The most recent was the horrible terrorist attack by a wacko in Las Vegas with a large cache of automatic weapons and ammunition. But this is not the appropriate time to talk about our gun laws. It wasn't the right time after Orlando, Sandy Hook, Charleston, Columbine, and dozens of other tragic shootings.
When NFL players knelt or sat during our national anthem, that was not the proper time or venue to protest.
When unarmed people, usually Black males, are killed by police, we shouldn't rush to judgment and protest.
When you protest the glorification of Confederate leader's statues all over the South, you are trying to obliterate (white) history.
We can go back decades on this issue. When Rosa Parks wouldn't give up her seat on the bus, that was the wrong approach. Blacks should never have disrupted the white lunch patrons at the Woolworth's lunch counter by doing a sit-in. Martin Luther King should never have marched in southern, segregated, cities. The students at Kent State University deserved to be killed for protesting the Vietnam War and refusing to follow National Guard directions. The protesters at the Democratic convention in Chicago were just asking to be clubbed by out of control police.
It seems to always be the protester's fault. They just don't seem to know when, where, or how to protest. Of course, the real issue is that they are protesting something that is not actually a real problem.
Here's the deal, if the majority of the country agreed with the protesters, there would probably be no need to protest. If most of the country thought racial discrimination was a problem and wrong in 1960, MLK wouldn't have needed to march. Rosa Parks wouldn't have had to defy the bus driver. If many Black athletes didn't feel the system was still prejudiced they wouldn't be kneeling during the national anthem.
The LGBT community shouldn't show up at Columbus Day or St. Patrick's parades because they are traditional events and family-friendly celebrations. Apparently, LGBT people don't have families or as some think, shouldn't be allowed to have families.
The only way protesters get any attention is when they make a large segment of the population uncomfortable or inconvenience them. Sitting at the Woolworth's counter wouldn't have much impact at midnight. Rosa Parks would never have caused a stir except that it was evening rush hour and white folks wanted a seat. You have to get people's attention. The NFL players got traction because millions watch the games on Sundays and then Trump personally challenged them.
Some protests get out of hand and cause damage or injuries. That is just like what is being protested, the protested actions sometimes cause damage and injuries, often times deaths.
If you are on the protesting side of the issue, it is almost always the right time and place to protest. If you don't agree, there is no appropriate time, place, or venue for the protests. In fact, there is no reason to be protesting.
This country was founded on protest. The second amendment supporters say they need their weapons in case the government gets out of hand. The Confederate states protested against the Union and many still honor their effort.
As long as we are a free speech country, there will always be protests. There is no right or appropriate time, just as there is no wrong or inappropriate time. The protesters get to decide. That is the free speech part of the equation.
If you see injustices, now is the right time to protest in whatever way you feel appropriate. My way today is to publish a blog.
wjh
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