“Any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one already.”
Henry David Thoreau, “On Civil Disobedience,” 1849
Thoreau famously refused to pay his taxes because he did not want to support a government that allowed the scourge of slavery to continue. The quote above expresses his belief that when you hold a position that is morally correct, it doesn’t matter if others agree – right is right.
Racism is wrong and we are therefore morally obligated to resist it. Every effort should be made to ensure that our resistance is nonviolent and consistent with other values that guide us and inspire us. (It should go without saying that vandalism and looting are themselves acts which must be resisted and that should have no place in our conversation of legitimate civil disobedience.)
Right is right and wrong is wrong. Racism is wrong and we are called by our tradition and our better selves to confront it whenever and wherever we see it. In this struggle together, we are a majority of many.
— Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback
