You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more
People who call for unity and civility just mean to shut up and accept the status quo. No justice had ever been won without making someone uncomfortable. Civility isn't a goal of politics, it is a tool used to prevent goals from being accomplished.
A brief history of civility and rational debate in the United States: - failed to gain independence. - failed to free the slaves. - failed to gain the vote for women. - failed to gain the 40 hour work week. - failed to gain civil rights. You can't debate your way to freedom.
But what about my heavily fictionalized version of history that writes out all the people who did the actual work or waters down everything they did and said to a few feelgood messages?
Did you ever consider pretending that the masses of people involved in these movements actually didn't exist and that only sanitized versions of a select few major leaders mattered?
I dunno. MLK engaged in CIVIL disobedience, after all. Avoiding violence for him, as for Gandhi, was a reasoned appeal to the moral sentiments of the oppressors. People said that King and Gandhi weren't being civil, but that was slander and I don't buy it.
The mass actions led by MLK and Gandhi, were still often very disruptive and inconvenient for the upper classes. Violence isn't the only tool in the tool box. Doing things like blocking traffic, stopping trains, sit ins that disrupt regular operations of businesses or bureaus
the vote for women, the 40 hour workweek, and civil rights were all attained by (largely peaceful) protest movements exerting pressure on legislators. that seems pretty "civil" to me
for that matter, independence was attained by getting france to help us kick out the british, and slavery was banned because lincoln was willing to politic behind the scenes to pass the 13th amendment after the civil war. violent revolt by itself would have failed in both cases.
That's debatable.
Civility is part of the repertoire of resistance and liberation, to be used when judged to be most effective. You will not be freed by debate alone, nor can you shoot your way to freedom. It requires a combination of these and other tactics, usually performed by different people.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.
