In Section 6 of their party manifesto, the Ten- Point Program, Black Panther Party founders Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton advocate the use of violence as a means of self- defense, saying, “we will protect ourselves from the force and violence of the racist police and racist military, by whatever means necessary” (The Ten- Point Program). The ultimate objective of the Black Panther Party is to attain the basic rights that the constitution has determined makes us “free”. In order to do so, they must first act in refutation of the system into which they ultimately wish to be incorporated. In this sort of self-defense, the notion of freedom assumes two different values. It is both a state of being and an action. The state of being free has a predefined societal value, while the action of attaining freedom is a subjective endeavor based on the perception of a social discrepancy. To the Black Panthers, becoming “free” within the system involves first acting against the system and in accordance to a personal definition of “freedom”. In acting against the system, the Black Panthers ultimately bring about a betterment of the system: not only do they achieve individual freedom, but they become responsible for the freedom of society as a whole.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Don't Let the Man Bring You Down
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Love the title and the idea for this paper. Are you speaking for the Black Panthers or are you giving your opinion on the views of the Black Panthers? I understand the "Black Panthers" feeling that they have to fight against the system, but what about fighting the system with peaceful protest? Are you defending violence as an acceptable revolutionary tactic in this paper?
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea Sarah. I think you should go into a little more detail on your ideas of what a "betterment of the system" means. I was also wondering if you were defending violence in this argument?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting topic choice.
ReplyDelete-explain what you mean by the " betterment of the system"
- How I see this is that first by acting out you are going against the system and overthrowing it. Then the views of the people who rebelled becomes the new doctrine of the system. Thus the freedom is that the system conform to the moral of those who opposed it. is this what you meant to portray.
-Where is the initial act of freedom, whee does and start and does it end? It seem that following the argument that you gain power over the system by using violence, isn't this a vicious circle? Or is it truly freedom should work. I think that you opinion on this point will help clarify the paper.
-Also defining the criteria for "self-defense" is is only it someone is attacking you physically or can it be applied if someone is attack you ideas and beliefs?
What is your personal opinion of this argument for self-defense? Are you advocating for violence as a way to reach freedom? Would you then argue against Mill's view that we should only act until we harm others?
ReplyDeleteWhy do the Black Panthers become responsible for the freedom of society as a whole? What is your reasoning behind that statement?
ReplyDeleteWhat about the argument for non-violent protest -- why is violence better?
You’ve done a good job of incorporating both freedom and responsibility, but I’m not sure you need to go into such detail at the beginning. Also, like the others have said, what is your stance on the matter? Are you condoning violence as an acceptable solution? Because it’s such a controversial topic (violence vs. non-violence) I think it would be beneficial to the reading of your paper to know your opinion and from what side you’re writing.
ReplyDeleteIf an action results in the betterment of society, when does it become ethically unacceptable? To use a rather extreme example, while many of the medical experiments conducted by the Axis during the Second World War were horrifically unethical, there were at least some gains of medical knowledge that would prove highly useful when applied to a more morally acceptable purpose. Is freedom the ability to act towards an end goal without concern for the deeds performed to pursue said goal?
ReplyDeleteAn interesting linkage of individual freedom and collective responsibility. The concept of the value of obtaining freedom is also quite interesting.
I'm a fan of the power to the people idea, I think that is a strong argument that can be backed with a lot of good help from the philosophers we read...Would this world you are arguing for lead to a society based around vigilante justice and violence? Are those who are violent and the underdog always in power?...the questions that came to my mind while reading
ReplyDeleteReally really cool topic, I like how you started out with information to get some background.
ReplyDeleteHow does acting against the system achieve freedom?
How does getting individual freedom transform to societal freedom?
Do you mean to say that to obtain freedom justifies violence for it? Or do you mean that freedom can be obtained only through violence?
ReplyDeleteWhat about the many peaceful activists during the civil rights movement?
Good start, I liked the way this introduction is constructed. One thing I think might be nice to add would be a little more background/information about the Black Panther Party. Good work!
ReplyDeleteOh, and the red text makes my eyes hurt
One thing I noticed is that sometimes you use large words that don't seem to really fit the context or be very precise.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, I like where you're going with this. This is a powerful paragraph.