5. In the course of this growing momentum, Gandhi motivated other Indians to break the salt laws through civil disobedience. When his movement became stronger, the government responded by introducing a shoot-to-kill order against unarmed civilians after apprehending Gandhi. This order led to the death of about 250 non-violent protesters.

Similarly, in December 1955, an activist of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Rosa Parks, refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This act displayed a black American woman protecting herself against racial discrimination. This resulted in a bus boycott that motivated mass protests and eventually the enactment of civil rights reform. The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social protest against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system in Montgomery, Alabama. The boycott supporters chose Martin Luther King, Jr., to head the newly established Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). The casualties recorded in this event were the bombing of Luther King's house and other acts of intimidation by segregationists. However, MIA leaders were able to sustain the boycott until November 1956, with a substantial number of the 50,000 African American residents in Montgomery participating - 30,000 to 40,000 walked, bicycled, or car-pooled instead of using the bus, depriving the bus company of a large portion of its revenue. This led to a loss of $3,000 in revenue each day by the bus system in Montgomery until the victory of NAACP in court and the desegregation by the Apex Court order.

Finally, there were protests in October 2008 against the Icelandic government's management of the financial crisis. The protests intensified on January 20, 2009, with thousands of people protesting at the parliament. Protesters were calling for the resignation of government officials and for new elections to be held. So, people flooded the streets, or rather the square. Every Saturday, during the winter, protesters gathered in the square in front of Parliament to protest, banging pots and pans to cause a nuisance. Icelanders, both young and old, went out in their numbers to bang their pots and pans, singers sang, signs were waved, and protests were chanted. Most days in Iceland during winter are usually dark, so people carried torches and lit fires to warm themselves. The crowds grew from 2,000 to 7,000. There was some violence - food was thrown; mustard, tomato ketchup, and eggs. The police made some arrests and occasionally used pepper spray and tear gas. Flagstones were thrown, and two policemen went to the hospital.

The demand for peaceful protest is an oxymoron because they can have pure intentions for no violence or destruction, but triggers could provocatively initiate reprisal in the process of a demonstration. However, this is a duty call for both protesters and security personnel to be wary.

Daniel Asipita is a Historian, Opinion Writer, Young Researcher interested in societal discourse using the lenses of history. Email: danielasipita001@gmail.com