Issues of Injustice Not every law is designed around justice. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of many who acknowledges this type of corruption among our system. Dated back in 1963, King had composed a document called Letter From Birmingham Jail. This letter was written from a prison cell after being arrested for participating in a nonviolent demonstration against segregation. It took more than three hundred and forty years to justify issues of segregation. This was not the only law where injustice was identified. A contemporary issue where injustice is identified is the rape culture of the United States. The U.S. society influences its members to consider the victims of rape to be reliable for their adversity. On average, out of every one …show more content…
A prominent point was when he expressed that “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed”. A law addressing an injustice sometimes does not become justified until it is overdue. Another notable statement from the text is “An unjust law is no law at all”. King questions our corrupt system where breaking some laws is advocated while others require conformity. The statements cited from this document are authentic points for issues of the present and the past. Throughout King's letter he asserts an honest point of view of the injustice in our system. He continues to illustrate that there are two types of laws: just and unjust laws. King notes, “A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law, or the law of god.” An unjust law is a regulation that lacks fairness. One final point is where King signifies that “justice too long delayed is justice denied”. Overall, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. annotates his advanced perception of injustice with many significant …show more content…
It is prevalent for victims of rape to be told they are reliable for the situation. Those who misconcep this topic are ignorant to the factual data. The reason a criminal had convicted this type of crime has no relation to actions of the victim. Victim blaming influences the attitude of society which alters how rape victims are perceived and contributes as false support for the criminal. A simple example of victim blaming comes from the article The Offenders, “She must have provoked him into being abusive. They both need to change.”(“Rape culture, victim”). There are multiple statistics that argue against victim blaming. Statistics exemplify that 82% of victims were assaulted by some they knew. It is inaccurate for the assaulter to claim that attraction, lack of clothing or skin revealance is a prominent factor for their crime. If those were accurate contributions then rapes would commonly occur in a setting where the victim's attire corresponds among the example principals. Sexual assault can happen anywhere and at any time. “The majority of assaults occur in places ordinarily thought to be safe, such as homes, cars and offices.”(“Rape culture, victim.”). It is estimated in the U.S that rape or attempted rape occurs every five minutes. It is documented that 46% of criminals charged for rape become apprehended within three years of being released for different criminal activity.
Letter from Birmingham Jail Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has long been the symbol of racial equality, much impart from the message in this letter. In this letter Dr. King illustrates the methods he became famous for using and the reasons for these methods. He also addressed the concerns about his timing and methods. Dr. King described the process he and his fellow advocates took in addressing the racial injustices as beginning with first defining the injustice and having indisputable evidence of its existence. The next step was confronting law makers and officials about the changes that needed to be made to eradicate the injustice.
Slavery had been abolished by the time Martin Luther King Jr. had grown up, but the aftermath was still being sorted out, with him leading the charge to fix the wrongs committed against African Americans. After a peaceful protest, he was sent to Birmingham Jail, where he would write a letter. He could’ve paused to answer criticisms but he didn’t, only wrote the letter to appeal to the masses whose rights were limited and lives were under constant bereavement. This letter would apply to these masses, and in turn, call upon their humanity, morals, and ethics. MLK went on to state the reasons he was in Birmingham at all.
In response to the Clergymen criticism, Dr. King wrote the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" to address their concerns. Dr. King distinguishes between just and unjust laws, insisting that a person has both a right and responsibility to break unjust laws. He defines just laws as those that uphold human dignity, and unjust laws as those that degrade human personality. For example, segregation is an unjust law because it makes a distinction between different groups of people which makes it morally
In Paragraph 40 of "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Dr. King expresses great disappointment in the contemporary church because the churches tended to lean towards the status quo. They hid behind various excuses and commended authority for treating nonviolent demonstrators harshly. He is, however, able to find hope in the spirits of individuals. Dr. King expresses disappointment in the inactivity of the church. Rather than act, churches often preached that segregation versus desegregation was a matter of the state.
Many aspects go into making a society successful. Martin Luther King, Jr. explores one of these aspects in his Letter Written from Birmingham Jail. In his letter, King argues that individuals should not have to fight for their freedoms alone. In King’s time, black Americans were fighting for their rights and civil liberties, those of which had already been afforded to white men. The problems that King’ presents in his letters is an important topic to all reasonable members of society because it is imperative that all members of society have the same rights and freedoms to ensure that everyone has the ability to perform their best in order to propel his or her community forward.
Saying that a victim was asking for it due to their clothing, spreading the myth that only “weak” men get raped, or otherwise labelling the victim are all examples of victim blaming. According to Amnesty International, about 33% of people believed that the victim was at fault if they had been flirting with predator beforehand. This belief stems from the common misconception that sexual assault is always about sex. As stated by Cambridge for Consent, “Sexual assault is not solely about sex- it is a crime relating to power, violence, and control.” Victim-blaming is unacceptable and absurd because if victims had truly been “asking for it,” it wouldn’t have been
Response to “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. In Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, he responded to statements written in a Birmingham newspaper that criticized his actions in the city. He undermined these disapprovals by explaining his belief in nonviolent direct action. King also went on to give opinions on other topics, such as, the lack of support from white moderates and white churches. He used technique and structure to develop his ideas and justify his methods.
In paragraph 9 King states “there are two types of laws: there are just laws, and there are unjust laws (6),” and then continues with King stating “Now, what is the difference between the two? (7)” What is the difference between an unjust law and a just law? King goes on to explain that a just law is one that “squares with the moral
King also points out the morality of such laws. He points out that they have waited for over 340 years for constitutional and God given rights. He continues giving his audience an insight when he mentions how countries like Africa and Asia are moving with “jet like speed toward political independence, but we still creep at horse-and buggy pace toward getting a cup of coffee at a lunch counter”(King, 1963, p.3, para.1). He continues to argue about unjust laws. Pointing out that laws were made for that exact justice.
In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a peaceful movement in Birmingham, Alabama. The purpose of the demonstration was to bring awareness and end to racial disparity in Birmingham. Later that night, King and his followers were detained by city authorities. While in custody, King wrote the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This letter voiced out his disappointment in the criticisms, and oppositions that the general public and clergy peers obtained.
King believed that if he could just go to Birmingham, and protest non-violently, that he could make a difference. On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned, in Birmingham, for protesting the civil rights of Black Americans. While in jail, he began writing a letter addressing the clergymen. His main audience in writing this letter was to the eight clergymen who criticized his actions and also the majority of the population as well. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, argues that injustice
King agrees with him because an unjust law is “out of harmony with the moral law”. Unjust law is the one that takes away someone’s rights and freedom and damages their personality. It is also a law that puts someone down and is hurtful. An unjust law is a law that is unfair and not right. While a just law “is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God” (King page 3).
“There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair” ( King, Martin Luther). King introduces this quote in order to display that African Americans have been put down for so long, that they are no longer inclined to undergo further discrimination. In August 1963, the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” was written by Martin Luther King Jr in the occasion of segregation issues and the fact that he showed up to Birmingham. His letter addressed the eight white religious leaders of the South in response to a public statement of concern and caution that was issued by the leaders; King was trying to make a point about how
philosophizes that if we, as human beings, forgo our instincts at the service of something higher, justice will prevail. In “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” he asserts that there are certain permanent truths which will never evaporate. These truths will always stand firm as fundamental principles which justify what is morally right and wrong, just and unjust. King deliberates that “the yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself” (“Letter,” p. 771). Furthermore, Martin Luther King, Jr. declares that there are universal and borderless Gospels of Freedom and Justice, which resound in the natural constitution of every human person, and are uplifted, fulfilled, and dignified by the divine wisdom of
King addresses the characteristics of unjust laws in 3 points. First point being that just laws are always harmonious with natural morale law. Second point being that a just law is one that uplifts human personality as opposed to degrading human personality. Lastly, a just law can only be created in the most democratic manner possible and if it is not, the minority automatically has the right to disobey the law because they had no say in the creation of the law. As for the first point, a natural morale law must be measured by our natural human sense.