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What Gandhi did was both peaceful and illegal. Those aren't mutually exclusive.



Thanks ukrainian laws, there is no need in Gandhi-way resistance. Opposition have ability to make referendum by collecting 3,000,000 signatures(not that much, Yanukovich had 11,000,000 during last elections). But that's no way for ukrainian opposition unfortunately. The way of UA opposition is illegal squatting of main square of the whole state and clashing with the police. The sad thing irrational and aggressive thinking being widely supported by media and internet users.


Civil disobedience is all about breaking the law without hurting people. In general it only takes place when large numbers of people have a problem with the law itself. If the state enforces the law by hurting people then public opinion will swing in favor of the people who are being hurt. This is the whole point. Arguing that the opposition was not peaceful because they broke the law without hurting people is obviously wrong and misses the point.

It happens in the US too. An 84 year old nun was just sentenced to 3y in prison yesterday in Tennessee for taking part in a peaceful protect against the US nuclear weapon program. Being put in prison isn't as dramatic as being shot by snipers, but it does represent harm and it does affect public opinion (to what extent, who knows).


You mean the 12m votes he got in the election that was deemed to be unfair by international observers? I'm not surprised people have no faith that the recall process will work. http://helsinki.org.ua/index.php?r=3.4.2.4




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