Modern-Day Protests: Fear and Violence Overshadowing Ideals

Protests kind of scare me. They do not scare me because of their ideas or anything like that. No, they scare me because people too often get hurt in them. I live in North Dakota, and I see protesters and violence a lot. Protests are supposed to be about peacefully standing up for what you believe in. Yes, many protesters are peaceful, but the few that are not can ruin the nonviolent efforts. Also, some protests are not being done for the right reasons. There is paid protesting, and some protests around the United States are really just about whining. Some of these protests are not doing anything but spreading fear around the country. Protests are supposed to spread ideas and gain supporters for a cause. Modern-day protests are warping the

true meaning of protesting.
Americans are misusing their rights by utilizing violence during protests. According to the Library of Congress, “The First Amendment does not provide the right to conduct an assembly at which there is a clear and present danger of riot, disorder, or interference with traffic on public streets, or other immediate threat to public safety or order.” Just because we have the right to protest does not mean that we can just do whatever we want during them. There are still restrictions on what we can and cannot do. Violence during protests make them illegal and violate an individual’s rights. Most countries do not have the freedoms that Americans do, and by misusing them, you are throwing those freedoms in the trash like they are nothing but garbage.
Violence is not an essential part of enacting change.

The Civil Rights Movement worked to end segregation in the United States. During this time, city buses were segregated: Whites could sit in the front, but Blacks were not allowed to. In an effort to end this segregation, Blacks refused to ride the city buses. This way of protesting was met with violence, yet it managed to stay nonviolent. In the end, this nonviolence worked, and “segregation on city buses was ruled unconstitutional”(Social Protests). Another example of nonviolent protests are sit-ins. The article “Social Protests” stated, “In February 1960, four black college freshman started sit-ins.” They sat at a restaurant that refused to serve black people and refused to leave. The article also stated,“By April 1960, more than 50,000 students had joined sit-ins.” These protesters were met with violence, but they refused to stop. This paid off in the end because many restaurants started to serve them. These protesters did it right. They were beaten up and constantly opposed, but they did not resort to violence. They showed that they could be the bigger person, even in the worst of times. They peacefully stood up for what they believed in and did not give up. Of course, there were violent protests during the Civil Rights Movement. According to the article “Social Protests”, in the beginning there were not many, but after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., violence became more common. Eventually a whole

movement was made that questioned the effectiveness of non-violence. “These violent philosophies and protests created fear in America”(Social Protests). No major successes came from the violence; all it did was make people scared. This just goes to show that violence is not a necessary component of protests, and it can actually be hurtful to your cause.
Violence is ruining the Anti-Trump cause, but their ideas are futile anyway. While most Anti-Trump protests are peaceful and nonviolent, the violent protests are what make the news. A CNN article by Ray Sanchez stated, “During these protests, police have been attacked with firecrackers, Molotov cocktails, and bottles. Cars are being damaged and buildings are being vandalized. Many of these violent protests are being classified as riots because of the extreme violence happening during them.” This violence is ruining the whole look of the cause. Of course news articles point out some of the peaceful protests that are happening, but they mostly hit on the violent ones. This is warping our image of their cause and is creating fear around the country. Also, these protests are not going to change anything. Charlie Kirk wrote: "When Obama was elected, we did not cry and burn stuff down, we waited 8 years & protested in the ballot box." Americans need to stop whining about the results of the election and deal with who won until the next election like we have always done. The government is not going to take back the election result because people are crying about it. The protests are not going to result in anything but fear around the country, and that is not what protests are supposed to be about. Protests are about gaining support for your cause and raising awareness. While these protests are raising awareness, they are not gaining much support. Also, these violent protesters do not want Trump to be president because they are afraid of what he might do, but how is what they are doing any better than what he might do? Yes, he might ruin the country, but right now, these violent protesters are doing more damage than he is. Protests are about trying to fix a problem, and this is not fixing a problem; it is causing more.
The North Dakota Access Pipeline protests are trying to fix a big problem, and while it may seem like the protesters are all dedicated and peaceful in the media, some are not. Most of the information in the news about the pipeline is biased. Most articles only talk about the violence the protesters face, but civilians and police officers have been hurt by the protesters. As someone living in Bismarck, North Dakota, I think I know a thing or two that the media is not showing. Yes, many protesters are peaceful and truly believe in their cause, but there are also many protesters that are violent and are only here for money. The Wall Street Journal posted an article about one protest that turned violent. It stated, “Six people were bitten by security dogs, including a young child. At least 30 people were pepper-sprayed.” This article also pointed out, “Four private security guards and two guard dogs were injured after several hundred protesters confronted construction crews at the site just outside the Standing Rock Sioux reservation.” This is just one incident of the violence. My friend's dad is a police officer, and he has received threats from protesters. I have heard gunshots, and roads have been blocked off. My mom does not allow me to walk alone anymore. My mom and I were told that we could make a lot of money if we went down and protested by a guy in a gas station one day. Paid protesting sounds crazy to me, but I constantly hear people talking about it. So many people are here not because they believe in the cause, but because they want to make a few bucks. These people are not protesters; they are workers. All of this goes to show how the media can sugar coat the facts. But behind the fog that the media has created people are getting hurt by protesters and some of them do not even truly believe in the cause they are fighting for.
The current protests happening around the United States are ruining the meaning of protesting.

While all Americans have the right to protest, that does not mean we can do whatever we want in protests. It is possible to make change while practicing nonviolence, but modern-day protests often fail to stay peaceful. People are getting injured, and many Americans are afraid of what is happening. You may think you do not have to worry if you live far away from protests that have happened, but protests have been popping up everywhere. It does not matter where protests have happened before; they can still come to the town you live in, and you never know if there will be violence. But maybe I am just a sixteen year old that is overly worried about everything, and maybe all of my ideas are rubbish. If I were you I probably would not believe me either. But nobody believed Einstein when he said that gravity could bend light, and it, in fact, can. Of course, I am nowhere near as smart as Albert Einstein, and this has nothing to do with
gravity. But I do think it is time for all of us to take a good look at the world around us, and realize that although we want everything to be all sunshine and rainbows, it is usually not anywhere near

that.