A Stop the War Coalition spokesman said that if the war goes ahead, there will be "
civil disobedience on an unprecedented scale".
The term '
civil disobedience' appears to have been coined by the American naturalist and social critic Henry David Thoreau (1817-62) who thought that one should not obey an immoral law.
Principled
civil disobedience isn't for everyone, but like the occasional referendum, it can sometimes cut through litigation and partisan backbiting that cloud or asphyxiate public conversation.
His nonprofit organization, which tracks activities by animal rights and environmental groups, makes no' distinction between nonviolent
civil disobedience and property destruction, says Arnold.
Therefore, it became difficult for the police department to anticipate the number and identities of participants in trespass and
civil disobedience incidents prior to the actual events.
The Oregon Supreme Court recently upheld a punitive damage award for trespass stemming from an environmental protest.(2) Although the law currently permits punitive damages for trespass, this Note argues that an instruction that allows the jury to consider motives and beliefs in assessing punitive damages for
civil disobedience violates both the United States and Oregon Constitutions.
Civil disobedience has always to be distinguished from a broader resistance to the established order.
"The
civil disobedience which impressively succeeded is a remarkable sign within a path that will continue until the power is handed to civilians based on the declaration of freedom and change that we agreed on," the DFCF tweeted on Tuesday.
The call to
civil disobedience comes as several opposition leaders were arrested by security forces following an overnight raid in the capital on Saturday.
Summary: As it happens, there is a more precise alternative to resistance that is rarely mentioned nowadays:
civil disobedience.
In each case, the "civil" in
civil disobedience has been conflated with civility, as in politeness or general respectability.