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Refusal to obey commands of an authority figure without resulting to violence or direct action

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civil disobedience, also called passive resistance, the refusal to obey the demands or commands of a government or occupying power, without resorting to violence or active measures of opposition; its usual purpose is to force concessions from the government or occupying power. Civil disobedience has been a major tactic and philosophy of nationalist movements in Africa and India, in the American civil rights movement, and of labour, anti-war, and other social movements in many countries.

Civil disobedience is a symbolic or ritualistic violation of the law rather than a rejection of the system as a whole. The civil disobedient, finding legitimate avenues of change blocked or nonexistent, feels obligated by a higher, extralegal principle to break some specific law. It is because acts associated with civil disobedience are considered crimes, however, and known by actor and public alike to be punishable, that such acts serve as a protest. By submitting to punishment, the civil disobedient hopes to set a moral example that will provoke the majority or the government into effecting meaningful political, social, or economic change. Under the imperative of setting a moral example, leaders of civil disobedience insist that the illegal actions be nonviolent.

A variety of criticisms have been directed against the philosophy and practice of civil disobedience. The radical critique of the philosophy of civil disobedience condemns its acceptance of the existing political structure; conservative schools of thought, on the other hand, see the logical extension of civil disobedience as anarchy and the right of individuals to break any law they choose, at any time. Activists themselves are divided in interpreting civil disobedience either as a total philosophy of social change or as merely a tactic to be employed when the movement lacks other means. On a pragmatic level, the efficacy of civil disobedience hinges on the adherence of the opposition to a certain morality to which an appeal can ultimately be made.

The philosophical roots of civil disobedience lie deep in Western thought: Cicero, Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry David Thoreau all sought to justify conduct by virtue of its harmony with some antecedent superhuman moral law. The modern concept of civil disobedience was most clearly formulated by Mahatma Gandhi. Drawing from Eastern and Western thought, Gandhi developed the philosophy of satyagraha, which emphasizes nonviolent resistance to evil. First in the Transvaal of South Africa in 1906 and later in India, via such actions as the Salt March (1930), Gandhi sought to obtain equal rights and freedom through satyagraha campaigns.

Drawing in part on Gandhi's example, the American civil rights movement, which came to prominence during the 1950s, sought to end racial segregation in the southern United States by adopting the tactics and philosophy of civil disobedience through such protests as the Greensboro (North Carolina) sit-in (1960) and the Freedom Rides (1961). Martin Luther King, Jr., a leader of the movement from the mid-1950s to his assassination in 1968, was an articulate defender of its strategy of nonviolent protest. Later the tactics of civil disobedience were employed by many protest groups within a variety of movements, including the women's movement, the anti-nuclear and environmental movements, and the anti-globalization and economic equality movements.

The principle of civil disobedience has achieved some standing in international law through the war crime trials at Nürnberg, Germany, after World War II, which affirmed the principle that individuals may, under certain circumstances, be held accountable for failure to break the laws of their country.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Brian Duignan.

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Civil disobedience | Definition, Examples, & Facts

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civil disobedience, also called passive resistance, the refusal to obey the demands or commands of a government or occupying power, without resorting to violence or active measures of opposition; its usual purpose is to force concessions from the government or occupying power.

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Training in civil disobedience, Memphis, TN, 2020

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Training in civil disobedience, Memphis, TN, 2020

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More than 300 people gathered at the National Civil Rights Museum Thursday night to learn about something that was integral during the civil rights movement - civil disobedience.

Led by organizers from the Memphis Coalition of Concerned Citizens and other grassroots factions, participants of the training learned about marshaling a protest, basic first aid, and what to do in the event of arrest.

Shahidah Jones, an organizer with the Official Memphis Black Lives Matter chapter, said the training was intended to focus on "how to attack [the systems] that oppress us." She noted that the night's training was "steeped in history." The Civil Rights Museum is the site of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1968 assassination.

Another organizer, Catherine Lewis of the Memphis Coalition of Concerned Citizens asked participants to close their eyes, travel back in time, and imagine the courage of the actions from the Little Rick Nine, of King, and others whose activism helped lead to the widespread protests seen in Memphis throughout the past week.

Signs posted outside the the museum listed goals of "Preparing Memphis protesters to disrupt the economic system and protect the most vulnerable during an action," and "uniting Memphis protesters behind a list of ideologies and grievances for these civil disobedience[s]."

Those gathered ringed the civic plaza outside the museum, sitting on the grass. Most wore masks. The crowd was diverse, like most of the protests. While the event began with about 200 in attendance, more and more streamed in. Most of those in attendance wore masks, which is advised during the COVID-19 pandemic. If someone didn't have one, they were offered one by an organizer.

The music of the evening had a theme of activism imbued with wariness of law enforcement. Public Enemy's "Fight the Power," played over the loudspeaker at the beginning of gathering. NWA's "F*** Tha Police" played near the end.

The crowd broke into about 30 to 35 groups - decided by drawing from packs of playing cards - to learn about the various aspects of civil disobedience. They game-planned and role-played specific situations while organizers handed out bottles of water and fruit.

Catherine Lewis, 71, said she "started organizing" at age 18 in South Memphis. She said Thursday night's event reminded her of the training sessions led by Rev. James Lawson in the 1960s, "but those were more intense. They had to sit at counters and be called names and get kicked around."

"I feel sad that we still have to do this, and I feel joyful that there are so many different kinds of people willing to step up now," said Catherine Lewis of the Memphis Coalition of Concerned Citizens.

Asked whether today's demonstrators would achieve significant social change, she said: "This time, it seems to be sustaining. I think it's driven not only by the killing of unarmed black men but it's triggered by overall disgust because Trump is in the White House, and people are sick of the way he leads, or fails to lead."

One attendee noted how peaceful Memphis' eight days of protests had been.

"Our city's not burning, it's not damaged, it's not destroyed, and it's because of these people," said James Macon, 41, praising the organizers of and participants in the Memphis protests to date.

Late in the evening, longtime activist Al Lewis made a distinction between what he called a protest and pageantry, perhaps a dig at the marches led by DeVante Hill, a local pastor who has helped organize several marches over the past week. Hill has been criticized by some activists for reportedly coordinating protest actions with police.

"We don't do parades," said Lewis, to cheers from the crowd. "We don't ask permission to protest. We don't ask the police to protect us when we protest. If you're doing any of those things, that is a pageant, it's not a protest."

The training ended at about 9:20 p.m. and Lewis reminded attendees to leave the plaza outside the museum "immaculate."

Training follows more than week of protests

Now, with splinter groups deviating from Hill's coordinated marches several nights in a row, some organizers are looked to teach tactics so their strategy could have maximum effect.

The training came after eight straight days of protests , which have been almost entirely peaceful, but have also resulted in dozens of arrests and the use of tear gas against protesters.

The protests followed the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after now-former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder.

Memphis' peaceful protests have stood in contrast with many cities across the country. Many cities have seen widespread property damage.

However, after some property damage Sunday a, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland instituted a 10 p.m. curfew Monday and has renewed it each of the past three nights, including Thursday. Each night the curfew has been in effect, demonstrators have left without prompting from the Memphis Police Department or other law enforcement agencies.

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Hundreds gathered downtown - not to protest but to train in civil disobedience. Here's what they learned.

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More than 300 people gathered at the National Civil Rights Museum Thursday night to learn about something that was integral during the civil rights movement - civil disobedience. Led by organizers from the Memphis Coalition of Concerned Citizens and other grassroots factions, participants of the training learned about marshaling a protest, basic first aid, and what to do in the event of arrest.

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Public expression of disapproval or dissent toward the government

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A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate by attending, and share the potential costs and risks of doing so. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass political demonstrations. Protesters may organize a protest as a way of publicly making their opinions heard in an attempt to influence public opinion or government policy, or they may undertake direct action in an attempt to enact desired changes themselves. Where protests are part of a systematic and peaceful nonviolent campaign to achieve a particular objective, and involve the use of pressure as well as persuasion, they go beyond mere protest and may be better described as a type of protest called civil resistance or nonviolent resistance.

Various forms of self-expression and protest are sometimes restricted by governmental policy (such as the requirement of protest permits), economic circumstances, religious orthodoxy, social structures, or media monopoly. One state reaction to protests is the use of riot police. Observers have noted an increased militarization of protest policing in many countries, with police deploying armored vehicles and snipers against protesters. When such restrictions occur, protests may assume the form of open civil disobedience, more subtle forms of resistance against the restrictions, or may spill over into other areas such as culture and emigration.

A protest itself may at times be the subject of a counter-protest. In such cases, counter-protesters demonstrate their support for the person, policy, action, etc. that is the subject of the original protest. Protesters and counter-protesters can sometimes violently clash. One study found that nonviolent activism during the civil rights movement in the United States tended to produce favorable media coverage and changes in public opinion focusing on the issues organizers were raising, but violent protests tended to generate unfavorable media coverage that generated public desire to restore law and order.

Protesters in the middle of the road in downtown Manama, Bahrain (2011)

Unaddressed protests may grow and widen into civil resistance, dissent, activism, riots, insurgency, revolts, and political or social revolution. Some examples of protests include:

Northern Europe in the early 16th century (Protestant Reformation)

North America in the 1770s (American Revolution)

Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, an anti-government protest by several hundred soldiers of the Continental Army

France in 1789 (French Revolution)

Haiti in 1803 (Haitian Revolution), the first successful black revolution against slavery

The Haymarket affair in 1886, a violent labor protest led by the Anarchist Movement

New York shirtwaist strike of 1909

1963 Birmingham Children's Crusade, part of the civil rights movement.

1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a key moment in the Civil rights movement

Selma to Montgomery marches of 1965, part of the Civil Rights Movement

Protests against the Vietnam War

Mexico 68

The Stonewall riots in 1969, protesting the treatment of homosexuals in New York City

The People Power Revolution in the Philippines

Thai military personnel, police and others, shooting at peaceful protesters at the Thammasat University.[8]

The Solidarity (Polish trade union) Movement's protests against Soviet Communism in Poland from 1980 to 1989.

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

The Alexanderplatz demonstrations from November 4-9, 1989, which culminated in the Fall of the Berlin Wall

The many ACT-UP AIDS protests of the late 1980s and early 1990s

Japanese Canadians Protest of their Dispossession

Anti-globalization protests in Prague in 2000

Anti-globalization protests in Genoa from 18 to 22 July 2001

15 February 2003 Iraq War Protest

Anti-nuclear protests

2007 Bersih rally

2010 Thai political protests

2011 Iranian protests

Arab Spring protests

Impact of the Arab Spring

Occupy Wall Street protests

Bersih Malaysia protests

Gezi Park protests in 2013 in Turkey

June 2013 Egyptian protests

Euromaidan protests in Ukraine, November 2013-February 2014

Black Lives Matter-led protests on July 13, 2013

Sunflower Student Movement

Add the Words gay and transgender rights protests in Idaho in 2014.

2014 Hong Kong Umbrella Movement

2016 South Korean protests

2017 Jallikattu protests

2017-2019 Romanian protests

Dakota Access Pipeline protests

2018 Tommy Robinson protests

2018 Sadiq Khan protests

March for Our Lives protests

2018 Armenian Velvet Revolution

2018-2019 Sudanese protests

2018-2020 Serbian protests

2019 Venezuelan protests

2019 Indonesian protests

2019 Bolivian protests

2019-20 Hong Kong protests

Citizenship Amendment Act protests

2019-20 Lebanese protests

2019-2021 Iraqi protests

George Floyd protests

2020-21 Belarusian protests

Protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 protests and riots in Serbia

2020 Thai protests

2020-2021 Indian farmers' protest

2020-2021 United States election protests

Mahsa Amini protests

Peruvian protests (2022-2023)

Protester with a "Free The Bee" placard during the COVID-19 protests in Berlin on 29th of August 2020, near the Brandenburg Gate

A protest can take many forms. Willingness to participate is influenced by individuals' ties within social networks. Social connections can affect both the spread of factual information about a protest and social pressures on participants. Willing to participate will also vary depending on the type of protest. Likelihood that someone will respond to a protest is also affected by group identification, and by the types of tactics involved.

The Dynamics of Collective Action project and the Global Nonviolent Action Database are two of the leading data collection efforts attempting to capture information about protest events. The Dynamics of Collective Action project considers the repertoire of protest tactics (and their definitions) to include:

Rally or demonstration: Demonstration, rally, or similar protest, without reference to marching or walking in a picket line or standing in a vigil. Reference to speeches, speakers, singing, or preaching, often verified by the presence of PA sound equipment and sometimes by a platform or stage. Ordinarily will include worship services, speeches, briefings.

March: Reference to moving from one location to another; to distinguish from rotating or walking in a circle with picket signs (which is a picket).

Vigil: Most vigils have banners, placards, or leaflets so that people passing by, despite silence from participants, can be informed about the purpose of the vigil.

Picket: The modal activity is picketing; there may be references to a picket line, informational picketing, or holding signs; "carrying signs and walking around in a circle". Holding signs, placards, or banners is not the defining criteria; rather, it is holding or carrying those items and walking a circular route, a phrase sometimes surprisingly found in the permit application.

Civil disobedience: Explicit protest that involves deliberately breaking laws deemed unjust in order to protest them; crossing barricades, prohibited use of segregated facilities (such as lunch-counters or restrooms), voter registration drives (to earn non-eligible people the right to vote), or tying up phone lines.

Ceremony: These celebrate or protest status transitions ranging from birth and death dates of individuals, organizations or nations; seasons; re-enlistment or commissioning of military personnel; or to anniversaries of any of the above. These are sometimes referenced by presenting flowers or wreaths commemorating, dedicating, or celebrating status transitions or their anniversary; e.g., an annual merchant marine memorial service, celebrating Hanukkah or Easter, or celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.

Dramaturgical demonstration

Motorcade: Vehicular procession (electoral campaigns or other issues)

Information distribution: Tabling/petition gathering, lobbying, letter-writing campaigns, or teach-ins.

Symbolic display: e.g., a menorah or creche scene, graffiti, cross burning, sign, or standing display.

Attack by collective group (not-one-on-one assault, crime, rape): Motivation for attack is the "other group's identity", as in gay-bashing or lynching. Can also include verbal attacks or threats. (See hate crime)

Riot, melee, mob violence: Large-scale (50+), use of violence by instigators against persons, property, police, or buildings separately or in combination, lasting several hours.

Strike, slow down, sick-ins, and employee work protest of any kind: Regular air strike through failure of negotiations or wildcat air strike. (Make note if a wildcat strike.)

Boycott: Organized refusal to buy or use a product or service. Examples: rent strikes, Montgomery bus boycotts

Press conference: Only if specifically named as such in report, and must be the predominant activity form. Could involve disclosure of information to "educate the public" or influence various decision-makers.

Organization formation announcement or meeting announcement: Meeting or press conference to announce the formation of a new organization.

Conflict, attack or clash (no instigator): This includes any boundary conflict in which no instigator can be identified, i.e. Black/white conflicts, abortion/anti-abortion conflicts.

Prayer Walk: A prayer walk is an activity that consists of walking and praying at the same time. It's done not for the physical benefit but for the spiritual exercise, either publicly functioning as a demonstration or rally.

Lawsuit: Legal maneuver by social movement organization or group.

Peopleless Protest: Simultaneous online and offline protests involving physical representations of protesters in public spaces that are subsequently assembled online. Developed in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

UCL, anarchist protest in France, on October 16th during the COVID-19 pandemic

The Global Nonviolent Action Database uses Gene Sharp's classification of 198 methods of nonviolent action. There is considerable overlap with the Dynamics of Collective Action repertoire, although the GNA repertoire includes more specific tactics. Together, the two projects help define tactics available to protesters and document instances of their use.

Thomas Ratliff and Lori Hall have devised a typology of six broad activity categories of the protest activities described in the Dynamics of Collective Action project.

Literal, symbolic, aesthetic and sensory - Artistic, dramaturgical, and symbolic displays (street theater, dancing, etc.) including use of images, objects, graphic art, musical performances, or vocal/auditory exhibitions (speech-making, chanting, etc.). May also include tactile exchanges of information (petitions, leaflets, etc.) and the destruction of objects of symbolic or political value. Highly visible and most diverse category of activity; impacts on society (police response, media focus, impact on potential allies, etc.) often are underestimated.

Solemnity and the sacred - Vigils, prayer, or rallies, in the form of religious service, candlelight vigils, cross or coffin bearing etc. All directly related to the Durkheimian "sacred", or some form of religious or spiritual practice, belief, or ideology. Events where sacred activity is the primary focus are rarely responded to by police with force or presence. Solemnity usually provides a distinct quietness or stillness, changing the energy, description, and interpretation of such events.

Institutional and conventional - Institutionalized activity or activity highly dependent on formal political processes and social institutions (press conferences, lawsuits, lobbying, etc.). Often conflated with non-confrontational and nonviolent activities in research as the other or reference category. More acceptable because it operates, to some degree, within the system. Historically contentious issue in regard to the practice of protest due to this integration within the system.

Movement in space - Marches or parades (processional activities) from one spatio-temporal location to another, with beginning or ending places sometimes chosen for symbolic reasons. Picket lines often used in labor strikes but can be used by non-labor actors but the key differences between picket and processionals are the distance of movement. Events that take the form of a procession are logistically much more difficult to police (even if it is for the safety of protesters). Marches are some of the largest events in this period.

Civil disobedience - Withholding obligations, sit-ins, blockades, shop-ins, occupations, bannering, "camping", etc., are all specific activities which constitute the tactical form of civil disobedience. In some way, these activities directly or technically break the law. Usually given most attention by researchers, media, and authorities. Often conflated with violence and threats because of direct action and confrontational nature, but should serve as a distinct category of action (both in the context of tactical and strategic planning and in the control of activity).

Collective violence and threats - Collective violence such as pushing, shoving, hitting, punching, damaging property, throwing objects, verbal threats, etc., is usually committed by a relative few out of many protesters (even tens of thousands). It is rare in occurrence and rarely condoned by the public or onlookers (particularly the media). Usually met with equivalent or overwhelming force in response by authorities.

Some forms of direct action listed in this article are also public demonstrations or rallies.

Protest march, a historically and geographically common form of nonviolent action by groups of people.

Picketing, a form of protest in which people congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in ("crossing the picket line"), but it can also be done to draw public attention to a cause.

Die-ins are a form of protest where participants simulate being dead (with varying degrees of realism). In the simplest form of a die-in, protesters simply lie down on the ground and pretend to be dead, sometimes covering themselves with signs or banners. Much of the effectiveness depends on the posture of the protesters, for when not properly executed, the protest might look more like a "sleep-in". For added realism, simulated wounds are sometimes painted on the bodies, or bandages, usually made to appear bloody, are used.

Protest song is a song which protests perceived problems in society. Every major movement in Western history has been accompanied by its own collection of protest songs, from slave emancipation to women's suffrage, the labor movement, civil rights, the anti-war movement, the feminist movement, the environmental movement. Over time, the songs have come to protest more abstract, moral issues, such as injustice, racial discrimination, the morality of war in general (as opposed to purely protesting individual wars), globalization, inflation, social inequalities, and incarceration.

Radical cheerleading. The idea is to ironically re-appropriate the aesthetics of cheerleading, for example by changing the chants to promote feminism and left-wing causes. Many radical cheerleaders (some of whom are male, transgender or non-gender identified) are in appearance far from the stereotypical image of a cheerleader.

Critical Mass bike rides have been perceived as protest activities. A 2006 article described Critical Mass' activity in New York City as "monthly political-protest rides", and characterized Critical Mass as a part of a social movement; the U.K. e-zine Urban75, which advertises as well as publishes photographs of the Critical Mass event in London, describes this as "the monthly protest by cyclists reclaiming the streets of London". However, Critical Mass participants have insisted that these events should be viewed as "celebrations" and spontaneous gatherings, not as protests or organized demonstrations. This stance allows Critical Mass to argue a legal position that its events can occur without advance notification of local police.

Toyi-toyi is a Southern African dance originally from Zimbabwe that became famous for its use in political protests in the apartheid-era South Africa. See Protest in South Africa.

Written evidence of political or economic power, or democratic justification may also be a way of protesting.

Petitions

Letters (to show political power by the volume of letters): Used by some letter writing campaigns, especially those with a form letter that supporters are given to sign

A protester photobombing a news reporter during a protest in New York City

Any protest could be civil disobedience if a "ruling authority" says so, but the following are usually civil disobedience demonstrations:

Black bloc members spray graffiti during an Iraq War Protest in Washington, D.C.[22]

Silent protest[23] - protests or parades in which participants are nonviolent and usually silent in an attempt to avoid violent confrontation with military or police forces. This tactic was effectively used during the Arab Spring in cities such as Tehran and Cairo.

The District of Columbia issues license plates protesting the "taxation without representation" that occurs due to its special status.

NIMBY ("not in my backyard") - protest by residents of an area against a development in the area they see as undesirable

Protest inside the Wisconsin State Capitol

In modern times sports protests have become increasingly significant, causing more people to take notice. Sporting protests can be about any number of things ranging from racial justice to political wrongdoings. Some of the most prominent sports figures being Tommie Smith, Jhon Carlos, Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robison, Colin Kaepernick and Billie Jean King have all pushed forward change by this method of protest. However, the majority of people don't believe sports and politics belong together, saying," Most of us who love sports want to forget about politics when we watch games." Nevertheless, this statement can still be controversial since others believe that sports athletes should use their platform and wealth to encourage change. Either way protesting in sports is an important form of protest that has gotten significant media attention and has caused significant change throughout modern times. During a sporting event, under certain circumstances, one side may choose to play a game "under protest", usually when they feel the rules are not being correctly applied. The event continues as normal, and the events causing the protest are reviewed after the fact. If the protest is held to be valid, then the results of the event are changed. Each sport has different rules for protests.

Samizdat (distributing censored materials)

Protest graffiti

Blogging and social networking have become effective tools to register protest and grievances. Protests can express views or news, and use viral networking to reach out to thousands of people. With protests on the rise from the U.S. election season of 2016 going into 2017, protesters became aware that using their social media during a protest could make them an easier target for government surveillance.

Literature, art and culture

A study of 342 US protests covered by The New York Times newspaper from 1962 to 1990 showed that such public activities usually affected the company's publicly traded stock price. The most intriguing aspect of the study's findings revealed that the amount of media coverage the event received was of the most importance to this study. Stock prices fell an average of one-tenth of a percent for every paragraph printed about the event.

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A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate by attending, and share the potential costs and risks of doing so.

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Why Baltimore's Protests are So Peaceful, 2020

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Why Baltimore's Protests are So Peaceful, 2020

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A collective refusal by employees to work under the conditions presented by the employer

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This article was most recently revised and updated by

Strike, collective refusal by employees to work under the conditions required by employers. Strikes arise for a number of reasons, though principally in response to economic conditions (defined as an economic strike and meant to improve wages and benefits) or labour practices (intended to improve work conditions). Other strikes can stem from sympathy with other striking unions or from jurisdictional disputes between two unions. Illegal strikes include sit-down strikes, wildcat strikes, and partial strikes (such as slowdowns or sick-ins). Strikes may also be called for purely political reasons (as in the general strike).

1919 steel strike National Photo Company Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital file no. cph 3b24672)

In most industrialized countries, the right to strike is granted in principle to private-sector workers. Some countries, however, require that specific efforts toward settlement be made before a strike can be called, while other countries forbid purely political strikes or strikes by public employees.

Most strikes and threats of strikes are intended to inflict a cost on the employer for failing to agree to specific wages, benefits, or other conditions demanded by the union. Strikes by Japanese unions are not intended to halt production for long periods of time; instead, they are seen as demonstrations of solidarity. Occasionally, strikes have been politically motivated, and they sometimes have been directed against governments and their policies, as was the case with the Polish union Solidarity in the 1980s. Strikes not authorized by the central union body may be directed against the union leadership as well as the employer.

The decision to call a strike does not come easily, because union workers risk a loss of income for long periods of time. They also risk the permanent loss of their jobs, especially when replacement workers hired to continue operations during the strike stay on as permanent employees.

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In the United States, this strike-breaking tactic was seldom used on a large scale before the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike of 1981, when Pres. Ronald Reagan ordered the hiring of permanent replacement controllers. Most federal, state, and municipal unions in the United States are, by law, denied the right to strike, and the air traffic controllers' strike was thus illegal. Laws administered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) govern the replacement of workers who go on strike, permitting the permanent replacement of workers only when an economic strike is called during contract negotiations. In other words, employers cannot lawfully hire permanent replacement workers during a strike over unfair labour practices. Nonetheless, the threat of job loss has created a sharp decline in the number and length of economic strikes in the United States. American unions have responded by devising new tactics that include selective strikes, which target the sites that will cause the company the greatest economic harm, and rolling strikes, which target a succession of employer sites, making it difficult for the employer to hire replacements because the strike's location is always changing.

Amy Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:

key people

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Strike, collective refusal by employees to work under the conditions required by employers. Strikes arise for a number of reasons, though principally in response to economic conditions (defined as an economic strike and meant to improve wages and benefits) or labour practices (intended to improve

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Players for the Milwaukee Bucks refused to participate in Wednesday's opening-round playoff game in response to Sunday's police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Bucks did not come out of their locker room for pregame warmups at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Their opponents, the Orlando Magic walked off the floor shortly before the scheduled 4 p.m. tipoff. When the buzzer sounded, no one was left on the court.

Well, this is something. pic.twitter.com/m60EXF8kPn
- Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) August 26, 2020

Officials for the NBA waited outside of Milwaukee's locker room as the team discussed its plans. By 4:13 p.m., the Bucks, whose arena is a 45-minute drive from Kenosha, had officially sat out of the contest.

Game balls are being put away, as the Bucks decide to boycott game 5 against the Magic. pic.twitter.com/Cy32q2CJH7
- Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) August 26, 2020

Bucks players are in locker room attempting to reach the attorney general of Wisconsin, Josh Kaul, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Magic players are leaving the arena soon -- not accepting the Bucks' forfeit.
- Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 26, 2020

Before entering the NBA's bubble in late June*, players issued concerns that games would distract from the social justice movement sparked by the killing of George Floyd. The league imported language and symbols of the protests into Orlando, including "Black Lives Matter" decals on the courts, but it didn't account for what, in retrospect, seems like the inevitable: This was going to happen again.

If the league didn't anticipate this, the players likely did. In July, Milwaukee Bucks guard Sterling Brown described his own experience with police violence in the Players' Tribune. "[H]ow many times does something like this happen when there isn't a camera recording? " he wrote. "How many times does it happen to someone who isn't an NBA player and who doesn't have the platform I have to make people stop and listen?"

After video of Kenosha police shooting Blake in front of his children spread online, players inside the bubble spoke of their feelings of helplessness. " I think for us, we just wanted to make a difference, wanted to make a change, and seeing that shows that things are the same," Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam told reporters. "I'm sure you guys probably have questions, but I'm really not trying to answer anything. My head is not really at that. We came here for a reason and using our platform and wanting to send a message and hopefully bring awareness and bring a change, but I don't know. It just feels like we're stuck."

During the press scrum after his team's victory Tuesday night, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers gave a powerful speech regarding racism in America.

Doc Rivers with raw emotion and a thunderbolt cry for justice: "All you hear is Donald Trump & all of them talking about fear. We're the ones getting killed. We're the ones getting shot...It's amazing, we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back." pic.twitter.com/19dHu9UlZ5
- Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) August 26, 2020

On Tuesday, members of the defending-champion Raptors and Boston Celtics held a players-only meeting to discuss sitting out the opening contest of their second-round playoff series. "Boycotting the game has come up for them as a way to try to demand a little more action," Toronto head coach Nick Nurse said. "That's really what they want. I think there's enough attention and not quite enough action, and that's what I can sense from the discussions is their disappointment." Nurse added that some players expressed a desire to leave the bubble entirely and return to their families.

The Bucks' protest was met with support by current and former NBA stars who tweeted messages of solidarity on Wednesday.

FUCK THIS MAN!!!! WE DEMAND CHANGE. SICK OF IT
- LeBron James (@KingJames) August 26, 2020

.@Bucks power. Black power.

Nothing but respect for Milwaukee's players and coaches. #BlackLivesMatter
- Scottie Pippen (@ScottiePippen) August 26, 2020

Two other playoff games were scheduled for Wednesday, but the Rockets and Thunder announced that they would be sitting out their contest as well.

Rockets-OKC players are planning to boycott Game 5 of their series, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
- Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 26, 2020

Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Wednseday's entire slate of games would be postponed.

BREAKING:
CNN has learned that all of tonight's NBA games have been postponed.
- Coy Wire (@CoyWire) August 26, 2020

In response to its workers' strike, the league office confirmed in a statement that Wednesday's games " have been postponed. "

Update, 6:15 p.m. ET: The Milwaukee Brewers are sitting out of their game against the Cincinnati Reds.

The Brewers have decided not to play tonight's game.
- Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) August 26, 2020

1. The Five Defining Differences Between Cam Newton and Tom Brady on Opening Day

2. I'm Obsessed With the Tour de France, and You Should Be Too

3. The NFL Wants Us to Think It's Changed. It Hasn't.

4. Is James Harden Fun to Watch?

Update: 8:25 p.m. ET: The Bucks players delivered a statement to the media Wednesday night explaining their decision and its goals. Starting guards George Hill and Sterling Brown read the message aloud to assembled reporters. "Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball," Brown read. They continued:

When we take the court and represent Milwaukee and Wisconsin, we are expected to play at a high level, give maximum effort, and hold each other accountable. We hold ourselves to that standard, and in this moment, we are demanding the same from our lawmakers and law enforcement.

We are calling for justice for Jacob Blake and demand the officers be held accountable. For this to occur, it is imperative for the Wisconsin State Legislature to reconvene after months of inaction and take up meaningful measures to address issues of police accountability, brutality and criminal justice reform. We encourage all citizens to educate themselves, take peaceful and responsible action, and remember to vote on Nov. 3.

The entire speech can be seen below:

Full statement from the Milwaukee Bucks: pic.twitter.com/jjGEyVcCmB
- Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) August 26, 2020
This is a breaking news story that has been updated with new information since it was first published.
Correction, Aug. 25, 2020: This post originally misstated when NBA players entered the bubble in Orlando.

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The Milwaukee Bucks Players' Strike Instantly Seems Like It Was Inevitable

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Players for the Milwaukee Bucks refused to participate in Wednesday's opening-round playoff game in response to Sunday's police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Bucks did not come out of their locker room for pregame warmups at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

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Boeing worker strike in St. Louis, MO, 2010

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Boeing worker strike in St. Louis, MO, 2010

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On May 1st, workers from Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart, FedEx, Target, and Walmart joined together in a series of work stoppages to protest conditions and equipment in the face of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The actions have been organized by a range of groups within the various companies, but are timed to coincide with International Workers' Day. The groups are encouraging customers to boycott the stores and services for the duration of the day.

Organizers at Amazon said thousands of employees are participating in the actions nationwide.

The groups are calling for better practices and equipment to protect frontline workers from contracting the disease at work. Specifics of those protections vary between companies and jobs: Instacart workers are calling for better distribution of personal protective equipment (or PPE), while Whole Foods workers are calling for locations with positive cases to be shut down for 14 days.

Amazon delivery service partners are asking for professional cleaners to sanitize vehicles at the end of each shift. Currently, drivers are provided with cleaning supplies and asked to sanitize the vehicles themselves.

Amazon has refused to disclose the number of employees who have tested positive for COVID-19, communicating only individual cases to the employees affected. As part of today's action, Amazon employees are pushing back against that practice and calling on the company to "be transparent and honest about the number of cases they have in their facilities."

Earlier this month, Amazon implemented new policies to protect workers from the virus, including two weeks of paid sick leave and unlimited unpaid leave for employees who believe they may have been exposed. But implementation of the policies has been uneven, and the broader uncertainty has fueled further organizing efforts within the company.

"Are you being pressured to forge or doctor any sanitation logs?" one organizing document distributed among Whole Foods workers reads. "Are your leaders putting aside store sales and tight labor budgets to prioritize your health and well-being?"

Reached for comment, Amazon disputed organizers' claims that employees lacked the necessary resources to work safely, pointing to increase in paid time off and workplace PPE. "Masks, temperature checks, hand sanitizer, increased time off, increased pay, and more are standard across our Amazon and Whole Food Market networks already," the company said. "We spend every day focused on what else Amazon can do to keep our people and communities safe and healthy."
Updated 11:20AM ET: Added comment from Amazon

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Workers from Amazon, Instacart, and others are calling in sick to protest poor virus protections

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On May 1st, workers from Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart, FedEx, Target, and Walmart joined together in a series of work stoppages to protest conditions and equipment in the face of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The actions have been organized by a range of groups within the various companies, but are timed to coincide with International Workers' Day.

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Vote by the entire voting population on a particular proposal

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A (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is invited to vote on a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new law. In some countries, it is synonymous with a plebiscite or a vote on a ballot question.

Some definitions of 'plebiscite' suggest it is a type of vote to change the constitution or government of a country. The word, 'referendum' is often a catchall, used for both legislative referrals and initiatives. Australia defines 'referendum' as a vote to change the constitution and 'plebiscite' as a vote which does not affect the constitution. whereas in Ireland, 'plebiscite' referred to the vote to adopt its constitution, but a subsequent vote to amend the constitution is called a 'referendum', as is a poll of the electorate on a non-constitutional bill.

'Referendum' is the gerundive form of the Latin verb refero, literally "to carry back" (from the verb fero, "to bear, bring, carry" plus the inseparable prefix re-, here meaning "back"). As a gerundive is an adjective, not a noun, it cannot be used alone in Latin, and must be contained within a context attached to a noun such as Propositum quod referendum est populo, "A proposal which must be carried back to the people". The addition of the verb sum (3rd person singular, est) to a gerundive, denotes the idea of necessity or compulsion, that which "must" be done, rather than that which is "fit for" doing. Its use as a noun in English is not considered a strictly grammatical usage of a foreign word, but is rather a freshly coined English noun, which follows English grammatical usage, not Latin grammatical usage. This determines the form of the plural in English, which according to English grammar should be "referendums". The use of "referenda" as a plural form in English (treating it as a Latin word and attempting to apply to it the rules of Latin grammar) is unsupportable according to the rules of both Latin and English grammar. The use of "referenda" as a plural form is posited hypothetically as either a gerund or a gerundive by the Oxford English Dictionary, which rules out such usage in both cases as follows:

Referendums is logically preferable as a plural form meaning 'ballots on one issue' (as a Latin gerund, referendum has no plural). The Latin plural gerundive 'referenda', meaning 'things to be referred', necessarily connotes a plurality of issues.

It is closely related to agenda, "those matters which must be driven forward", from ago, to drive (cattle); and memorandum, "that matter which must be remembered", from memoro, to call to mind, corrigenda, from rego, to rule, make straight, those things which must be made straight (corrected), etc.

The name and use of the 'referendum' is thought to have originated in the Swiss canton of Graubünden as early as the 16th century.

The term 'plebiscite' has a generally similar meaning in modern usage, and comes from the Latin plebiscita, which originally meant a decree of the Concilium Plebis (Plebeian Council), the popular assembly of the Roman Republic. Today, a referendum can also often be referred to as a plebiscite, but in some countries the two terms are used differently to refer to votes with differing types of legal consequences. For example, Australia defines 'referendum' as a vote to change the constitution, and 'plebiscite' as a vote that does not affect the constitution. In contrast, Ireland has only ever held one plebiscite, which was the vote to adopt its constitution, and every other vote has been called a referendum. Plebiscite has also been used to denote a non-binding vote count such as the one held by Nazi Germany to 'approve' in retrospect the so-called Anschluss with Austria, the question being not 'Do you permit?' but rather 'Do you approve?' of that which has most definitely already occurred.

The term referendum covers a variety of different meanings. A referendum can be binding or advisory. In some countries, different names are used for these two types of referendum.

Referendums can be further classified by who initiates them: mandatory referendums prescribed by law, voluntary referendums initiated by the legislature or government, and referendums initiated by citizens.

A deliberative referendum is a referendum specifically designed to improve the deliberative qualities of the campaign preceding the referendum vote, and/or of the act of voting itself.

From a political-philosophical perspective, referendums are an expression of direct democracy, but today, most referendums need to be understood within the context of representative democracy. They tend to be used quite selectively, covering issues such as changes in voting systems, where currently elected officials may not have the legitimacy or inclination to implement such changes.

Since the end of the 18th century, hundreds of national referendums have been organised in the world; almost 600 national votes were held in Switzerland since its inauguration as a modern state in 1848. Italy ranked second with 72 national referendums: 67 popular referendums, 3 constitutional referendums, one institutional referendum and one advisory referendum.

Multiple-choice referendums

A referendum usually offers the electorate a choice of accepting or rejecting a proposal, but not always. Some referendums give voters the choice among multiple choices and some use Transferable voting even.

In Switzerland, for example, multiple choice referendums are common. Two multiple choice referendums were held in Sweden, in 1957 and in 1980, in which voters were offered three options. In 1977, a referendum held in Australia to determine a new national anthem was held in which voters had four choices. In 1992, New Zealand held a five-option referendum on their electoral system. In 1982, Guam had referendum that used six options, with an additional blank option for anyone(s) wishing to (campaign and) vote for their own seventh option.

A multiple choice referendum poses the question of how the result is to be determined. They may be set up so that if no single option receives the support of an absolute majority (more than half) of the votes, resort can be made to the two-round system or instant-runoff voting, which is also called IRV and PV.

In 2018 the Irish Citizens' Assembly considered the conduct of future referendums in Ireland, with 76 of the members in favour of allowing more than two options, and 52% favouring preferential voting in such cases. Other people regard a non-majoritarian methodology like the Modified Borda Count (MBC) as more inclusive and more accurate.

Swiss referendums offer a separate vote on each of the multiple options as well as an additional decision about which of the multiple options should be preferred. In the Swedish case, in both referendums the 'winning' option was chosen by the Single Member Plurality ("first past the post") system. In other words, the winning option was deemed to be that supported by a plurality, rather than an absolute majority, of voters. In the 1977, Australian referendum, the winner was chosen by the system of preferential instant-runoff voting (IRV). Polls in Newfoundland (1949) and Guam (1982), for example, were counted under a form of the two-round system, and an unusual form of TRS was used in the 1992 New Zealand poll.

Although California has not held multiple-choice referendums in the Swiss or Swedish sense (in which only one of several counter-propositions can be victorious, and the losing proposals are wholly null and void), it does have so many yes-or-no referendums at each Election Day that conflicts arise. The State's Constitution provides a method for resolving conflicts when two or more inconsistent propositions are passed on the same day. This is a de facto form of approval voting -i.e. the proposition with the most "yes" votes prevails over the others to the extent of any conflict.

Another voting system that could be used in multiple-choice referendum is the Condorcet rule.

Critics[who? ] of the referendum argue that voters in a referendum are more likely to be driven by transient whims than by careful deliberation, or that they are not sufficiently informed to make decisions on complicated or technical issues. Also, voters might be swayed by propaganda, strong personalities, intimidation, and expensive advertising campaigns. James Madison argued that direct democracy is the " tyranny of the majority".

Some opposition to the referendum has arisen from its use by dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini who, it is argued, used the plebiscite to disguise oppressive policies as populism. Dictators may also make use of referendums as well as show elections to further legitimize their authority such as Benito Mussolini in 1934, Adolf Hitler in 1936, Ferdinand Marcos in 1973, Park Chung-hee in 1972, and Francisco Franco in 1947. Hitler's use of plebiscites is argued[by whom? ] as the reason why, since World War II, there has been no provision in Germany for the holding of referendums at the federal level.

In recent years, referendums have been used strategically by several European governments trying to pursue political and electoral goals.

Patten's criticism

British politician Chris Patten summarized many of the arguments used by those who oppose the referendum in an interview in 2003, when discussing the possibility of a referendum in the United Kingdom on the European Union Constitution:

I think referendums are awful. The late and great Julian Critchley used to say that, not very surprisingly, they were the favourite form of plebiscitary democracy of Mussolini and Hitler. They undermine Westminster. What they ensure, as we saw in the last election, is that if you have a referendum on an issue, politicians during an election campaign say: "Oh, we're not going to talk about that, we don't need to talk about that, that's all for the referendum." So during the last election campaign, the euro was hardly debated. I think referendums are fundamentally anti-democratic in our system, and I wouldn't have anything to do with them. On the whole, governments only concede them when governments are weak.

Some critics of the referendum attack the use of closed questions. A difficulty called the separability problem can plague a referendum on two or more issues. If one issue is in fact, or in perception, related to another on the ballot, the imposed simultaneous voting of first preference on each issue can result in an outcome which is displeasing to most.

Several commentators have noted that the use of citizens' initiatives to amend constitutions has so tied the government to a jumble of popular demands as to render the government unworkable. An 2009 article in The Economist argued that this had restricted the ability of the California state government to tax the people and pass the budget, and called for an entirely new Californian constitution.

A similar problem also arises when elected governments accumulate excessive debts. That can severely reduce the effective margin for later governments.

Both these problems can be moderated by a combination of other measures as

strict rules for correct accounting on budget plans and effective public expenditure;

mandatory assessment by an independent public institution of all budgetary implications of all legislative proposals, before they can be approved;

mandatory prior assessment of the constitutional coherence of any proposal;

interdiction of extra-budget expenditure (tax payers anyway have to fund them, sooner or later).

1. ^ Marchant & Charles, Cassell's Latin Dictionary, 1928, p.221

2. ^ Marchant & Charles, Cassell's Latin Dictionary, 1928, p. 469.

3. ^ A gerundive is a verbal adjective (Kennedy's Shorter Latin Primer, 1962 edition, p. 91.)

4. A ^ gerund is a verbal noun (Kennedy's Shorter Latin Primer, 1962 edition, p. 91.) but has no nominative case, for which an infinitive (referre) serves the purpose

5. a ^ gerund is a verbal noun (Kennedy's Shorter Latin Primer, 1962 edition, p. 91.) but has no nominative case, for which an infinitive (referre) serves the purpose. It has only accusative, genitive, dative and ablative cases (Kennedy's Shorter Latin Primer, 1962 edition, pp. 91-2.)

6. i.e. ^ Proposita quae referenda sunt popolo, "Proposals which must be carried back to the people"

7. Barber, Benjamin R.. ^ The Death of Communal Liberty: A History of Freedom in a Swiss Mountain Canton. Princeton University Press, 1974, p. 179.

8. Vincent, J.M.. ^ State and Federal Government in Switzerland, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009, p. 122

9. ^ de Vreese, Claes H. (2007). "Context, Elites, Media and Public Opinion in Reerendums: When Campaigns Really Matter". The Dynamics of Referendum Campaigns: An International Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 2-3. ISBN 9780230591189.

10. (in French) Bruno S. Frey et Claudia Frey Marti, ^ Le bonheur. L'approche économique, Presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes, 2013 (ISBN 978-2-88915-010-6).

11. ^ Qvortrup, Matt (2013). Direct Democracy: A Comparative Study of the Theory and Practice of Government by the People. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-8206-1.

12. ^ Sottilotta, Cecilia Emma (2017). "The Strategic Use of Government-Sponsored Referendums in Contemporary Europe: Issues and Implications". Journal of Contemporary European Research. 13 (4): 1361-1376.

13. ^ "Breakfast with Frost | Interview with Chris Patten, EU Commissioner for External Affairs on Sunday 01 June 2003". BBC News. 2003-06-01.

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A (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is invited to vote on a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new law. In some countries, it is synonymous with a plebiscite or a vote on a ballot question.

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As legislators are challenging Gov. Larry Hogan's order that forced public schools to open after Labor Day, Hogan promised he would send the measure to referendum for Maryland voters to decide if necessary.

But that can only happen if he collects signatures from more than 69,000 Maryland voters petitioning to have the question listed on the ballot in 2020.

Hogan signed an executive order in 2016 requiring public schools in the state to begin classes after Labor Day and end by June 15 starting in the 2017-2018 school year. A bill sponsored by Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D- Prince George's County) would allow county school boards to instead determine their own start and end dates for academic years, and authorize those boards to extend the length of school years up to five days beyond the current June 15 cut-off.

The bill passed its second reading in the Senate on Friday.

If the bill is approved by both chambers of the General Assembly, Hogan vowed to submit a bill that would make school boards that want to start classes earlier seek the approval of voters.

Here's how referendums work:

In order for citizens to put a question on the ballot, a petition must be filed with the Maryland Secretary of State with the signatures of at least 3 percent of the state's registered voters, a figure calculated based of the number of votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. In 2018, 2,302,699 people voted in Maryland's gubernatorial election, so Hogan would have to gather 69,081 signatures.

At least a third of those signatures must be submitted to the secretary of state before before June 1, with the rest due by June 30.

If the question goes to a vote and is approved by voters during the general election, it becomes effective 30 days from the vote.

Maryland voters have had the power of referendum since 1916. It's one of 27 states whose constitutions give voters the power of referendum, initiative (allowing voters to bypass legislators to create a law) or both, according to the Maryland Department of Legislative Services.

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Maryland Gov. Hogan pledged to send Labor Day school start to referendum if necessary. How does that work?

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As legislators are challenging Gov. Larry Hogan's order that forced public schools to open after Labor Day, Hogan promised he would send the measure to referendum for Maryland voters to decide if necessary. But that can only happen if he collects signatures from more than 69,000 Maryland voters petitioning to have the question listed on the ballot in 2020.

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Two statewide ballot measures were certified for the 2018 ballot in the state of Maryland. Both of the ballot measures were approved.

On the ballot

Getting measures on the ballot

Maryland currently allows citizen initiatives in the form of veto referendums. Signature requirements for referendum petitions are determined by calculating three percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent election. At least 51,996 valid signatures are required to put veto referendums before voters in 2018. The deadline to file the first third of petition signatures for non-emergency bills signed into law more than 45 days before the first day of June was June 1, 2018, while the remaining two-thirds of signatures had to be filed by June 30, 2018. The deadline to file the first third of petition signatures for bills signed into law less than 45 days before the first day of June was 30 days after the bill passed the legislature, while the remaining two-thirds of signatures had to be filed in the next 30 days.

The state legislative session was expected to run from January 10 through April 9, 2018, during which time the Maryland Legislature could place legislatively referred constitutional amendments on the ballot. The legislature can put a proposed amendment on the ballot upon a sixty percent majority vote in both the legislative chambers. The amendment must then be approved by a majority of voters.

Historical facts

See also: History of Initiative & Referendum in Maryland and List of Maryland ballot measures

From 1996 through 2016, 32 measures appeared on the ballot in Maryland.

From 1996 through 2016, there was an average of about three measures on the ballot in even-numbered years.

Over the two decades prior to 2018, 29 of 32 measures, or 90 percent, were approved, and three of 32 measures, or 9 percent, were defeated.

Summary of campaign contributions

The following chart illustrates how much support and opposition committees had amassed in campaign contributions for each measure on the ballot:

Not on the ballot

The list below contains measures that were proposed and reached a certain stage in the initiative or referral process, but did not make the ballot.

External links

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Maryland 2018 ballot measures - Ballotpedia

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Two statewide ballot measures were certified for the 2018 ballot in the state of Maryland. Both of the ballot measures were approved. Maryland currently allows citizen initiatives in the form of veto referendums. Signature requirements for referendum petitions are determined by calculating three percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent election.

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Request to do something by a citizen to a government official

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A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication.

In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some official and signed by numerous individuals. A petition may be oral rather than written, or may be transmitted via the Internet.

Petition can also be the title of a legal pleading that initiates a legal case. The initial pleading in a civil lawsuit that seeks only money (damages) might be called (in most U.S. courts) a complaint. An initial pleading in a lawsuit that seeks non-monetary or "equitable" relief, such as a request for a writ of or habeas corpus, custody of a child, or probate of a will, is instead called a petition.

Act on petition is a "summary process" used in probate, ecclesiastical and divorce cases, designed to handle matters which are too complex for simple motion. The parties in a case exchange pleadings until a cause for a hearing is settled. Black's Law Dictionary specifies it as an obsolete method used in admiralty cases. In the United States, the "act on petition" has been used in maritime cases.

The first documented petitions were made by slaves building pyramids in Ancient Egypt who petitioned for better working conditions.

In pre-modern Imperial China petitions were always sent to an Office of Transmission ( Tongzheng si or 通政司) where court secretaries read petitions aloud to the emperor. Petitions could be sent by anybody, from a scholar-official to a common farmer, although the petitions were more likely read to the emperor if they were persuasive enough to impeach questionable and corrupt local officials from office. When petitions arrived to the throne, multiple copies were made of the original and stored with the Office of Supervising Secretaries before the original written petition was sent to the emperor.

The emergence of petitioning during the reign of Edward I of England (1272-1307) contributed to beginnings of legislative power for the Parliament of England. Petitions became a common form of protest and request to the British House of Commons in the 18th and 19th centuries; one million petitions were submitted to the UK's parliament between 1780 and 1918. The largest was the Great/People's Charter, or petition of the Chartists.

The Petition Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of the people "to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." The right to petition has been held to include the right to file lawsuits against the government.

Petitions are commonly used in the U.S. to qualify candidates for public office to appear on a ballot; while anyone can be a write-in candidate, a candidate desiring that his or her name appear on printed ballots and other official election materials must gather a certain number of valid signatures from registered voters. In jurisdictions whose laws allow for ballot initiatives, the gathering of a sufficient number of voter signatures qualifies a proposed initiative to be placed on the ballot. The 2003 California recall election, which culminated in the recall of Governor Gray Davis and the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger, began when U.S. Representative Darrell Issa employed paid signature gatherers who obtained millions of signatures at a cost to Issa of millions of dollars. Once the requisite number of signatures was obtained on the recall petition, other petitions were circulated by would-be candidates who wanted to appear on the ballot as possible replacements for Davis. After that step, a vote on the recall was scheduled.

Other types of petitions include those that sought to free Nelson Mandela during his imprisonment by the former apartheid government of South Africa. The petitions had no legal effect, but the signatures of millions of people on the petitions represented a moral force that may have helped free Mandela and end apartheid. Non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International often use petitions in an attempt to exert moral authority in support of various causes. Other nongovernmental subjects of petition drives include corporate personnel decisions. In the United Kingdom, a petition to the parliament in 1990 against ambulance service cuts attracted 4.5 million signatures. Today, petitions in Britain are often presented through the UK Parliament petitions website, the forerunner of which was set up in 2006. Such online petitions are a new form of a petition becoming commonplace in the 21st century. Change.org was founded in 2007 and became the world's most popular online petition platform with around 50 million registered users.

Recent research by the sociocultural psychologist, Chana Etengoff, has highlighted the therapeutic benefits of petitioning including meaning-making, social action, agency and empowerment.

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A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some official and signed by numerous individuals.

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Petition for Internet, Mississippi, 2020

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Petition for Internet, Mississippi, 2020

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Why do people protest and start revolutions?

Sounds like a very strange question, right?
We all know that people protest to get their rights back, to object on whatever they don't like and to force dictators to step off their thrones.

But do all people protest for these same reasons? Pscyhology says no
While there are people who protest to get their rights back a large number of people might join protests for completely different reasons.

Because each person has different psychological needs 10 people could be protesting for 10 different reasons. In other words many people protest to satisfy their psychological needs while believing that they are protesting to get their rights back.

Put in mind that these points don't describe people who started protesting to get a lost right back but it describes those who joined them for different reasons:

1) To find an identity: Some people never believed they are worthy. They did their best to find anything to be good at but they failed then all of a sudden they found a golden opportunity to feel worthy. Those people go to protests in order to build the identity they were always searching for and to feel worthy. What can make a person feel more worthy than changing the fate of his country? Of course if you asked any of those people about the reason that made them protest they will reply saying that saving the country was their ultimate goal (see also Psychological identity problems)

2) Peer pressure & Pleasing others: In the Solid Self confidence program i said that people who have a low self esteem do their best to please others just to get their approval. During revolutions and protests people start judging and criticizing those who don't participate in the events. Under the effect of peer pressure the ones with low self esteem find themselves forced to take a direction just to please others and not because they really believed in what was going on.

3) The ones who have external locus of control: Some governments are really corrupt that they hardly allow people to succeed but even in these countries we see successful people emerging. Some people have messed up lives and as a result they want to find anyone to blame for their misery in order not to declare that they didn't hard enough. After all it will hurt less to blame the goverment than to admit that they were incompetent.

4) The ones who had nothing else to do: Some people have boring lives. They have nothing to do nor they can find excitement anywhere. When something as exciting as a protest happens those people might join it just to reduce the boredom in their lives.

5) Opportunity hunters: Some people join revolutions right before they turn successful. Those people are the ones who wait on the sideways then decide whom they are going to be with based on the final result. If for example the protestors were about to force the government to resign then many people might join the protest at this time just to claim that they were among the ones who did it

Why the second group will never admit these facts

The second group of protestors, or the ones who protest to satisfy their psychological needs, will never admit the fact that they are protecting for different reasons simply because many of them aren't even aware of what's going on in their subconscious minds.

Those people will defend their position in a very aggressive way because deep inside they know that if they lost a debate they will lose their new identity as well.

In other words, if a person went to a protest to feel worthy then unconsciously he will be aware of the fact that backing off will mean that he will become unworthy once again.

You can easily spot the people who protest for psychological reasons and not for the sake of their nation. Those people will tend to twist facts and alter their perception just to prove themselves right even if they discovered that they were wrong.

2knowmysef is not a complicated medical website nor a boring online encyclopedia but rather a place where you will find simple, to the point and effective information that is backed by psychology and presented in a simple way that you can understand and apply. If you think that this is some kind of marketing hype then see what other visitors say about 2knowmyself.

The Solid confidence program was launched by 2knowmyself.com; the program will either help you become more confident or give you your money back.

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Why do people protest (The psychological drives behind protests & revoloutions) | 2KnowMySelf

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Sounds like a very strange question, right? We all know that people protest to get their rights back, to object on whatever they don't like and to force dictators to step off their thrones. But do all people protest for these same reasons?

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On March 12, 1930, Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi begins a defiant march to the sea in protest of the British monopoly on salt, his boldest act of civil disobedience yet against British rule in India.

Britain's Salt Acts prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt, a staple in the Indian diet. Citizens were forced to buy the vital mineral from the British, who, in addition to exercising a monopoly over the manufacture and sale of salt, also exerted a heavy salt tax. Although India's poor suffered most under the tax, Indians required salt. Defying the Salt Acts, Gandhi reasoned, would be an ingeniously simple way for many Indians to break a British law nonviolently. He declared resistance to British salt policies to be the unifying theme for his new campaign of satyagraha, or mass civil disobedience.

On March 12, Gandhi set out from Sabarmati with 78 followers on a 241-mile march to the coastal town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea. There, Gandhi and his supporters were to defy British policy by making salt from seawater. All along the way, Gandhi addressed large crowds, and with each passing day an increasing number of people joined the salt satyagraha. By the time they reached Dandi on April 5, Gandhi was at the head of a crowd of tens of thousands. Gandhi spoke and led prayers and early the next morning walked down to the sea to make salt.

He had planned to work the salt flats on the beach, encrusted with crystallized sea salt at every high tide, but the police had forestalled him by crushing the salt deposits into the mud. Nevertheless, Gandhi reached down and picked up a small lump of natural salt out of the mud-and British law had been defied. At Dandi, thousands more followed his lead, and in the coastal cities of Bombay and Karachi, Indian nationalists led crowds of citizens in making salt. Civil disobedience broke out all across India, soon involving millions of Indians, and British authorities arrested more than 60,000 people. Gandhi himself was arrested on May 5, but the satyagraha continued without him.

On May 21, the poet Sarojini Naidu led 2,500 marchers on the Dharasana Salt Works, some 150 miles north of Bombay. Several hundred British-led Indian policemen met them and viciously beat the peaceful demonstrators. The incident, recorded by American journalist Webb Miller, prompted an international outcry against British policy in India.

In January 1931, Gandhi was released from prison. He later met with Lord Irwin, the viceroy of India, and agreed to call off the satyagraha in exchange for an equal negotiating role at a London conference on India's future. In August, Gandhi traveled to the conference as the sole representative of the nationalist Indian National Congress. The meeting was a disappointment, but British leaders had acknowledged him as a force they could not suppress or ignore.

India's independence was finally granted in August 1947. Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu extremist less than six months later.

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Gandhi leads civil disobedience - Mar 12, 1930 - HISTORY.com

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On March 12, 1930, Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi begins a defiant march to the sea in protest of the British monopoly on salt, his boldest act of civil disobedience yet against British rule in India. Britain's Salt Acts prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt, a staple in the Indian diet.

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Refusal to use goods and/or services of a business as a form of protest

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To boycott means to stop buying or using the goods or services of a certain company or country as a protest; the noun boycott is the protest itself.

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goya foods: boycott takes off after ceo praises trump - cnn

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Goya Foods boycott takes off after its CEO praises Trump

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The hashtag #Goyaway was trending on social media Friday after Robert Unanue, CEO of Goya Foods, appeared in the White House Rose Garden Thursday afternoon and praised President Donald Trump.

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George Clooney Calls For Boycott Of Nine Luxury Hotels Tied To Sultan Of Brunei _ NBC Nightly News