The Ku Klux Klan - Essay Example

?The Ku Klux Klan According to Moyer , social movements are organised and not spontaneous events. He argues that social movements have distincteight stages that they follow. Organisation of a movement helps it to plan its activities thereby overcoming the sense of powerlessness and the sense that the movement is losing. Movements build towards their specific goals over several phases. These stages have been grouped into five key phases namely the hidden problem, increasing tensions, take-off, waging of the movement and success (Moyer 2011). Hidden Problem i. Normal Times – here, a critical social problem is in the air that is violating a host of widely held core values but the general public is not aware of the problem with very few concerned. Increasing Tensions ii. Efforts to Change the Prevailing Problem Illustrates the Official Remedies’ Failure – Here, a number of opposing people carry out research to educate people resulting in the development of new grass-root opposition. The problem is officially handled by courts, in hearings, or the legislature in order to resolve the problem but with no or little results demonstrating how severe the problems are and inability of authorities to act upon them. iii. Ripening Conditions – The victims of the problem begin growing as well as the public’s awareness of the problem. Support is rendered by pre-existing networks and institutions like churches but tension still builds due to the grass roots’ discontent with the prevailing conditions. The major objective of this stage is to prepare the grass-root participants for new movements with nonviolent involvement of the locals. Take Off iv. Take off – this is where a trigger event occurs which vividly unveils the issues or problems to the general public, for instance, killing of the leader of the movement. A host of nonviolent campaigns and actions are launched that portrays the problems’ violation of the core human values. Those in power are unable to handle the situation and they work towards discrediting the opposition. Waging of the Movement v. The Identity Crisis of the Movement – those who joined the movement during its early stages begin to lose hope due to their high expectations that have not been met. Some leave the movements and the power holders declare the movement as a failure. vi. Winning the Public’s Opinion - the movement deepens and widens while involving citizens and other institutions in addressing of the problem hence putting the issue on the political agenda leading to power holders’ proposal for changes in the prevailing conditions. Here, the public is largely aware and activists become more committed to the reformations. Success vii. Accomplishment of Alternatives – many are on the opposing end with power holders splitting up to take other positions. The movement demands full reforms yet the power holders are willing to provide minimum reforms. More re-triggering events occur in this stage that spurs more demonstrations. viii. The Struggle Continues – the movements’ struggle continues so as to achieve democratic and humane societies where the incurred gains are protected as well as pursuing of new ones. Sociological Approaches to the Study of Social Movements Resource Mobilisation vs. Rational Choices – came into existence in the 1970s, this approach puts emphasis on the ability of the members of the movement to acquire resources as well as organise people with the aim of establishing the goals of the movement (Karl-Dieter 2009). The Kun Klux Klan is a movement characterised by racism and anti-Semitic with complete focus on intense violence so as to achieve their racial segregation goals and gain supremacy as whites. Those in the group work towards bringing in more supporters, money, and media attention as well as getting aligned with power holders and refining of the structure of the organisation. Resource mobilisation studies indicate that social movements are rational institutions, just like the rational choices approach defines them (McCarthy and Zald 1977). On the contrary, rational choices may include both sane and crazy decisions that are aimed at personal gains. The decision by Ku Klux Klan to advocate for segregation of blacks and supremacy of whites can be viewed as a crazy rational decision aimed at meeting personal benefits of the members; gaining superiority over black Americans (Karl-Dieter 2009). In this approach, behavioural patterns in the society reflect on the choices made by individuals who try to minimize their costs as their benefits increase. Assumptions of this approach include: i. The individual is fully aware of the consequences of their choices ii. Participating individuals have the time and ability to weigh all the options/choices available against each other. Resource mobilisation on the other hand has received some criticism where it is argued that it fails to explain certain movements with limited resources can bring about social change. Cunningham (2008) affirms that the Ku Klux Klan has around 5000 members but in different Klan groups which makes it a relatively small group compared to the power holders and the general public against their goals. This approach fails to explain how such a small group can be successful in ensuring the US is a racist country. New v. Old Social Movements Old social movements existed mostly before the mid 19th century in the industrial society while new social movements exist in the modern post-industrial society (Gurr 1970). Old movements were developed in order to address the imbalance of classes based on material access and or possession. However, new social movements exist in the post-industrial society where there is a broad contradiction emerging from differences between an individual’s freedom and independence and the increasing regulatory measures by the society from all aspects of life. New social movements however do not contradict on material possession like old social movements instead; the contradiction is non-material touching a host of life’s aspects, for instance, gender, ecology, warfare, governance and religion. The prevailing rise in the number of social movements around the globe can be attributed to the increased contradictions in the modern industrial society. The post industrial society is associated with many issues ranging from ecological, religion to political or rather governance. The number of social movements globally is poised to increase due to the many issues arising from the above mentioned aspects of life meaning that the old social movements are likely to be over dominated by new social movements due to the fact that the current period is characterised by nonmaterial issues as compared to the preindustrial periods when material acquisition was dominant; hence, the new social movements will be widespread. Throughout history, social movements have been used to advocate for democratic lives among the protesting public. They have played a significant role in ensuring that individuals can express their citizenship as well as providing an avenue over which people have been able to extend their citizenship rights. For instance, the American Civil rights movement led to black people gaining the right to freely take part in voting procedures, the women’s movement resulted in women gaining their right position in the society as equal human beings to men, and the working classes were able to get employment rights via the labour movement. Presently, every individual can freely vote for whoever they want, every woman is entitled to just as much equal treatment as men, and finally the labour movement has largely contributed to the employment of every competent person regardless of their colour, race and sex. It is my view that social movements have played a very important role in ensuring that all are equal and entitled to all human rights. Cults and Movements These are two distinct entities in that a cult mainly involves religious beliefs or rather can simply be defined as devotion. A cult will try to incorporate certain pagan beliefs or practices into the Christian beliefs (Saliba 1995). In addition, cults usually use deception to recruit and retain members as opposed to movements where individual people make choices to join or not based on their perspective of the prevailing situation, usually ecological, political, social, religious etc. One thing possessed by cults is there strong organisational structure where there is total devotion to the goals of the cult. This tight organisational structure is not evident in movements where there is initial commitment which fades with time. The many cults arising have resulted in the development of religious dialects. As the number of religions or rather ‘cults’ increase, the subsequent number of religious languages also increase. This generates religious differences among people that may result in loss of a shared religious meaning as far as religion is concerned. With respect to social movements, social change is the probable goal. These movements usually rebel against unfair or unequal treatment as well as unfavourable conditions in the society. As a result, minimum reforms and or full reforms of the prevailing conditions are the deliverables of movements (Gurr 1970). Possibilities and Constraints Facing Social Movements in a Globalised World The present world is characterised by uncertainty and instability whose origin can be traced back to the immense and unsteady accumulation of wealth by a minority which has increased the dispossession, exclusion and insolvency of many human beings around the globe. The Ku Klux Klan is associated with wealthy individuals who have their goals set as achieving superiority over the black-coloured people regardless of the circumstances. The group is characterised by violence and racist behaviour against blacks (Pakulski 1991). Today, globalisation has resulted in sharing of common goals among nations as well as group action towards certain discriminatory activities (Singleton et al. 2000). In addition, acquisition of knowledge is a major undertaking for most people today. With continued acquisition of knowledge and the rich nature of the members of the movement, it is possible for the group to be politically engaged in a number of activities so as to gain its popularity in the world. However, continued global fight against racism is a limitation or rather a constraint to the global development of this group. In the contemporary world, many are entitled to democratic governance and as a result, there are oppositions whenever there is a condition that violates the rights of the public (Burgmann 2003). It is true that the methods used to address these issues by the general public are unstructured; it is my belief that they are rational since these actions – riots, lynch mobs and other collective actions – only take place in cases where the power holders have failed to meet the demands of the public. Based on the theory of rational choices, it can be argued that this choice is crazy but for the right reasons. Violent actions by social movements have always been as a result of the power holders’ failure to meet the peaceful negotiations of the movements. Many violent activities have resulted in death of many activists, arrests of participants as well as succumbing to serious body injuries. In addition, these actions have in some cases resulted in the desired revolutions and/or transformations in the respective fields. An example is the street demonstration and mass actions of movements in East Germany, Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia that resulted in the fall of the communism rule (Cunningham 2007). Martin Luther King, another activist with the Civil Rights Movement was assassinated in 1968 after a series of mass demonstrations that involved violent actions. References Burgmann, V. (2003) Power, profit and protest: Australian social movements and globalisation, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest Australia, NSW. Chong, D. (1991) Collective action and the civil rights movement, Chicago and London, University of Chicago Press. Cunningham, D. (2007) ‘Paths to Participation: A Profile of the Civil Rights-Era Ku Klux Klan’ Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, vol. 27, pp. 283-309. Cunningham, D. (2008) ‘Truth, Reconciliation, and the Ku Klux Klan’ Southern Cultures, vol. 14, no.3, pp. 68-87. Cunningham, D. & Phillips, B.T. (2007) ‘Contexts for Mobilisation: Spatial Settings and Klan Presence in North Carolina, 1964-1966’ American Journal of Sociology, vol. 113, pp. 781-814. Della Porta, D. & Diani, M. (1999) ‘Social movements-an introduction’ Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 1-23, viewed 12 Dec 2012 from . Edwards, B. & McCarthy, J.D. (2004) ‘Resources and Social Movement Mobilisation’ In Snow, Soule, and Kriesi. The Blackwell companion to social movements, Oxford, Blackwell, pp. 116–52. Gurr, T. (1970) Why men rebel, Princeton, Princeton University Press. Karl-Dieter, O. (2009) Theories of political protest and social movements, New York, Routledge. Lichbach, M. (1995) The rebel’s dilemma, Ann Arbor, MI, University of Michigan Press. Mancur, O. (1965) The logic of collective action: public goods and the theory of groups, Cambridge, Harvard University Press. McCarthy, J.D. & Zald, M.N. (1977) ‘Resource Mobilisation and Social Movements: A Partial Theory’ McCarthy, J.D. & Zald, M.N. (1977) ‘Resource Mobilisation and Social Movements: A Partial Theory’ American Journal of Sociology, vol. 82, no. 6, pp. 1212–41. Moyer, B. (2011) ‘The Eight Stages of Successful Social Movements’ viewed 12 Dec 2012 from . Pakulski, J. (1991) Social movements: the politics of moral protest, Longman, Melbourne, pp. 32-51. Saliba, J.A. (1995) Perspectives on new religious movement, Geoffrey Chapman, London, pp.105-117, Singleton, G. et al. (2000) Australian political institutions, Pearson Education, Australia, pp. 295-316. Yonger, J.M. (1982) Countercultures, pp.225-252, Free Press, New York. Read More