Where did the meme come from that civil disobedience requires you to sit in jail afterwards?

[markpkessinger]

100. This really, really needed to be said -- thank you!

A couple of weeks ago, in response to an article that appeared in The Nation titled, "A Letter to Edward Snowden," I tried to make a similar point (albeit not as eloquently as you have done here) in response to a commenter who took issue with the article's comparison of Snowden to the likes of King and Mandela. That person commented:

This letter is offensive to real heroes like Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, who were willing to go to prison for what they stood for, by comparing Edward Snowden to them. Hell, Martin Luther King gave his own life.

To support his argument about Mandela, he relied on the following quote of Mandela:

"In a way I had never quite comprehended before, I realized the role I could play in court and the possibilities before me as a defendant. I was the symbol of justice in the court of the oppressor, the representative of the great ideals of freedom, fairness and democracy in a society that dishonored those virtues. I realized then and there that I could carry on the fight even in the fortress of the enemy."

In response, I pointed out that Mandela did not willingly submit to South African authorities. When Mandela was arrested, he had recently been in another part of Africa receiving military training. He sneaked back into South Africa to lead a band of saboteurs, having grown frustrated with the lack of positive results from the ANC's previous, peaceful efforts. On the day he was arrested, he and an associate were driving from Johannesburg to Durban, when a police car swerved in front of them, stopping the car. Mandela initially tried to pose as a chauffeur, using the alias David Motsamayi, but the police did not believe him. The only thing Mandela willingly did in all of this was choose not to use the revolver in the glove compartment of the car he was in (which probably would have been suicidal). None of this takes away from the greatness of the man, but the suggestion that he willingly submitted to arrest is pure fiction. The realization that he could be effective even while imprisoned, which the quote refers to, was one he came to after he was arrested and imprisoned, not before.

Likewise the suggestion that Dr. King "willingly" gave his life is utter nonsense. Dr. King's life was taken away from him by a murderer. Yes, he was willing (as was John Lewis) to go to jail on several occasions, but the fact is neither he nor any other civil rights activist was facing the likelihood of a life sentence, nor even a terribly long sentence, such as Snowden certainly faces if he returns.

Whether or not one believes Snowden is on par with the likes of King or Mandela, the U.S. government is seeking to make an example of him (indeed, much as they are doing with Bradley Manning). The suggestion that anybody who has -- as you concede Snowden has -- done the right thing should willingly submit to that is simply insane.

Here's a link to my original comment on the article in The Nation.