Vasquez, Eddie

Period 1 English

Violence in the face of Oppression

The way people have reacted in the face of oppression is the reason why weve had

change in this world. Many people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez have used

non-violence as a response to fight back. While there were others like Malcolm X who implicitly

promoted the use violence. We have to keep in mind that not all justice is equal and that

everything can be done differently. In the fight for Civil Rights, African Americans used both

violent and nonviolent tactics; although the non-violent direct actions were the ones that gave a

bigger impact. Some may say that King only accomplished what he did thanks to Malcolm X but

we have to remember that Kings peaceful approach is what achieved African Americans civil

rights. This proving that the best way to respond to oppression is in a nonviolent and peaceful

manner, however it is important to recall that the use of violence in a time of struggle is justified.

In their fight for their rights, African Americans responded differently to the injustices

imposed on them. Martin Luther King reciprocated with nonviolent movements and protests.

With these peaceful movements came painful physical assaults and verbal assaults. We know

through painful experiences that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be

demanded by the oppressed,(King). His response to defying the law was that he knew from first

hand that freedom wasnt give for free and that it came with consequences. King believed that

being beat without hitting back would make the oppressor feel sympathy and change their

opinion about the victims. This strategy forced African Americans into being physically

assaulted creating a slow but promised change. Changing somebody's perspective takes a lot of

time and also takes a huge amount of commitment. We saw that Kings many movements
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Period 1 English

changed lots of oppressors perspectives. King had lots of patience to be able to respond with a

nonviolent movement whereas people who are impatient resort to using violence in hopes of

seeing immediate change.

Violence is the easy way out of any argument and can end any problem in a short time.

During the same time that King was promoting nonviolence, Malcolm X was promoting a more

violent strategy. Malcolm X strongly believed in self defense. He believed this because he

experienced the death of his parents thanks to discrimination. Racism caused him to be a

troubled young man. Malcolm X also believed in using nonviolence but only if it started to show

resulted and if it didnt he would resort to violence. If we dont do something real soon, I think

youll have to agree that were going to be forced either to use the ballot or the bullet, this was a

response to oppose the people who didnt want to outlaw segregation. Malcolm stated that they

either vote in favor of rejecting segregation or they were going to cast a bullet. With this being

said it seems odd that African Americans didnt engage into war. Although violence seems to be

the quickest and easiest solution, you are never really guaranteed a victory. An example would

be the Civil War which supposedly ended slavery by installing the 13th amendment, but till this

day we still see racial discrimination. In the case of Malcolm X, violence wasnt his main option

but when he sees no results he isnt afraid of using violence as a response.

Malcolm X showed us an aggressive and quick approach while Martin Luther King

showed us a peaceful and longer response to oppression. From witnessing both perspectives we

can agree that nonviolence is the better approach. Nonviolence provides results but requires time

and patience. Violence does not end hatred but rather cultivates more hate. It brings hate into the

mindset of those fighting hate. Meaning that there is only one way to fight violent injustices and
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Period 1 English

that is to fight it with nonviolent direct actions. Furthermore, nonviolence is a safer way to

protest compared to the riots that occurred during this time. These riots would have people

beaten and put in jail. So nonviolent protest and marches would make an easier and safer way to

protest. We also have to remember that these nonviolent demonstrations are what brought the

Voting Right Act to be passed in 1965. Thus supporting that nonviolence is a better response in

the face of oppression.

Even though nonviolence would be the best response to oppression we also have to keep

in mind that the oppressors response is unpredictable. Because the suffrage that the African

Americans endured is unparalleled, one is unable to truly determine that reacting in a nonviolent

manner was the easiest route. African Americans have been politically oppressed, economically

exploited, and have been socially degraded. One cant say that they shouldve reacted with a

nonviolent movement after going through all of this. African Americans felt that their lives were

in huge danger so they had to take some actions. So the fact that it is an appropriate reaction to

use violence as a self-defense attack towards government and racist white people should not be

overlooked. There should also be a limit that keeps people from killing others simply because

they are not in accordance with your beliefs. You can shoot someone who is continually abusing

you physically; it is under these circumstances that such a level of violence is appropriate.

Oppression can occur any where and to anyone. The best way to handle this is to fight

back utilizing nonviolent actions. If one reacts appropriately and battles violence, a determined

and united society can bring an end the hatred that the oppressor has installed. Taking into

consideration that King was able to change a government and was able to get African

Americans rights through peaceful action, but we also have to recognize that the use of violence
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Period 1 English

is urged when change is not happening. Even though Malcolm X didnt resort to violence it

shows us that violence should still be kept as an option to attack. Also many events in the past

have shown us that violence has a lot of deaths and that talking it out can save many lives.

Taking this into considerations, it is evident that Kings nonviolent movement that the best

response to oppression is a nonviolent movement.