Gandhi, MLK, and Snowden: civil disobedience and jail

[arely staircase]

“An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law”
― Martin Luther King Jr.


“An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so. Now the law of nonviolence says that violence should be resisted not by counter-violence but by nonviolence. This I do by breaking the law and by peacefully submitting to arrest and imprisonment.”
― Mahatma Gandhi, Non-violence in Peace and War 1942-49

[morningfog]

1. If all that separates Snowden's acts from

True Civil Disobedience (TM) is arrest, he is still in good company. In this case, arrest and a life (or death) sentence would be less effective in raising the public conscience than obtaining asylum protections and remaining free. An act doesn't have to have a person be incarcerated to be just.

[Vinnie From Indy]

2. The smears and attacks on Snowden at this point are reflections of YOUR character.

It is quite boring at this point as you and a few others are merely preening and posing for each other here on DU. As you and the others have been told on thousands of occasions by many DU'ers, the issue of Snowden and all the issues of the NSA spy programs have completely diverged. One does not in any way effect the other in any substantial way at this point.

As far as your silly attempt at using quotes to continue the endless circle jerk, here are few more to contemplate. We could play this game all night if I actually gave a shit what you and your cohorts had to say about Edward Snowden at this point!

Cheers!


There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts.

Mahatma Gandhi


Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

[morningfog]

3. There is a quite obvious reason that some

want to ignore that the Snowden story and the NSA story have diverged, and why they seek to continue to conflate the two.

In think each branch is important and interesting, the NSA being the larger one.

[pnwmom]

9. This isn't about the NSA. It's about Greenwald's misleading report that John Lewis

was favorably comparing Snowden to MLK and Ghandi.

[morningfog]

13. I was replying to a post that was broader than this OP, but applicable to it.

Also, Greenwald wasn't the reporter for the Lewis story. It was Paul Lewis.

And, while Lewis does not condone or agree with Snowden, he recognizes that Snowden's motive was not criminal but in line with non-violent civil disobedience.

[pnwmom]

14. That person was also disregarding the fact that the OP wasn't about the NSA.

It was about Snowden, and his being inaccurately linked with people like Ghandi and MLK.

Snowden wasn't only a whistle-blower, by the way. He also chose to hand over documents that concerned our spying on other countries, not US internal surveillance. So he has a place in the news. This isn't only about the NSA.

[Electric Monk]

4. You have won this thread, imho. nt

[arely staircase]

5. It's not about me

why are you trying to make it about me? this is a serious issue.

[Cha]

6. You lost the thread with your personal attacks on the OP.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. "if I actually gave a shit"

Then why did you bother wasting bandwidth with your drivel?

[pnwmom]

10. If they have diverged, why are you responding to an OP about Snowden?

The OP has nothing to do with the NSA. It's about Greenwald's misleading report about the John Lewis interview.

[Cha]

8. Scared little rabbit snowden thought he would get a sweet gig in Iceland..

snowden has no respect for anything.

..but no worries.. he's Putin's stooge now..

"These nations, including Russia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Ecuador have my gratitude and respect for being the first to stand against human rights violations."

http://wikileaks.org/Statement-by-Edward-Snowden-to.html

Venerable John Lewis made it clear the next day after the guardian edited his words.. that

"Rep. John Lewis: I Was Not Praising Edward Snowden"

“ I never praised Mr. Snowden or said his actions rise to those of Mohandas Gandhi or other civil rights leaders. In fact, The Guardian itself agreed to retract the word “praise” from its headline."

"... I said he has a right as an individual to act according to the dictates of his conscience, but he must be prepared to pay the price for taking that action. In the movement, we were arrested, we went to jail, we were prepared to pay the price, even lose our lives if necessary."

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/rep-john-lewis-i-was-not-praising-edward

It's sure as shit.. snowden isn't willing to lose his life or pay any price.. he was freaking out because Pres Obama took away his damn passport. whine whine. that stay in the Russian airport must have been tremendously hard on him.

the shilling for snowden newspaper, the guardian, went too far when when they edited/twisted Red John Lewis' words.

thanks arely..

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. The slaves, and the draft resistors, who fled to Canada should have turned themselves in.

For their acts of civil disobedience they should have been stalwart enough to face the music and prison and/or torture.

[arely staircase]

12. that is probably the best point you have ever made (that I have seen)

I need to think about it.

[riderinthestorm]

17. Gosh, and the LGBT community or any hetero couple who engaged in anal sex

Anti Sodomy laws doncha know...

Harriet Tubman should have just turned her bad ass self in when she was indicted for violating the Fugitive Slave Act!! "Justice" would have been served if she had only turned herself in like the authorities demanded. No problem. Prison was/is quite a nice place for subversives.

Or Nelson Mandela. His early years with the ANC while he dodged arrest for his violent anti-apartheid actions - well, damn him. He should have just stopped his civil disobedience actions and turned his bad self in before he was forcibly arrested and imprisoned for decades! His early actions made him a cause celebre, which is verboten. He should have just turned himself in after the first action like the apartheid government demanded!!!111!!

[bluestate10]

15. Equating a self serving traitor with giants truly is an act of desperate analogy. It's pathetic,

that is the only description that comes to mind.

[arely staircase]

16. this ^^^^ nt