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Essay On Peaceful Protest

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A very debatable topic circulating in today’s society is whether or not peaceful protest is considered to be effective. Peaceful protest is a form of nonviolent resistance to express one’s disapproval or dislike through an action and/or statement without using violence to do so. Most people in today’s society do not know how to protest peaceably. Most protests today, as many protests in the past, either begin or end in violence. Peaceful protest is not effective in today’s society for multiple reasons, but the biggest one is because most people do not like to stop and listen to what others have to say before they react. The first Amendment says that we have the right to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances (Bill of Rights). Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Now, there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the first amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest” (Stanley 100). There are times when peaceful protest has been used and was effective. For example, the majority of the protests lead by Martin Luther King Jr. wielded positive results for their movement. For instance, the Montgomery bus boycott was a protest against racial segregation on the public transit system in Montgomery, Alabama (Andrew Mach). The protest ended with the removal of “white only” and “black only” signs in downtown

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