After Bull Connor asks his men to "turn on the hoses" on the Negros marching to a prayer meeting, MLK describes the event as one of the most fantastic events of the Birmingham story. Why?

Bull Connor asks his men to "turn on the hoses" on the Negro marchers on their way to a prayer meeting. The marchers, many of them on their knees, stare back at the hoses unafraid and unmoving. Connor's men did not turn the hoses on the marchers.