Would civil rights reform have happened if we only had MLK, but not the Black Panthers? We often fetishize King's contribution, but forget the Black Panthers were in daily gun fights with the police. Without the threat of violence from the Panthers, would the peace offered by MLK have taken hold? The Panthers showed that white power could be challenged directly and that things could get much worse for white people.
Also, in a more modern context, I feel that the internet has changed how peaceful protests feel. Now that opinions are democratized and everyone has a potentially broad platform, peaceful protests feel like not that big of a deal. So what if you marched with a sign, I was retweeted by thousands! I'm old enough to remember pre-internet and protests back then seemed to be a bigger deal. They were all over the news; now I'm confident massive protests slide by with near zero coverage. I think that someone willing to march or sit-in back in the day got noticed - it was like, wow these people are serious. Now, I see that we don't take movements seriously unless they are willing to go beyond peaceful protest.
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Very well spoken. I have also wondered 2 things ...
Would civil rights reform have happened if we only had MLK, but not the Black Panthers? We often fetishize King's contribution, but forget the Black Panthers were in daily gun fights with the police. Without the threat of violence from the Panthers, would the peace offered by MLK have taken hold? The Panthers showed that white power could be challenged directly and that things could get much worse for white people.
Also, in a more modern context, I feel that the internet has changed how peaceful protests feel. Now that opinions are democratized and everyone has a potentially broad platform, peaceful protests feel like not that big of a deal. So what if you marched with a sign, I was retweeted by thousands! I'm old enough to remember pre-internet and protests back then seemed to be a bigger deal. They were all over the news; now I'm confident massive protests slide by with near zero coverage. I think that someone willing to march or sit-in back in the day got noticed - it was like, wow these people are serious. Now, I see that we don't take movements seriously unless they are willing to go beyond peaceful protest.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by TooRiled.
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