On Protests

08 Jun, 2025

GALLUP, MAY 28-JUNE 2, 1961:

Do you think "sit-ins" at lunch counters, "Freedom Buses" and other demonstrations by Negroes will hurt or help the Negro's chances of being integrated in the South?

Hurt 57%

Help 27%

No opinion 15%

I often hear that protests are too disruptive. That there are proper ways to protest and isn't it. My internal translation becomes something like "You should protest in a way that's easy to ignore so I can ignore it." And maybe that is an unfair interpretation but I'd challenge anyone who feels that way to come up with a counter example (that is, a method of protest that is not easy to ignore but you approve of).

The Boston Tea Party destroyed a few million dollars (in modern money) of the East India Company's property. It was a clearly illegal action. And yet it is praised as one of the foundational moments in the formation of the United States of America.

I do not oppose consequences for protestors. For violations of law, there can be trials and convictions. However, I am strongly opposed to the creation of laws that aim to restrict or erase protesting. Or to the suppression of protests by illegal militant actions.

I am a patriot and I love this country. And I consider protests as fundamental to my concept of America. Of freedom of expression and accepting that the nation can change. Silencing protests evokes Tiananmen Square to me more than the moments of American history that I am proud of.