Review of Lit
In the history of the world, we have often seen the use of bloodshed as a means to acquire victory over an unpopular regime, as a means of showing superiority. Sometimes bloodshed was necessary for change but other times it really could have been avoided. Examples range from United States history to that of the northern and southern regions of Africa. There have been individuals within these nations that have been able to stand tall in the midst of despotism and show their oppressors that they would not turn a blind eye towards discrimination, racism, and inferiority, they would not turn a blind eye to death. Most people did not understand the power of one voice, but they heard that exact power in the voices of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X [7], Nelson Mandela, and Mahatma Gandhi. These four worldly icons fought for nonviolence [1] by trying to make peace with the very people who didn’t really care whether they lived or died. Bono and Matisyahu, both musicians and icons of now, have made it their mission to use their music to make an enormous impact on these very issues as they continue to exist. On a slightly larger scale, the Arab-Israeli conflict [6], Apartheid in South Africa (1948-1980) [2], and Genocide in Sudan (2003-present) [3] presents further examples of nonviolent efforts that have made steady progress but have gradually fallen off the international radar.
One of the many important underlying themes of Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother is Marcus Yallow’s “Bloodless Revolution” in the face of maltreatment by the Department of Homeland Security. Over the course of the novel, Marcus was forced to think on his feet, and, ironically enough, became the leader that he didn’t want to see himself become. He made it his mission to take down the DHS and expose them for all of their injustices to innocent civilians who were arrested on suspicion that they were terrorists for the most absurd reasons (and tortured on top of that). He wielded the Xnet as his sword and shield, working his way to truth along the way. This theme, as with many of them presented by Doctorow in the novel, is a purposeful connection to current and past (historical) events that have drastically affected the areas in which they have occurred.
I have read about the heroes and icons of the last two centuries, the individuals that believed in the greater good of the people around them before themselves. They wanted future generations of people to live a better life then them. They were the parents of our generation. This is why they acted out in what they believed in in the way that they did, to allow us to live the way we do nowadays. It is those people like Gandhi [4] and MLK Jr. [5] that are the role models for modern nonviolent organization against the tyrants of today. You don’t have to look to far to find someone who wants to fight against despotism without weapons. The resources have been made available, the table has been set, and dinner has been served. But the real question is, will you dig in?
Annotated Bibliography
1. Kuryla, Peter. "Parties down at the square amid courtroom melodramas: a reconsideration of the modern civil rights movement demonstration." Patterns of Prejudice 43, no. 1 (February 2009): 17-40. America: History & Life, EBSCOhost
Cory Doctorow expresses the importance of a “Bloodless Revolution” as one of his many original contributions in Little Brother. This is a pressing issue in the midst of current events and past history that people have no paid attention to. We all hear about “pro-peace” movements that occur all around the world, but is anyone listening or is it just a spur-of-the-moment effort to battle unnecessary bloodshed? This article focuses one of the most important eras of recent past, the Civil Rights Era. Ironically enough (in regards to Doctorow’s original contribution), this time was viewed as one, which was abundant in public demonstrations, especially the violent ones. The “enemy” is the one shedding the blood.
2. Zunes, Stephen. “The role of non-violent action in the downfall of apartheid.” The Journal of Modern African Studies (1999), 37:137-169 Cambrdige University Press.
Yet another time that fits perfectly this theme of the “Bloodless Revolution” is the Apartheid in South Africa. This time period saw the rights of the majority of black inhabitants curtailed and minority rights of whites maintained. From 1958, South Africans were deprived of their citizenship, sparking internal resistance and violence in South Africa. This article focuses on how non-violent action prevailed in the downfall of apartheid in South Africa and a democratic black majority government was established. (LB – getting rid of the “bizzaro-world” DHS version of the justice system and reestablishing the old system with judges, open trials, and lawyers).
3. Strauss, Scott. “Darfur and the Genocide Debate.” Foreign Affairs. Vol. 84, No. 1 (Jan-Feb., 2005), pp. 123-133. Council on Foreign Relations.
Napoleon didn’t read “the book.” Neither did Hitler. You know why? Its because Doctorow wrote it. In his novel, Doctorow throws a myriad amount of themes into a melting pot and let’s his readers deduce them one by one, as they compare them to current or past events along the way. A theme that stuck out to me in particular was how Marcus did not have to start a bloody revolution versus the DHS to get his point across, he could just use his smarts of computers, the Internet and technology, The opposite has been going on in Sudan since 2003. Once the term “genocide” was used to describe the death that plagued the nation, nobody bothered to fight it. The world now sits in waiting as more people die at the hands of revolutionaries, holding steady until some nation steps forward to stop a miniature Holocaust in the making.
4. Gregg, Richard B. The Power of Nonviolence. Lightening Source Inc. Released January 31, 2007.
Gregg said it best: “The idea of non-violence (passive-resistance) has always seemed beautiful but too good to be true.” This is exactly what is on the minds of individuals who witness or partake in pro-peace “NO WAR, NO BLOODSHED” protests all around the United States. “Sure, we can organize. But we are not the only ones here. How is the rest of the world going to find out?” Mahatma Gandhi employed non-violence methods on a wider scale and with greater success than any other figure in history something that Marcus was very good at over the course of the novel, in the face of death itself.
5. King, Martin Luther. Pilgrimage to Nonviolence. Excerpt from “Stride Toward Freedom.” (1958).
It only takes one voice to spark a revolution. One voice connects the voices of many, creating a web of trust that turns into a commanding force of change. Marcus’s Xnet did exactly this. He didn’t want anyone to give him credit for anything that he did right (he didn’t like attention), his mission was to get Darryl out of Treasure Island and free from the hands of the DHS. All he need was his laptop, his ParanoidXbox, and a secure WiFi connection that the DHS couldn’t tap. MLK Jr. was just the opposite. This icon was the voice of millions of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. He managed to attract the attention of not only those that followed them, but those who were fascinated by his charisma, commanding voice, and fortitude to strengthen the hearts of an undignified audience in the face of much adversity and hate. Some blood may have been shed, by MLK’s point was made, the product of which is seen today in the White House, and President Barack Obama. MLK = the voice of millions of African Americans pleading to be free of hate, racism, and discrimination against them. Marcus = the voice of millions of teens pleading to be understood and trusted in the face of the DHS who has made the abnormal (life), normal.
6. Kelman, Herbert C. “The Political Psychology of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: How Can We Overcome the Barriers to a Negotiated Solution?” Political Psychology, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Sept., 1987), pp. 347-363. Published by the International Society of Political Psychology.
What is known around the world as the “Arab-Israeli” Conflict, is also known as a series of failed attempts to make peace between two ethnic groups that have been in feuds with each other back and forth since Israel’s declaration as a nation on May 16, 1948. The Land of Canaan or Eretz Israel (Land of Israel) was, according to the Torah, promised by God to the Children of Israel, Jews. Conflict sprung out of this fact. Since then there have been multitudes of suicide bombings taking many innocent lives and offensives by Israel to show that they would not stand down in the face of adversity. In comparison with Little Brother, the Arab-Israeli conflict shines through as a period in which many attempts have been made to try and make peace, but violence and bloodshed somehow always resulted.
7. Tyner, James A. “Territoriality, Social Justice and Gendered Revolutions in the Speeches of Malcolm X.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. New Series, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Sept. 2004), pp.330-343. Published by Blackwell Publishing.
During the Civil Rights Era, there were several individuals who stood tall in the face of oppression who knew something was wrong as they went about their lives each and every day. Some of those people were MLK Jr., Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglass, and finally Malcolm X. Malcolm X was unique among his abolitionist counterparts. The revolutionary thought of Malcolm X was at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. This African American radical intellectual sparked much thought in the minds of antagonists, going against the grain to show the world that fear can not nullify the power of desire, desire for equality and justice.
i had url's for all of these but they aren't showing up
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