I posted this 8 years ago. Deserves being posted again. I may not agree with the current reasons for protests happening, but I absolutely support your right to peaceably assemble, and while it isn’t a “guaranteed in the Constitution” right, your right to protest.
But I also agree that leaving school during school hours is not cool. Having stuff organized by teachers is beyond not cool. When we had to sign 8 forms just to let our kids go to the local library, no teacher should be able to just take kids out of the classroom and off campus without parental consent and all those same forms used for any other outing. There *cannot* be “rules for thee but not for me.”
And to finish… protests are dangerous. Even peaceable ones. A protest can quickly turn into a mob, and mobs are not people, mobs are a monster all on their own, and they are easily moved and abused by people outside the mob. I have both watched that happen from outside, and been trapped inside a mob and experienced it. Before you go to protest (at any age!!), be sure that you know the realities of what protesting can and does mean.
You could get hurt. You could get arrested. You could get shot with “less than lethal” things like rubber bullets, tasers, chemicals, and water. You could get expelled, if you’re in school, or fired if you’re working. You could get caught up in things you do NOT agree with, a lot more easily than you can imagine, even if you agree with the rest of the protest. You could get yelled at, spit on, and even assaulted.
All but the assault (by a non-LEO) are perfectly legal, by the way. If you’re ordered by LEOs to move, and you don’t, they can and will use “less than lethal” weapons on you. Those “less than lethal” things can cause REAL damage, and they can even cause death sometimes. Assaults during a protest (or worse, during a riot and/or mob situation) are very difficult to prove in court.
All of this is offered from NEITHER political side. It doesn’t matter to me what side you’re on; these are the realities of standing up for your rights, real or perceived. Freedom is not free, and it is NOT SAFE. Being free has never been safe. The fact that we are safer in our country than people in most (if not all) other countries is saying something… but it doesn’t mean “we are safe.” SAFER is not SAFE. Standing up for your rights, again perceived or real, is dangerous, and always will be.
I posted the above to Facebook today, because it came up in my memories. I don’t recall the reason I posted it, but I do remember telling my kids about it. At the time, they were 12 or 13, so right at the rebellious “I’m a real teen” stage. I thought it was horrible at the time, but there are days I miss that… At least I was able to do something about it when they were wrong. Today, I have to grit my teeth and let them make their mistakes. Oy. Anyhow…
The image was what was posted 8 years ago, and the text I just posted today. Though I have no comments yet, I’m sure I’ll get a couple, at least, and maybe ferret out a couple more idiots from my friends’ list. I expect that more than one person will claim to not understand how I can support someone without supporting their cause. That’s the usual response to things like this. My friends, at least, don’t seem to get the idea of “hate the sin, love the sinner” (for lack of a better phrase).
One way I use to describe it a lot, lately, is that here in America, we absolutely have the right to be an idiot, to be wrong, and to keep talking long after we should have (morally speaking) shut our traps. That is our RIGHT. Doesn’t mean it *is* right (as in correct).
But yes, I will absolutely go and protect people I love who feel the need to peaceably demonstrate, even if I disagree with what they’re demonstrating about. Why? Because this is America, and PEACEABLE demonstration is allowed. If they stop being peaceable, I will not support them, and they all know that. But if they’re just holding a sign on the sidewalk and talking to people? Absolutely I will. And if they get arrested while demonstrating peaceably, I’ll record it, and I’ll testify on their behalf later. Because it’s the right thing to do. What I won’t do is interfere with LEOs, because even if I think they’re wrong, that’s how riots and mobs start. I’ll ask questions politely, stay out of the way, and take video. The rest can get argued at the courthouse. Peaceably.