Read the following excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1959 article 'Social Organization of Nonviolence' and answer the question below.
'We must make a clear distinction between two types of force. One is the use of force in self-defense, which is a recognized right in all societies, moral and legal... The other is the use of violence as a political strategy or weapon to achieve social change. While the right to defend one's home and family is undeniable, adopting violence as a method of struggle for civil rights is both practically self-defeating and morally destructive.'
Based on the excerpt, which of the following statements best describes how mainstream civil rights leaders like King conceptualized the relationship between nonviolent direct action and armed self-defense?
- They recognized a moral and legal distinction between an individual's right to protect themselves and the use of violence as a collective political strategy.Cevap
- BThey argued that commitment to nonviolence required activists to completely abandon their legal right to self-defense, even in private settings.
- CThey viewed armed self-defense as a form of aggressive retaliation designed to initiate offensive operations against white communities.
- DThey maintained a rigid ideological separation that prevented nonviolent activists from ever cooperating with or accepting protection from armed community members.