The article is here
This article covers the event of the Chicago protest in response to gun violence episodes throughout the city. The protestors are marching against Rahm Emanuel (Chicago mayor), and the 20+ shootings that have happened this past weekend alone. They were traveling across the Kennedy Expressway and planned to disrupt traffic to the O'Hare Airport until the police showed up, stating that they would all be arrested if they didn't leave. Seeing as they were against violence, 12 peacefully agreed and let themselves be taken by police.
This article comes with a video clip of the protest in action, and for me, seeing visual proof was important to this article. Many news sources can manipulate stories if they are bias, but I respect how ABC News provided a source to the actual event. I was pleased with so much on this article, and the event as a whole. The protesters were kind and respectful and AGREED to go to jail. But they were not the only ones; what caught me off guard was that the policemen were just as reverent. In the media now, we don't see a lot of professional debates. But, the protestors were staying true to their point and the police responded in a similar matter. Many protests we see don't act as such; they will use harsh language and revert to hostility if they do not get what they want immediately. The leader of the incident actually stated, "In order to get the attention and the ears that we need for the people's needs we have to perform some kind of massive action.". This proves that in order to make a difference, violence isn't necessary. The author is unbiased about this, stating facts and using the video footage as reference (as I stated prior), making it difficult to be dishonest. I enjoyed that this article left me to be able to form my own opinion on the event.
Many other nonviolent resistances have happened in the past, but the one that came to mind for comparison was on a much higher scale. In 1819 England, around 70,000 people were arranged with no weapons or defense in order to reform parlament. But, this event was dubbed the name 'Peterloo Massacre' when cavalry charged at the helpless pedestrians. Although the Chicago protest was much smaller, I believe that with time, peaceful acts of resistance will become more effective without having to resort to violence.
I had heard about a few shootings, but I can't believe there have been over 20 shootings over this past weekend. I didn't know about this protest, but I'm so pleased that people are taking a stand against violence, and, most importantly, not using violence. I feel like that really conveys their message and makes them stand out more, showing that violence solves no problems. In the past, peaceful protests have been pretty consistent with their success, and I hope this one is too.
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