Prologue
This blog post is more food for thought than a full blown post on this subject.
The prevailing narrative in the U.S. is that the Civil Rights Movement was something praiseworthy and a great achievement. Was it really? Or was it more like righteous minded people tried to impose their views on others?
Hyperbole Intended
Are there similarities between the so called Civil Rights struggle of the 1950s and 1960s and the American Civil War of 1861-65?
If you read e.g. the Freedom Rider article on Wikipedia one can get the impression that this struggle was quite violent and disturbing.
To liken the Civil Rights struggle with a Civil War II may seem like a very provocative hypothesis!
It certainly is hyperbole!
Invasion
Thousands if not 10,000s of people from outside states invaded targeted southern states to demand equal rights and to register black americans to vote. They came to provoke the federal government to take action and so on.
From the perspective of the people living in the targeted southern states this could have been seen as an unwelcome invasion.
No Justification Whatsoever For Crimes
This blog post should not be misconstrued. It is not a justification of any kind for the abhorable violence or acts of brutality and murder committed against non violent civil rights activists. The perpetrators should have instantly be prosecuted to the full extent of criminal law.
Previous, Related Blog Posts
Here (contains references to more of my related blog posts). In particular, in those previous blog posts I have questioned whether nonviolence was really nonviolence! From today’s perspective the actions taken by so called nonviolent civil rights activists would be called bullying or worse.
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