Ethical Thought and Action

Running Head: ETHICAL THOUGHT AND ACTION
ETHICAL THOUGHT AND ACTION
Name of the Student
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Author Note

1ETHICAL THOUGHT AND ACTION
1. Martin Luther King, in his Letter from Birmingham Prison, provides an
argument for when it appropriate to break the law. Do you think the recent
acts of civil disobedience by vegan protesters were justified?
Animal Rights Activists in Australia are being called “Un-Australian Green
Criminals” in light of the recent events that took place all over Australia. A sweep of similar
protests was seen all over the country that even led to about fifty people being charged over
the same. This essay will be talking into consideration the letter from Birmingham Prison by
Martin Luther King to argue if it was justified for them to break the law and when should it
be justified.
After the civil disobedience acts occurred, my first thought was that of disdain
because any such activism will inevitably harm the daily routines of the common people.
Even the Prime Minister of Australia spoke against these activists as they campaigned against
the killing of Animals , be it lawful, for food or the maintain a decorum within the
civilization. The prime Minister stated that he was prepared to join any kind of legal
challenges by landholders if they found these vegan protesters campaigning on their farms.
He dubbed them, “green collared criminals” and mentioned clearly in this speech, “if there
are pastoralists, farmers, grazers, who are in a position to bring a civil action against these
groups looking to undermine their livelihood, the commonwealth is totally open to supporting
them in a test case to show these green criminals [it is not on]”.
This is reminiscent of Martin Luther King’s letter from Birmingham Prison. He is all
for non-violent activism against racism an did not want to be put aside by the authorities who
stated that the activists were a bunch of rabble-rousers. He believed that, "Injustice anywhere
is a threat to justice everywhere". This letter was a response to people who thought that these
battles should be fought in legal courts and not in the streets. Now if I consider the same of

2ETHICAL THOUGHT AND ACTION
the animal-rights movement all across Australia, I might state that this activism on the streets
is justified because it is a non-violent collaboration of vegan protestors who just wants to
protect the animals. However, one must keep in mind that they are protesting against things
that are backed by legal rights. All the people who slaughter animals, the various
slaughterhouses, every decision taken by the government is backed by legitimate reason and
it must be kept in mind that a main source of Australian income is derived from the slaughter
houses.
King was of the view that if non violent activists are put aside, the people who
support a movement from the shadows will inevitably come before the government and seek
out answers. Minimalist movement will take a larger form and will be difficult for people to
control. Many people from the animal rights movement were arrested because they were
obstructing a roadway and resisting the police. One must keep in mind that anything that
obstructs the normal lives of people immediately becomes negative and breach in the law and
systems.
Is non violence, people chaining themselves to machinery? This incident had
happened in a abattoir run by the southern meats in the area of Goulburn. A similar case
happened when the protestors were tailed by the police, they broke into another abattoir and
then negotiated their way out with three is sheep. 19 activists had even broken into Carey
Bros Abattoir somewhere near Warwick at dawn, on a Monday. Greg Carrey the owner said
that he wanted the activists charged as he stated, “They are trying to bring our primary
agricultural industry to its knees using stand over tactics ... this is un-Australian and harms
the livelihood of many.”
Non Violence is not breaking or entering or harming any legal institution of the
country a person is residing in. That is called destruction of property, be it private or public.