Kyle Ali

Inquiry Thesis Final Draft

11/17/16
Final Analysis: I am writing this paper to address my own questions as well as questions that
have come up in regular conversation. When it comes to violent versus nonviolent action, there is
always much debate over which path to change is more effective and why. I leaned towards
scholarly articles when choosing my sources due to the reputation of the authors, as well as the
credibility and relevance of their work. I am writing to people like me, inquiring minds with
unanswered questions on a quest to expand their horizons. I put quite a bit of effort into making
my own voice heard in this inquiry thesis. I felt it was important to have the paper flow like a
conversation where facts are given through my sources and then I incorporate my own opinion. I
have found the experience of writing this inquiry thesis to be far more fulfilling than I initially
expected.

Reflection: I found that as I continued to write this paper I began to get more and more interested
in the topic. I feel that its due to all the recent protests taking place across the nation, especially
since Trump won the Presidential election. There are protests regarding police misconduct as
well as oil pipelines being put up in the Midwest. The threat of violence has helped the cause of
the Standing Rock protesters. This is just one of many protests that have taken place and are
currently taking place in the nation and around the world. Some have turned violent while others
remain peaceful and the media plays a very large role in how these protests and protestors are
portrayed. Often times the violent protesters are portrayed as thugs or criminals, when that isnt .
They are simply people who are tired of getting walked on and treated as if their concerns are
worthless and arent being addressed. Those are the people are willing to lose it all in order to

bring about real change and it has to be said that if they are willing to go to such great lengths
then it is reasonable to at least listen to what they are trying to say. Protests are becoming more
and more popular in todays controversial and polarized society so it seemed appropriate to
address these protests and learn while doing it.

Id like to know which is more effective, protesters who take up arms and use violence to
get their voices heard, or protestors who use nonviolent demonstration to peacefully make their
point. After an extensive amount of research, I came to the conclusion that there is no definitive
answer to that question. Many professionals say that nonviolence is the most successful route to
meaningful change, but Id like to think that these authors are viewing the situation from a moral
standpoint. Morally, it would make sense to take the nonviolent route to meaningful change. For
most of recorded history, people who have utilized nonviolence to make a difference in the world
or fight against injustice have been praised as if they are somehow saints for the work they did.
Men like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi are held in such reverence due to their
successful acts of nonviolent protest. Dr. King used nonviolent protest to inspire people in the
United States and enact change during the Civil rights Movement. Mahatma Gandhi was one of
the men who Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. idolized and tried to emulate. During the the mid 1900s,
Gandhi was responsible for leading Indias independence movement in the 1930s and 40s as well
as fighting the injustices of apartheid rule in South Africa through the use of nonviolent protests
and riveting speeches. Gandhi once said, When it (violence) appears to do good, the good is
only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. As inspiring as this quote is, I dont feel that it
holds true because violence can be used to make a lasting positive impression. Im not saying
that their efforts shouldnt be valued or praised, but I would like to take the time to acknowledge

that there are two sides to every coin. For every person willing to sit and go hungry, or get beat
up and spit on, there is a person who is prepared to force to disrupt the everyday lives of people
in order to draw their attention to the issues at hand. Even now there is a clear difference between
how people view Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Malcolm X was not afraid to use
for when trying to achieve the social changes he believed were necessary to aid the African
American people during the Civil Rights Movement. The ongoing question that I looked deeper
into was, At what point does it become necessary and justified to use violence when protesting,
trying to create meaningful change, and reacting to blatant injustice. As much as this will be a
paper filled with research, it will also be more of an open conversation. Due to the nature of the
topic of this inquiry thesis I cant bring myself to say that one form of protest is irrefutably better
than the other. What I want to do is educate and inform the readers by providing facts and
statistics as well as some of the known moral implications in order to allow them the freedom to
come up with their own opinions on the subject.
Recently protests have been taking place across the nation, especially since Trump won
the Presidential election. There are protests regarding police misconduct as well as oil pipelines
being put up in the Midwest. In North Dakota there are thousands of protesters fighting against
the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The ones leading the protests are the people of
the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The Dakota Access Pipeline is a 1,200 mile project that is
supposed to stretch from North Dakota to Illinois and move around 570,000 barrels of crude oil
each day. Fracking in North Dakota has lead to the discovery of crude oil in the Bakken Shale
formation. It is believed to house anywhere from 3 to 4.3 billion barrels of crude oil. The Dakota
Access Pipeline would be a key component in funneling the oil out of that region (Worland
2016). The main concern behind the protests is that the pipeline will run directly under the

Missouri River, which is the primary source of drinking water for the tribe of 10,000 people. The
fear is the risk of a pipeline leak. Although safety measures are taken there is still strong
evidence suggesting that there is a high probability of leakage. If the pipeline were to leak then it
would contaminate the drinking water of thousands of people. Personally, that kind of risk is not
worth the reward. It brings up the unfortunate idea that profit is valued over people. Investors see
it as a necessary risk but they seem to forget the fact that these people arent just numbers on
chart. They are families, mothers, sons, fathers, and daughters whose lives will be drastically
altered in a negative way should the pipeline be built. These corporations never stop to think
what they would do if someone was trying to build an oil pipeline running beneath their local
reservoir and had the potential to poison their families. Although the protesters have faced many
hardships, their efforts have not gone unnoticed. The planning for this pipeline began in 2014,
but the recent protests have turned it into national news and still delayed the construction of the
pipeline. This ongoing incident brings to light the effectivity of organized protest. Regardless of
which side you take, it cannot be denied that the protesters have made their voices and concerns
heard. This has played a large role in my paper due to the fact this it also takes into account
police misconduct. Certain tactics being deployed against the protests are atrocious. The use of
Mace and tear gas against peaceful protesters has led some protesters to take up arms in order to
take up arms against the police force. Although no shots have been exchanged it is still a very
scary sight to see. The threat of violence has helped the cause of the Standing Rock protesters
(Worland 2016). This is just one of many protests that have taken place and are currently taking
place in the nation and around the world.
The vast majority of my sources come from scholarly peer reviewed journals and articles,
while some are books and reputable web pages. Within my research I was to find instances of

protest in my differing areas of everyday life. One of my sources looks at the role that
international nongovernmental organizations play in the in large scale protests and how they are
used to bring about change. They are critical in the in the actual planning of mass protests and
often provide protesters with the proper avenues to take in order to give them the best chance to
have their voices heard. Another source looks at the role that intolerance plays when it comes to
protests and civil unrest within population. It views protests from a psychological standpoint
giving further reason to why people react to different situations, especially social ones, in the
way they do. The article delves into how people of experience intolerance are very likely to
engage in protests, but conversely people who are intolerant themselves are just as likely to
protests. I found this article to be important because it provided a deeper understanding of the
rationale behind protestors, as well as how easily it can turn violent due to the motives of the
protestors. I found I could relate this article to the Civil Rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr.
and Malcolm X. Although they both experienced intolerance, only one of them actually exhibited
traits of intolerance. At one point in his career as a Civil Rights leader, Malcolm X was a very
intolerant individual. This was a result of his varying experiences during his early life. He
initially led a life of crime and chaos, doing anything from selling drugs and pimping women to
burglary. While serving jail time after picking up a stolen watch, he became exposed to the
Nation of Islam. At the time the Nation of Islam advocated for an all-black state as well as for the
African American people to go back to the motherland in Africa and Malcolm X adhered to these
ideas. He felt that his goals needed to be achieved by any means necessary. Thats phrase is
very important in why I wanted to write this paper. Is it really okay to use any tactics that are
possible and available or should the high road always be taken when trying to protest and bring
about change? I guess the real question is do the ends justify the means, which is something the

needs to be answered on an introspective and individual level. One source that captured my
attention was written by August H. Nimtz, a researcher and political scientist. He truly grasped a
main idea that I was trying to convey in this paper, which was that it is crucial to understand the
power and importance violence when trying to bring about change. His focus is on the civil
rights movement and how protests and civil disobedience led to major developments in regard to
the rights of African American. Nimtz makes the very valid point that although violence was not
a preferred method it was still undoubtedly effective and should be appreciated. Often times
violent action did not need to be taken. The very threat of violence was enough to bring about
some very prominent changes (Nimtz, 2016). Even Dr. King himself appreciates the effectivity
of violence, stating, A riot is the language of the unheard. It says a lot when the man credited
with being one of the most influential peaceful protestors of all time has an understanding and an
appreciation for the roots of violence when it comes to fighting against injustice.
Dr. Rosemary H.T. OKane wrote an article titled Revolutions, Revolts and Protest
Movements: Focusing on Violence and Transnational Action which focuses on the political
aspect of protests. I found this to be very relevant due to the protests that ensued after Trump
being deemed the President elect of the United States. Often politics are the driving force behind
protests that take place whether it is due to a piece of legislation or a court ruling. There is also
the impact of the economy that plays a large role due to the fact the money and politics go hand
in hand. This can relate back to the happenings in North Dakota. Big oil companies help fund
political companies in order to have legislation created in favor of their proceedings and
businesses. This is why it is so difficult to find an end to the debate over the Dakota Access
Pipeline. Someone representatives are focusing on the environmental hazards and effects that the
pipeline will have on the surrounding community, while others who are not directly affected or

taking those people into consideration are pushing for its completion. OKanes piece also took
into account the difference between violent protest and terror. Terror is used by striking fear and
creating chaos among the masses to send a message. Violent protest can be used to send a
message in that same manor, but it is usually used to create changes that are good or necessary
(Rosemary, 2015).
Dr. Wendy Pearlman wrote Precluding Nonviolence, Propelling Violence: The Effect of
Internal Fragmentation on Movement Protest which takes a philosophical look at the reasoning
behind violent and nonviolent protest. She argues that the nonviolent path is often the one that
prevails, but in certain cases violent protests can be effective, such as in the Arab Spring. The
Arab Spring took place during 2010 in the Middle East and North Africa. The people used both
violent and nonviolent protest in order to take down the oppressive regimes that governed them.
A major means of protest during the Arab Spring was social media. Many regimes controlled the
mainstream media, but protesters had access to social media, which allowed them to instantly get
their message out and gain a global presence (Pearlman, 2013). This is a nonviolent way to
protest and another effective way to get your voice heard.
I want this paper to appeal to other young students and inquiring minds who wish to learn
more about how to make a difference in their communities and the best way to go about it. Id
like this to be a thought provoking paper that spurs conversations even those uncomfortable
conversations that need to be had. This is a very relevant topic due to the recent events regarding
our new president elect, Donald Trump as well as the relationship between the black community
and police forces around the nation. It is important to understand the difference between a protest
and riot, but it is equally as important to recognize the effectivity of violence or even how effect
the threat of violence can be. That goes back to does the end justify the means and whether or not

an individual can validate their actions and the reasoning behind them. The more people know
about the history of violent and nonviolent protests, the better equipped they will be to make well
informed decisions based on their own opinions and feelings.

Works Cited

Worland, Justin. "What to Know About the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests." Time. Time, 28
Oct. 2016. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.
Nimtz, August H. "Violence And/or Nonviolence in the Success of the Civil Rights Movement:
the Malcolm Xmartin Luther King, Jr. Nexus." New Political Science. 38.1 (2016): 1-22. Print.
Rosemary, H T. O. K. "Revolutions, Revolts and Protest Movements: Focusing on Violence and
Transnational Action." Political Studies Review. 13.3 (2015): 317-328. Print.
Pearlman, Wendy. "Precluding Nonviolence, Propelling Violence: the Effect of Internal
Fragmentation on Movement Protest." Studies in Comparative International Development. 47.1
(2012): 23-46. Print.