Definition
Dissent refers to holding or expressing an opinion that is different from the majority or those in authority. It is an act of disagreement, often involving opposition to a prevailing idea or opinion.
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Excerpts from News Articles
Brexit sparks delight, despair and dissent
A partly dissenting opinion by Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, however, suggested that Ongwen’s experience as a child soldier ought to have been considered in mitigation of punishment.
The law escalated to a whole new level after the war in Ukraine began. Russia started using it to suppress any dissent or criticism of the regime, shutting down human rights and media groups and activism. ‘Foreign agents’ were barred from key parts of public life.
But the arrest of Khera has set the stage for a dramatic showdown between India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party, which has accused the government of stiffling dissent in the world's largest democracy of 1.3 billion people.
In the short story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank,” which recontextualizes Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” with Jewish characters and sensibilities, Nathan Englander, who identifies as Jewish and grew up in a religiously observant Jewish family, engages in consent and dissent . I want to note that, like the majority of U.S. Jews, it is very possible that Englander also identifies as white; more relevant, though, is the historic marginalization with which he identifies, as evidenced in his work.
Among the Supreme Court disputes Kacsmaryk weighed in on was the landmark 2015 case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. In a brief submitted to the court by Kacsmaryk and others on behalf First Liberty and a host of other religious groups, they urged justices to rule that the First Amendment’s free speech protections “protects religious dissenters who disagree with state recognized same-sex marriage.”
But critics argued that it was a copy of Russia’s more repressive foreign agents law. Human rights groups say the Russian law allows the Kremlin to obstruct the work of NGOs and independent media, as well as to harass dissenting citizens.
Luddites roamed the Midlands destroying machinery; conspirators plotted the murder of politicians and royalty alike. The response of Lord Liverpool’s Tory government – a loose coalition of conservatives – was to pass legislation that cracked down on free speech, radicalism, and dissent . The nadir came in 1819, at what would become known as Peterloo.
Justice Ihsanul Haq Chaudhry gave the dissenting judgement. If women begin to marry without their wali’s consent, he said, “Marriage will lose all its sanctity and the witnesses, lawyers would all be hired/arranged … as is happening in Reno, Nevada.”
Their arrests, which are seen as being part of a crackdown on dissenting voices, have provoked criticism from Afghans and the international community.
Only a few dissenting voices like Odoi-Oywelowo are still calling for reason. “This law was just born out of hatred,” the politician told Al Jazeera. “It only makes one thing legitimate. Hatred.”
In July, he wrote about the maniacal drive among many in Moscow to act as if everything were normal; he reported from verandas and courtyard parties, an experience that was dizzying and a bit soul-crushing. “While the police patrolling Moscow’s streets are now armed with assault rifles, they are busier handing out fines for public drinking than putting down dissent ,” he wrote.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by her liberal colleagues Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, dissented from the court’s 6-3 decision not to hear the case.
The Supreme Court continued to confront Trump post-presidency. In January 2022, the justices rejected Trump’s attempt to block the release of presidential records to a congressional committee investigating the siege of the Capitol. Only Thomas publicly dissented as the majority brushed away Trump’s effort to prevent the National Archives from turning over the documents to a US House select committee.
The latest example came Monday, in a death penalty case from Louisiana that the Supreme Court’s Republican majority rejected without comment. Jackson’s dissent was joined by fellow Democratic appointees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. In addition to spotlighting Jackson’s continued recognition of criminal issues — she’s a former public defender and sentencing commissioner — the case serves as a reminder of the GOP’s grip on the 6-3 Supreme Court.
Government critics see ban as part of larger crackdown on dissent ahead of voting in November.
Having returned to his home base in Atlanta, King contemplated not going back to Memphis. The planning for the Poor People’s Campaign was escalating. At a meeting on March 30, however, he decided that he needed to see through his commitment to the effort in Memphis, and, after some dissent , the leadership of the SCLC agreed. King had come to see the struggle in Memphis as emblematic of the objectives of the Poor People’s Campaign.
Asked about the dissenting voices in the United States, Pompeo said that “your president has asked for equipment. He hasn’t asked for our young men and women. So long as we stay in that place, I’m convinced that most American leaders will see it that way and will support the continued efforts.”
The prosecution of Gandhi, the great-grandson of India’s first prime minister and scion of the dynastic Congress party, was widely condemned by opponents of Modi as the latest assault against democracy and free speech by a government seeking to crush dissent . The speed of his removal from Parliament shocked Indian politics.
Coverage of his candidacy will no doubt devolve into snide predictions of his unelectability. Sure, his “lane” might be a narrow bike lane in a party trafficking in crazy. However, much as dissents on the current Supreme Court stand as a rebuke to the right-wing majority, the Hutchinson-Cheney message serves to prick the conscience of Republicans who still have one — offering a reminder that they are not doomed to follow a narcissistic demagogue over the cliff.
In January 2022, the Supreme Court denied Trump’s quest to block the release of White House records to the Jan 6 committee. Justice Thomas was the only dissenter from the decision.
California’s attorney general argued that the information being provided “is confidential,” but the majority responded: “We are unpersuaded.” In a footnote, Roberts went further: “The State’s assurances of confidentiality are not worth much.” Even the dissenters admitted that donors “face a reasonable probability of threats, harassments, and reprisals if their affiliations are made public.”
They put in place Jim Crow laws that prevented more than one out of every three citizens from owning property in middle-class neighborhoods and from eating, sleeping, traveling, shopping, or going to school with whites. That system was locked down, backed by a Supreme Court ruling with only one justice dissenting . Now the Klan was moving swiftly in its new strongholds in the North to extend suppression of Black families in everyday life.
Expelling members for speaking up for their constituents is extreme and undemocratic. Tennessee cannot claim to be a free state if dissenting voices are met with vicious retribution, especially if those dissenting voices are pleading for the lives of our children. The nation should be every bit as concerned – nay, outraged – over this as they are about Trump allegedly paying off a porn star.
It was the latest in a series of arrests in Zimbabwe as critics accuse President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration of clamping down on dissent and rights of assembly.
The killing of Russian military journalist Vladlen Tatarsky has set off angry demands among politicians and commentators in Russia for the return of the death penalty, and for a merciless crackdown on dissent through greater use of terrorism and treason charges.
Dutton faces some dissent in his own ranks with Tasmanian backbencher Bridget Archer saying she was disappointed although not surprised by the decision and declaring she would “absolutely” campaign for the yes case.
February 15, 2023: Sturgeon suddenly announces her resignation. There is an immediate debate over the extent to which her departure was prompted by increased internal dissent over her independence strategy and the handling of her gender reforms. Others speculate if an ongoing probe into the party’s finances — launched back in July 2021 amid allegations about the SNP’s use of a ringfenced £600,000 fund raised by activists — may have something to do with it. Sturgeon has insisted the finance probe was not a factor in her decision to step down, and that she is simply exhausted.
Ai Weiwei's "Study of Perspective" series is another one of his most recognisable and controversial projects. Created over the course of eight years (1995-2003), the series features photographs of the artist flipping the bird in front of several iconic landmarks worldwide, such as the White House, the Eiffel Tower, and Tiananmen Square. In capturing this provocative gesture using a snapshot aesthetic, Ai Weiwei offers a potent and straightforward message of political dissent .
By contrast, Russia’s fall mobilization has not moved the needle much on the battlefield, and reports of dissent and poor leadership in a very top-down system suggest that the size of Russian capabilities may not be matched by performance.
“There’s not much dissent , the chorus on China is overwhelming,” he says.
The FDA's independent advisors endorsed the vaccine in February, though there was substantial dissent during that meeting. Seven advisors said the safety data was adequate for an approval, while four said it was not and one abstained.
In a country like Zimbabwe, where freedom of expression is curtailed and people are often afraid of expressing political dissent , artists such as Winky D have used music as an alternative space for political expression to challenge the status quo.
Republicans said that the Democrats had interrupted the people’s business with their protest, arguing that democracy couldn’t work if lawmakers refused to abide by the rules. But the Democrats have long warned their voices are being silenced by the hardline GOP supermajority and accused Republicans of infringing their rights to free expression and dissent .
Critics say Abiy, who won a Nobel Peace Prize after taking power as a reformist in 2018, is cracking down on dissent around Ethiopia. He says he is guaranteeing stability as well as law and order in the multi-ethnic nation.