At the end of “Walden,” the famous American philosopher and writer Henry David Thoreau wrote, “If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away.” Thoreau is clearly advocating that we march to the tune we hear, rather than the one dictated. And it is this concept of marching that has been taken up by many of the marginalised who wish to change the tune society is singing.
Since marching is a way for the powerless to get power, it is not surprising that one of the first marches in history was by women. Women have always been among the marginalized and even the rich women back in Roman times had little power. 195 B.C. saw the first women’s march. After many of the men had been killed in the wars with Carthage the women in the family finally got to inherit the money and land. Those in power were not happy and so they passed a law to make it legal for them to confiscate much of this new found wealth. After two years there was talk of repealing the law but many of the male senators were against doing so. Consequently, the women marched through the streets, their voices rang out strong and clear, and their protest was successful; the law taking their right to own inherited wealth was repealed.
Hundreds of years later, women suffragettes marched for their beliefs. But this time it was not about the right to retain your property but about the right to vote, which ultimately means to have a say in the society in which you live. Most suffragettes believed in marching as a peaceful means to attain their goals, however, some suffragettes such as Emily Davison were extreme. Davidson got herself killed in 1913 when she ran in front of the King’s race horse. In the same year in America 5000-8000 women marched past the white house, where some of the onlookers threw insults and other things at them. Needless to say the police turned a blind eye to these assaults. The march to equality for women however did not end there and still continues today as can be seen from the slutwalkers march in June 2011.
But women are only one sector of society that does not have full rights. In the days of Colonialism those who were subject to the colonial powers had few rights and in India Gandhi decided to use the power of the march to ensure that this would change. At that time the British had sole rights to sell salt in India. Since salt is a staple part of everyone’s diet this gave them a great deal of control and financial gain. Gandhi organized a march that took approximately 24 days. The march started with 78 people and by the time they reached the beach at Dandi there were approximately 80,000 people. They marched forward to be beaten by the batons of the British and jailed. But the British victory was short and the long term triumph was that of the Salt March which brought about a change on the part of the British.
Another group of people who have suffered from discrimination and been deprived of their basic rights over the years are African Americans. Martin Luther King in his fight for equality followed Gandhi’s lead and used marches to attract attention to his cause. But even when he had won and the Civil Rights Act was passed there was no equality in some places. When it came to African Americans voting in Selma, Alabama, the resistance continued. And so did the marches. Three marches were arranged to protest the fact that the law was not being enacted. In the first march many of those participating were beaten by the police and the day became known as “Bloody Sunday.” The second march was led by white ministers who got similarly beaten. For the third march the participants were protected by the military but it didn’t help. Viola Liuzza a white mother of five was shot as she was taking marchers back to Selma. However, it was the beginning of the end of the resistance to the new legislation.
Marching is still a common form of protest. In 2010 Marchers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) marched to bring attention to the plight of farm workers in Florida. They compared their working conditions to that of slavery. These conditions are possible because many of the farmworkers are illegal immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala or Haiti and thus are not protected by civil rights. The farmworkers are taking a leaf from history and hoping to change the situation. Consequently, they organized a three day march between April 16-18 2010; but only time will tell how successful their campaign will be.
But there are marches other than protest marches. In war time there have been death marches. Both the Nazi and the Japanese in World War 2 forced their prisoners to walk under terrible conditions and many died before they reach their destination. In 1934 Mao Zedong was just one of many who were in power. But “The Long March” that was in reality a retreat, left many dead on the wayside and his position clear. This march was a form of death march since of the 80,000 who started, only 6,000 made it. However, later it was regarded as a great victory and from one point of view it was: it led to the turning point in the Communist Revolution. Some marches do not appear to achieve anything in the short term but from the point of view of history we can see how they have a significant effect on society as a whole.
Academic Reading
Learn how to pass academic English comprehension academic reading comprehension #1. Stop by www.academic-reading.com where you can learn foolproff strategiespass reading exams #2 and learn to read like a pro.
January 18th, 2012 in India | No Comments