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Peaceful Protests


Mackenzie Holiday

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Mackenzie Holiday

There are a number of threads here that have been focusing on all the riots that have been happening lately. Personally, I feel like the protestors who have been peaceful aren’t getting the attention in the media that they deserve. The majority of protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder have been peaceful (source). I understand why we are more motivated to discuss the unfortunate amount of violence we’re seeing than we are to discuss the peaceful protests, but considering that the majority of these protests have been peaceful, I thought it would be worthwhile to start a conversation about them, so that the peaceful protestors can be a little less overshadowed by the minority of protestors who have resorted to violence.

 

Do you think the peaceful protests should be given more attention than they’ve been getting?

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Oh absolutely. The underlying driving force of police brutality/racial profiling/discrimination/worth of black lives/etc. is what really matters, not whether the protests are violent or not. But sadly violence is always used in media because it sells. After a while of peaceful protests, the "novelty" wears off and the discussion disappears, no matter how important the cause is. Which is disappointing.

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Thanks, for making the thread; I also was frustrated that so many discussions were about the violence, when that wasn't even the majority of protestors who were doing that. The media is a part of it; you're right that, especially in the beginning of the protests, the focus was more on the riots, but I did notice that they eventually started mentioning "peaceful protestors," and started focusing a little bit more on the police brutality.

 

Independent news journalists, with their own Youtube channels, who were right there in the crowds, in the beginning, had already started uploading videos on social media (which went viral) reporting those things and interviewing volunteer medics, journalists, and protestors who'd been injured by police/National Guard.

 

The other part is that, sadly, some viewers--like my relatives--seem to only rely and listen to whatever is being reported by the main news media and choose to complain about people protesting, rather than focusing on the reasons why they're protesting, feeling angry and frustrated by being discriminated against, how police have been killing and injuring black people, protestors, etc.

 

I found a lot more, up-to-date info, by searching on social media, myself, reading and listening to others' accounts, from the ground of protests in various cities, each day.

 

Black women who were a part of the protests gave very good speeches.

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what the face

 

I continue to believe :

   

    Love  is  stronger  than  Hate

 

    Peace  mightier  than  War

 

    Yes  >  No

 

 

   

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The fact of the matter is, once the novelty of the event has worn out, their news coverage will go away as the news company moves on with newer things. This leads to people believing that if they take more drastic measures to get noticed, looting and rioting for example, the news will continue to cover the events and therefore continue to raise awareness. 

 

If the news actually gave the peaceful protests coverage the number of riots and the amount of looting will likely decrease.

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Look where peaceful protest got us with Brexit. Nowhere. 

 

Quote from a protester "I'm incandescent with rage, but I'm British, so all I'm doing is holding a placard" 

 

A spell of civil disobedience, torching the pro-leave press and things might have been different. Waving a piece of paper and chanting "We don't want to leave" got nowhere. 

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The medias job is to report what happens, not to make them look good or bad. As for peaceful protestors, they have covered them multiple times, they do it a lot here in Portland. 

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22 hours ago, Mackenzie Holiday said:

There are a number of threads here that have been focusing on all the riots that have been happening lately. Personally, I feel like the protestors who have been peaceful aren’t getting the attention in the media that they deserve. The majority of protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder have been peaceful (source). I understand why we are more motivated to discuss the unfortunate amount of violence we’re seeing than we are to discuss the peaceful protests, but considering that the majority of these protests have been peaceful, I thought it would be worthwhile to start a conversation about them, so that the peaceful protestors can be a little less overshadowed by the minority of protestors who have resorted to violence.

 

Do you think the peaceful protests should be given more attention than they’ve been getting?

Sorry, forgot. If you think they should get more attention, ask yourself this: What is the news or what is newsworthy about writing that most protestors are peaceful say for a single report? I ask as an actual journalist who covers the protests, that if you have an idea I'd actually be interested in hearing it.

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21 hours ago, SweetTart said:

Oh absolutely. The underlying driving force of police brutality/racial profiling/discrimination/worth of black lives/etc. is what really matters, not whether the protests are violent or not. But sadly violence is always used in media because it sells. After a while of peaceful protests, the "novelty" wears off and the discussion disappears, no matter how important the cause is. Which is disappointing.

Wrong, they both matter. First, I'd argue black lives do matter and n one is saying otherwise but a few vocal minority, genuinely racist people, like the KKK. If protestors are violent, that matters.

 

It's not just because it sells, it is also what they consider newsworthy. 

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Mackenzie Holiday
38 minutes ago, Autumn McJavabean said:

Sorry, forgot. If you think they should get more attention, ask yourself this: What is the news or what is newsworthy about writing that most protestors are peaceful say for a single report? I ask as an actual journalist who covers the protests, that if you have an idea I'd actually be interested in hearing it.

I think it's newsworthy that most protestors are peaceful because when the violent protests are given more attention than the peaceful ones, it can give the impression that there are more violent protests than peaceful ones. So reminders that the majority of protests are in fact still peaceful can help give people a more accurate perception of the climate of these protests. That said, I don't think it's just an issue of reporting, I think the same thing happens in everyday conversations. We find the violence more noteworthy and more concerning, so we talk about them more, and our perceptions of the protests slowly becomes more and more warped as the peaceful protests slowly fade into the background.

 

I recognize that journalists have a job to do, and the unusually high levels of violence in these protests demands more urgent attention than protests that have remained peaceful. I also recognize that most people are more concerned about the violence than they are about peaceful protests and will want to talk about those more. But I think this tendency for violence to get more of our attention encourages people who want to bring attention to an issue to use violence in order to get that attention, and it discourages people from using peaceful methods since those who are using peaceful methods tend to be overshadowed by those who are using violent methods.

 

So to be clear, I'm not blaming anyone for talking about the rioting and I'm not blaming anyone for not talking about the peaceful protests. But I'm concerned about how activism will adapt to a climate that brings more attention to violence, which is why I wanted to counteract that and bring attention to the people who are using the methods I'd prefer to encourage.

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18 hours ago, Skycaptain said:

Look where peaceful protest got us with Brexit. Nowhere. 

 

Quote from a protester "I'm incandescent with rage, but I'm British, so all I'm doing is holding a placard" 

 

A spell of civil disobedience, torching the pro-leave press and things might have been different. Waving a piece of paper and chanting "We don't want to leave" got nowhere. 

It is a vote with one of the highest turnouts in recent history. If they were to ignore the vote for Brexit and the opposite group were to win then you’ve just told 51% of the people that their opinion doesn’t matter and that you’re going to do what you want regardless. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t recommend doing that because a couple of people had a protest.

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That's the main flaw with democracy. It's great when it actually represents the wills of the people, but at the same time, sometimes the things that are voted in don't work. I'm not saying or implying there are better government forms as they do have problems too.

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5 hours ago, Autumn McJavabean said:

Wrong, they both matter. First, I'd argue black lives do matter and n one is saying otherwise but a few vocal minority, genuinely racist people, like the KKK. If protestors are violent, that matters.

 

It's not just because it sells, it is also what they consider newsworthy. 

I'm not saying people are going around verbally saying "Black lives don't mater", but many people are going around calling poc "thugs" and believing they deserved to be killed by the police or "neighborhood watchmen", or any other person that is not part of the legal judicial system that can decide a person's guilt and punishment. I don't support riots or violent protests, because I'm not a violent person, but when poc are actively killed by policemen and white racists seeing a black person walking/jogging in their neighborhood as a threat and shooting them, then protests getting violent towards property doesn't matter. I don't think it's right, but people desperate for change, and desperate to be heard, will do anything they can to get people to listen to them.
I can't speak for the movement, or the millions of people directly discriminated against and involved in these horrible and all too common scenarios, but America has a serious problem. It needs to receive the action and attention it deserves.

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Mostly Peaceful Ryan
2 minutes ago, Arodash said:

im gonna stand in the middle of monument square with a sign that says "free hugs"

I have a sign that says "I am also angry" it allows me to join any protest 

 

On 7/24/2020 at 6:25 PM, Mackenzie Holiday said:

Do you think the peaceful protests should be given more attention than they’ve been getting

Yes, I have been to the March for life many times, always peaceful and it is barely ever  talked about in the news.

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Speaking of peaceful protests, a few bad apples is all it takes to discredit it. No matter your political spectrum.

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what the face
6 hours ago, R_1 said:

Speaking of peaceful protests, a few bad apples is all it takes to discredit it. No matter your political spectrum.

 

I understand your point but would challenge the assumption. 

IRL a few bad apples can spoil the rest of the barrel.

 

By why should it be a few bad acting protestor/agitators be able to despoil

our constitutionally protected peaceful protests.

Thats not right!

 

I refuse to be discredited

by the energized, blasphemous teenage speakers who take the mic, or

by the contrarians chanting beyond  the peaceful demonstrations or

by the menacing biker dudes circling our public square who do that loud engine rev/blast just when

a person of color begins to speak.

 

(Thankfully our local BLM events have not come to physical violence.)

 

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7 hours ago, R_1 said:

...a few bad apples is all it takes to discredit it. No matter your political spectrum.

could say the same about police officers

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1 hour ago, Marrow said:

could say the same about police officers

You could, however they have the tad difference of being systematic which means a few bad apples could represent them at large or more than the general population.

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3 hours ago, R_1 said:

You could, however they have the tad difference of being systematic which means a few bad apples could represent them at large or more than the general population.

So still, a few "bad apples", not every cop. Cops need training to become police, you dont need nothing to be a protestor; a protestor could be anyone.

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1 minute ago, Marrow said:

So still, a few "bad apples", not every cop.

Regardless, it doesn't negate the point that the systematic point does increase the frequency of bad apples. Especially years of systematic issues. There's a reason why people would almost always support civilians over those in power in questionable regimes. One of them has issues that isn't eliminated easily.

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25 minutes ago, R_1 said:

Regardless, it doesn't negate the point that the systematic point does increase the frequency of bad apples. Especially years of systematic issues. There's a reason why people would almost always support civilians over those in power in questionable regimes. One of them has issues that isn't eliminated easily.

So if the issue is the system then why do people still call all cops racist? I think the issue here for a lot of people is theyre not seeing both sides on this. Not all cops are racist and not all protestors are rioters, but if we are going to condemn the actions of the police then I think its justified to condemn the acts of rioters instead of ignoring it. Dont get me wrong, I believe you and I want police reform, but violence isnt helping, that's what MLK preached and I stand by him.

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2 minutes ago, Marrow said:

So if the issue is the system then why do people still call all cops racist? I think the issue here for a lot of people is theyre not seeing both sides on this. Not all cops are racist and not all protestors are rioters, but if we are going to condemn the actions of the police then I think its justified to condemn the acts of rioters instead of ignoring it. Dont get me wrong, I believe you and I want police reform, but violence isnt helping, that's what MLK preached and I stand by him.

I don't think people are ignoring riots. Most people actually view riots as separate from the peaceful protests because nothing prevents people from attempting to discredit the position of protesters by destroying things, and having armed people in response can actually escalate. That has happened against left-wing and the right-wing protests. That should be noticed, but there are people that would conveniently ignore nuances. If one wants to discredit say, a pro-life protests, what to stop a hypothetical set of people from looking like they're in, and then destroying properties, and then outsiders will call them rioters and actually pro-birth pro-death people?

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34 minutes ago, R_1 said:

I don't think people are ignoring riots. Most people actually view riots as separate from the peaceful protests because nothing prevents people from attempting to discredit the position of protesters by destroying things, and having armed people in response can actually escalate. That has happened against left-wing and the right-wing protests. That should be noticed, but there are people that would conveniently ignore nuances. If one wants to discredit say, a pro-life protests, what to stop a hypothetical set of people from looking like they're in, and then destroying properties, and then outsiders will call them rioters and actually pro-birth pro-death people?

Thats the part that does concern me though, you think that, but the more people I talk to about this the more I meet that completely ignore the riots and violence or the side that justify it. The media doesnt help either in this, only showing bad cops and downplaying violence caused by radicals to fuel the fire, but their in it for the cash anyways so I doubt it'll change. 

 

(Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think your talking about imposter rioters)

That's the thing though, we'll never know. It could very well be imposters, but we'll never be able to tell. One of the things that I think BLM should do (its one of the reasons I'm not a fan of them) is they should come out and condemn these rioters themselves. It's self destructive and makes more problems than it solves. So if there were to be another riot then you could seperate it from the group and be like "Hey, thats not are message".

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On 7/24/2020 at 6:25 PM, Mackenzie Holiday said:

Do you think the peaceful protests should be given more attention than they’ve been getting?

Yes I do, but ironically speaking, the peaceful protestors are getting a slight taste of what it is like to be a black male in a city and labeled a threat, before any dialogue is had.

 

The majority are good. Obviously no harm is meant, when you consider the volume of families that make the trek. Kids.

 

Yet, they unfairly have to bear the weight of the actions for a mere minority which share their same appearance.

 

Being a black male, this has been my entire life.

 

Me with braids and a sweater, is me up to no good. Potentially about to commit a crime, around the wrong police officer.

 

Also an irony that all cops aren't bad, either.

 

You can't push forth that narrative, then get mad when its pushed onto you.

 

I don't feel bad for the peaceful protesters getting a bad rap as a result. You should aggressively denounce those hijacking your movement. There is no need for it. No place.

 

Organizers should do the same.

 

If this is the case, then the case can be made that peaceful protesters should be separated from the bad. Silence is acceptance. Same reason cops are painted with the same brush, until that silence and protection of your brothers in blue, is removed.

 

I have zero fear of calling out someone with my skin color pulling bullshit acts, and playing the victim. Peaceful protesters need to man up and call the rioters what they are. Terrorists. Rioters.

 

Make it clear. You're not welcome.

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Going to state this in case someone tries to use the argument that peaceful protests aren't protected by the United States constitution.

 

The First Amendment debunks any such claims made.

 

Quote

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

 

🔗 www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment

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Just now, Arodash said:

I dont think anyone is saying peaceful protest isnt allowed

It tends to have a tendency to show up from time-to-time whenever this subject arises. Not taking any chances and putting it out there before anything starts.

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14 hours ago, gisiebob said:

Ok, but that doesnt answer my question why cops are all being called racist. In the videos for that test there are those that are obedient and those who question it; everyone reacts differently to authority. Just because the system is racist doesnt mean a cop is inherently racist elsewhere.

 

On a side note, you do realize this test can be used on BLM as well, right? If an organzier starts chanting to "burn the city down" will people listen because black lives matter or will they think about the after math and the people they hurt? Theres also the mob mentality factor, but I digress.

 

Point im trying to make here is that there is a gray area to this. Not all cops are racist and not every protestor is evil, however I think we should still condemn all forms of violence whether it be a cop or a protestor.

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13 minutes ago, Marrow said:

Just because the system is racist doesnt mean a cop is inherently racist elsewhere.

Someone who chooses to join a racist system and doesn't actively fight to make it less racist is perpetuating racism. Just idly standing by while racism happens around you isn't enough, even if you yourself aren't the one killing or locking up black people.

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1 hour ago, Salmakia said:

Someone who chooses to join a racist system and doesn't actively fight to make it less racist is perpetuating racism. Just idly standing by while racism happens around you isn't enough, even if you yourself aren't the one killing or locking up black people.

So what about PoCs that vote republican? They get called traitors and other vile slurs because they voted for the "wrong" party. What about that black Seattle cop that was called slurs by protestors? This racism is rarely condemned and you would think it would, but I guess some people are "Just idly standing by while racism happens...". 

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