When thought about many social movements are similar. Both the Indian Freedom Struggle and LGBT movement are similar. LGBT is fighting for equality and so was the Indian Freedom Struggle. These two movements showed the same qualities, used the same strategies and taught the same life lessons. Having the qualities, determination and commitment. Using the strategies protesting and gaining allies. Also teaching people to fight for something you eventually get it and that violence isn’t always the answer.
The most important quality needed in a social movement is determination. One can see determination in the LGBT movement when they try to gain equality in marriage rights. It takes determination every time they try to gain allies or change a law or protest. It takes determination because it takes a while for results to happen. Determination is what keeps them from giving up. One can also see determination in the Indian Freedom Struggle when they try to gain back their freedom. The protesters needed determination to try and fight for their freedom against an opponent that is better equipped than them. The Indians showed determination by continuing the Freedom struggle for 100 years and not quitting when police and soldiers attacked them. The reason this quality is needed is because it helps fuel other qualities that help in social movements.
Another important personal quality needed in a social movement is commitment. One can see commitment in the Indian Freedom Struggle when they continue to use non violence against violent opponents like the police and soldiers. Protesters would get badly beaten or killed at their boycotts and protest but they were committed to the Freedom Struggle so they never used violence and they never gave up. This quality is also shown in the LGBT Movement. The LGBT Movement is committed to spreading awareness to others. They go against homophobic people who bully homosexuals. Even though these people get bullied they stay committed to spreading awareness. The reason this quality is needed is because if they are committed they are a useful ally and won't give up on the movement they are in.
LGBTQ and the Indian Freedom Struggle used similar strategies like protesting. LGBTQ uses protesting against inequalities used against them like getting fired from their job for being gay. Also for discrimination in restaurants and being hired. The Indian freedom struggle used protesting against all the inequalities they faced like the salt taxes. Also for paying for British goods and using them. This strategy was useful because it helped gain attention towards these movements. Also it helped make a point and gain allies.
Another strategy that both movements used was gaining allies. Both movements used the same strategy but in different ways. Freedom struggle used the media. Gandhi invited reporters to protests to report what was happening to the protesters and gain international attention. By getting attention people started to become allies. The LGBTQ has festivals in public places for everyone to come to. People go to booths spread out in the festival and learn about LGBTQ. This helps gain attention and allies. This strategy is important because the more people in the movement the bigger it is the more it succeeds.
A lesson that can be learned from both movements is keep fighting for something you eventually get it. In the Indian struggle in the end they gained freedom. It took 100 years but all their protesting and other strategies got them the freedom that they were fighting for. In LGBTQ they got marriage equality. Some places don't have it but there are plenty that do so just go there and they can get married legally. This lesson is important to know because if nobody fights for something then they don't get.
Another lesson is violence isn’t always the answer.The Freedom struggle and LGBTQ are not violent movements. They did not purposefully use violence. In the Freedom struggle it was a nonviolent protest and they mainly used civil disobedience. Sometimes there will be an event where they used violence but those were few. LGBTQ doesn't use major violence. Some protest may get out of control but they don't plan violence. Both of these movements achieved something they wanted without having to use violence. This is an important lesson to know so that protesters in a social movement know they don't need violence to gain what they want.
Both movements have the qualities determination and commitment, used the strategies protesting and gaining allies, and taught the lessons fight for something and eventually get it and violence is not always the answer. These qualities were important because they helped the protesters start and work hard at their movements. The strategies were important because it got attention and support from others. I can relate to the quality determination and sometimes commitment because everyday I am determined for something but if I don't think it is important to me personally I wouldn't be very committed.I don't use strategies in my everyday life because i'm not in a social movement. A life lesson that I couldn't relate to is violence doesn't solve everything because i'm a person that believes violence is the only strategy that works almost all the time.This does matter and I care because without people protesting some inequality nothing would change or everything would get worse in the world. People who are gay, LGBT is fighting for equality and so that gay people won't be bullied. LGBT fights to be treated just like straight people. The Indian Freedom Struggle, it influenced Martin Luther King jr to have a movement to stop segregation towards black people. Without the Freedom Struggle MLKjr would not have had his movement and black people wouldn't have equal rights.Without these movements where we live it would be segregation everywhere and lots of people would be miserable.