"Main Entry: passive resistance
Function: noun
Date: 1819
: resistance especially to a government or an occupying power characterized mainly by noncooperation "
Any comments about the historical connections and passive resistance?
Only from the 1940s. Anyone can do it. All you have to do is get yourself a pair of cheap sandals, a walking stick (preferably rough-hewn), a dirty dhoti, shave yourself bald, get a pair of wire-rimmed glasses and go on a starvation-level diet. Oh, and a law degree, but I think that's optional. But the diet isn't; no one can take a well-fleshed passive resister seriously. Seriously.
- Pfranz
Do you not consider Martin Luther King Jr. a passive resister then, Pfranz?
Nope. He was a very noisy protester. Not at all passive, at least in the sense that I understand passive resistance.
- Pfranz
Yo, sarcasm-boy!
I think she meant why the 1819 date? Was there an outbreak of passive resistance then, and that's how the word was coined? And who was resisting what?
Bean's right. That's what 'she' meant. Why 1819?
Oh, all right then, twist my arm. Its origins appear to be German, believe it or not. I thought the German solution to disliking things was to have your very own, bloody and anarchy-inducing 30 Years War. Shame that they change for the sake of change, isn't it?
"Passive Resistance" was first coined to describe voter resistance to politically-imposed rules. Here's a link; the reference is about halfway down.
Did they wear dhotis in Germany in 1819? Just asking.
http://www.ctv.gu.se/fred/resurser/bok/chap2.html- Pfranz
I mulled over this for sometime, Pfranz. I spent a little time wondering whether to let it go and not respond. But, I couldn't be passive; it didn't seem right. Much as I hate getting into issues that people could potentially differ on ideologically, it seems to me, more hateful to sit back and allow a great man to be spoken of in such a disparaging tone. I am deeply hurt and offended. Mahatma Gandhi was a truly great man and the absence of a man of his stature is felt more acutely in times such as the ones we are currently going through. As also was, Martin Luther King.
You could disagree, Pfranz, with his philosophy or his methods; it is a free world and I respect your right to an opinion. But some of your comments were unnecessarily personal and they cut to the quick.