Violent protests revolving around police killings at Berkeley University in California continue for the second night in a row. Many weapons used to harm officers include rocks and explosives, and these eruptions have shut down a highway. A protest that took place on Sunday started out as peaceful, but as the march continued to Oakland, a Radio Shack window was broken. It started out with fifty people, but gradually this number rose to five hundred. Attempts to end this vandalism resulted in being physically assaulted. A demonstrator, Alessandro Tiberio, stated "It's important to stay focused on the fact that black lives matter. It's not that all lives don't matter but I'm here to support especially the black people who are most often the ones victimized by the police." These protestors have been doing things such as throwing garbage cans into the streets, lighting garbage on fire, and blocking traffic, especially on State Highway 24 in Oakland. Many other business have also been vandalized. Five arrests took place on Sunday due to extremely unruly behavior, and six were arrested on Saturday.
All of this extreme commotion taking place in California is quite alarming, for it corresponds to the freedom of assembly (1st amendment) which can be taken in context as the right of one to protest things they believe to be unjust. However, these violent protests bring up the issue of when defending one's beliefs reaches a limit. Peaceful protests take place everywhere, and they are okay because no one is harmed with these actions, but when it becomes violent, this is never, under any circumstance, okay. It is okay to have a desire to feel a certain way about something and express that to the world but to shove your beliefs down one's throat in a way that could threaten the well being of someone or their possessions is never acceptable.
I agree completely. We have the right to believe what we want to believe but it is wrong to shove our opinions and views down others throats when they clearly don't appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteWhile I fully support the protests going on around the US at this time, violence occurring during them is not a good thing. It doesn't help to get the point across. There is no need for violence, it cant help anyone defeat the real enemy, the system.
ReplyDelete