If you're gay, your civil rights came from violent civil unrest. If you're employed, your workers rights came from violent civil unrest. If you're American, your country came from violent civil unrest. Don't complain about violent civil unrest unless you're ready to give up the rights violent civil unrest has earned you.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 5 points 3 days ago

Fully agreed. One of the significant contradictions of democracy in the US is that it was largely shaped by various forms of illegal civil disobedience against entrenched power structures. Such civil disobedience is retrospectively seen as justified, committed by people who are retrospectively seen as heroes. But each successive generation is demanded to believe that any further civil disobedience is unreasonable.

Just a small selection of a long history of US civil disobedience:

  • Boston Tea Party
  • Great Railroad Strike
  • Haymarket aaffair
  • Battle of Blair Mountain - largest armed insurrection in America since the Civil War
  • Selma to Montgomery Marches

There is a lot we get to take for granted from our comfortable, privileged perches built with the blood and tears of those who would perform civil disobedience.

  • source