I agree with many of the responses. I find these protests intimidating and frightening, even when they are just marching down the street chanting and shouting. The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” No mention of a right to throw things, burn, loot, destroy, cause harm, intimidate.
HOWEVER, what I see in the responses shows me that we are playing into the hands of the terrorists. The goal is to get us so upset that we demand law and order, demand a violent crackdown by law enforcement in its various forms. Then millions who stayed home last time will be angry enough to protest, and more will take up arms. Then more of us will take up arms, and before you know it, it’s not cops trying to control protesters but us against them, armed. Then, whatever happens, the terrorists have won. Consider Iraq, Syria, Libya. We do not want that to happen here! We need peace, quiet, sober consideration, rational decisions. Less “activism” from both sides. These are our children, our relatives, our neighbors back home! We want things to be the way they used to be for us. They won’t ever be, but they can be close to it, and they can be good.
I experienced the civil rights protests of the sixties and the Vietnam protests on the pages of Life magazine and sometimes on the six o’clock news. I never saw a “Colored Only” drinking fountain or restroom or restaurant or hotel, though my grandfather preached in both black and white churches in the South every week. It was offensive. It should have been offensive to every American. You don’t find those things in the South anymore. The level of freedom and safety and fairness for African-Americans today was barely imaginable in the fifties. It was a dream. But we aren’t there yet. There are still things that need to change or be adjusted, and there are also changes they need to make that we can’t make for them. What those changes end up being isn’t yet clear. It won’t be as bad as we fear, but there will be change. We won’t have a permanent state of arson and looting. Things will settle down. But we need to talk, to hash things out, in a safe place, and work out some improvements, in the name of fairness. We are all Americans. America should be a place we all want to be. I know I want to be here!
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