When is civil disobedience OK?
By TheRealDawn
@dawnald (85137)
Shingle Springs, California
September 16, 2015 10:19pm CST
Yeah, yeah, somebody else asked the same question, only I'm doing it a little bit differently. 
You will be graded based on whether you answer the questions I actually asked, as opposed to some other thing. 
I'll say straight out, I'm a member of a political group whose goal is to overturn the Supreme Court's Citizen's United decision, get big political contributions out of our elections, and get a declaration stating that corporations do not have the same rights under the Constitution as people. They have rights, the rights that we, the people who created them, grant to them but not the same rights that a natural born human being has.
Now this group does commit non violent acts of civil disobedience. For example, some of our members have protested inside the Supreme Court. You may think this is idiotic, rude or disrespectful, or you may admire it.
You may be one of the people who admire Kim Davis for committing non-violent civil disobedience when she disobeyed the law and refused to issue marriage licenses after the Supreme Court ruled that same sex marriage was a right.
Most likely you will agree with one or the other of those acts, but not both. You see, it probably depends on your political beliefs as to whether you believe an act of disobedience is OK or not.
Most of you would probably agree that if you had been a German in Nazi Germany who was ordered to shoot a person who had not been convicted of a crime, disobeying that order would have been the right thing to do.
So here are my questions:
1. When is civil disobedience OK?
2. If never, why? If sometimes, give an example of what you would consider OK.
Do not talk about Citizen's United, Kim Davis or Nazi Germany unless those are your answers to 1 & 2. You will be graded. 
You will be graded based on whether you answer the questions I actually asked, as opposed to some other thing.
I'll say straight out, I'm a member of a political group whose goal is to overturn the Supreme Court's Citizen's United decision, get big political contributions out of our elections, and get a declaration stating that corporations do not have the same rights under the Constitution as people. They have rights, the rights that we, the people who created them, grant to them but not the same rights that a natural born human being has.
Now this group does commit non violent acts of civil disobedience. For example, some of our members have protested inside the Supreme Court. You may think this is idiotic, rude or disrespectful, or you may admire it.
You may be one of the people who admire Kim Davis for committing non-violent civil disobedience when she disobeyed the law and refused to issue marriage licenses after the Supreme Court ruled that same sex marriage was a right.
Most likely you will agree with one or the other of those acts, but not both. You see, it probably depends on your political beliefs as to whether you believe an act of disobedience is OK or not.
Most of you would probably agree that if you had been a German in Nazi Germany who was ordered to shoot a person who had not been convicted of a crime, disobeying that order would have been the right thing to do.
So here are my questions:
1. When is civil disobedience OK?
2. If never, why? If sometimes, give an example of what you would consider OK.
Do not talk about Citizen's United, Kim Davis or Nazi Germany unless those are your answers to 1 & 2. You will be graded. 4 people like this
4 responses
@purplealabaster (22085)
• United States
18 Sep 15
What incentive do we have to get a good grade, and what punishment will be issued if we get a bad grade or even fail? I want to know the consequences of my actions before I make a decision about something.
@dawnald (85137)
• Shingle Springs, California
19 Sep 15
As you can see from my failure to grade the above responses, it was an idle threat.
@purplealabaster (22085)
• United States
20 Sep 15
@dawnald Alright, so since I am not allowed to talk about Kim Davis, then I will just say that I do think that civil disobedience is acceptable under certain circumstances or conditions. First, it has to be non-violent. Second, I think that overall I would more support it if it was to give a group of people more rights rather than to restrict the rights of people. Third, I think that even meeting the above two conditions, it would also come down to the issue and the consequences of the disobedience not to mention what the effects the changes would cause if they were put in place.
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
17 Sep 15
i dislike politics 'n all the games that're played. each civil disobedience 's its own merits 'n pitfalls 'n need to be examined on their own individual principals.
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
17 Sep 15
In the UK widespread refusal to pay and many people unable to pay brought down the universally hated Thatcher government Community Charge or Poll Tax s civil disobedience can and does work in the right circumstances.
@TiarasOceanView (70020)
• United States
19 Sep 15
I think civil disobedience must be first of all civil.
I do not see a thing wrong with it at all.
Thats my take on it Dawn.
