12.04.2020

PAPER GUIDE 3: PROTEST ETHICS

Some of you are interested in writing about the sort of activism depicted in the movie Okja.  Here are some resources that I recommend:

  1. Hi Phi Nation Podcast – Uncivil Disobedience
    • Scroll down to the bottom of that page to see a transcript of the episode
    • Example: harassing customers in a steak house
    • Distinctions discussed in the podcast –
      • Legal protest – e.g. passing out vegan leaflets, attention-grabbing street theater about animal exploitation (PETA)
      • Civil disobedience – breaking laws, but with civility and within strict parameters 
        • John Rawls's theory of the parameters: (1) Must be a just cause; (2) last resort; (3) coordination with other dissenting groups; (4) likelihood of success
        • e.g. lab or farm worker films animal abuse and puts video on a website
      • Uncivil disobedience – breaking laws, without civility, and within fewer parameters
        • Candice Delmas's theory: may be covert, evasive, offensive, may involve property destruction or even violence (Read more by Delmas here)
        •  e.g. "direct actions" like abducting animals from farms, freeing captive dolphins and orcas, destroying animal labs
  2. More to read