This episode The Right to Protest explores the fundamental American value of protesting which predates America itself. In the face of mounting pressure, is the next generation of voters wiling to stand up for this right? And how far is too far?
This episode The Right to Protest explores the fundamental American value of protesting which predates America itself. As the next generation of voters begin to take to the streets we will explore:
In the face of a system looking to drown us out, are we willing to make our voices heard?
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Hi everybody! I am Riley Daniel and this is the next generation voter-the only podcast of the next gen, by the next gen, for the next gen. Today, I will be talking about an issue that has seen a gargantuan increase in importance over the last two weeks:the right to protest. I will be looking at the legal rights that are guaranteed to protestors as well as those given to police who are tasked with enforcing the laws regarding demonstrations. Then, I will take a look at where we draw the line between protestors and looters, and how the enforcement measures against these two groups vastly differ. Finally, at the end, I will share some advice to anyone who plans on going to a protest.
The right to protest is a freedom established in the first amendment to the constitution which states that the state shall make no law abridging the right of the people to assemble peaceably. The founding fathers recognized that the ability for people to assemble is a fundamental part of a democracy, therefore necessitating its protection. In fact, the Boston Massacre, one of the events that triggered the American Revolution was a unnecessary violent response to an assembly of citizens. The violence used by the british to respond to the protests was one of the factors leading to the need for war. Ever since, Americans have used their right to protest to show their dissatisfaction with various injustices, like when Susan B. Anthony used marches to achieve women’s right to vote, when MLK organized marches to counter segregation and when antiwar protestors demonstrated against the atrocities of the vietnam war which led to Nixon pulling the last vestiges of American troops out. As seen through these historical precedents, when done peacefully, effectively and with structure, they can be tremendous tools to bring about the social change that the demonstrators have been looking for.
In the last two weeks, the number of demonstrations have increased in number by leaps and bounds mainly as a response to one event:the homicide of George Floyd. Floyd, an African-American man was taken into police custody after a grocery store clerk called the police to complain that he suspected Floyd of using a counterfeit $20 bill. The odds are likely that even if the bill he used to pay was counterfeit, he didn’t know because ““Most of the times when patrons give us a counterfeit bill, they don’t even know it’s fake”. Now, the police, instead of undergoing an investigation, immediately arrested Mr. Floyd. Now, instead of detaining him peacefully, as he posed no threat, minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Mr. Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, including for more than two and a half minutes while he was unconscious. His last words ended up being recorded on video as he asked the officer to please let him breathe. As soon as this video was put on the internet, people began to take to the streets in an attempt to recoup justice for the unlawful killing of George Floyd, and to create change in the policies and protocols of police departments across the country in order to prevent the continued use of excessive force against African-Americans.
The day after Floyd’s death, demonstrations began in Minneapolis in St.Paul. By two days later, the protests had spread to cities all across the country, including New York, Houston, Seattle, Boston and Atlanta. In total, there have been hundreds of the thousands of demonstrators, with demonstrations in all 50 states and 18 foreign countries, making the protests this month the largest ever demonstration for civil rights. As the number of protestors continued to rise over the course of the last ten days, as has the amount of chaos. Soon, horrific scenes began to emerge of peaceful protests being overrun with rioters and looters, These outside instigators began to harass and cajole police by launching bottle rockets, throwing stones and setting fires. At this point, the protests began to turn from a matter of the issues at hand to a fight to uphold this sacred first amendment right. Police decided to respond with force by firing rubber bullets and tear gas at the assembled crowds. However, because it was impossible to ascertain as to who was peaceful protestor and who were the looters, the police in many places began beating and gassing the entire crowd. Yes. The police were gassing their own people, who were exercising their constitutional rights with a weapon in tear gas that is currently not even allowed in war. If that does not scare you, i don’t know what will. I absolutely believe that in order to protect themselves, police should be able to respond to dangerous rioters with force. However, to assume that all protestors are guilty of the actions of very few, and therefore exercise violence against them is contrary to the fundamental axiom of the justice system, that people are innocent until proven guilty.
As the tensions have ramped up over the course of the protests, some cops have gone from only using force to protect themselves to using it on any demonstrators without repercussions. In New york and Los Angeles, police officers ran into peaceful demonstrators with squad cars, clearly making no attempt to help deescalate the tensions instead simply committing assault. In Buffalo, NY a 75 year old man was pushed over by police officers, causing him to hit his head on the sidewalk. Not only was this action unprovoked, the officers initially claimed that he had simply fallen and hit his head, before changing their story after the video of the incident was released. In Minneapolis, a resident who was standing on their front porch during demonstrations was hit with paint canisters despite not even being involved in the protests. As you can see from these examples, the police have used the chaos caused by the protests against excessive police brutality to enact more police brutality. Recently, this brutality has gotten even fiercer with the addition of the national guard, which has been called in by several state governors as well as mayors across the country. In many cases, the mere threat of the military has been enough to keep the peace, but in Washington DC, that was not the case. President Trump, in order to cross through a crowd of peaceful protestors who had congregated in the public plaza outside the white house, authorized the use of tear gas, as well the firing of rubber bullets by the DC national guard in order to take a photo at a church across the plaza. Although this move triggered appropriately outraged response, the fact that the national guard was used to violently oppress citizens exercising their first amendment rights, at the behest of the president, is a worrisome thought. The right to protest is a fundamental right to democracy, and the fact that the police and military have been using violence against those exercising this right, proves that the democratic principles of our country are at risk. This is why it is absolutely necessary for our generation to fight for this right, and against any institution that seeks to quash it. I am therefore very happy to have seen pictures and videos of so many members of gen z among the protestors. That being said, as I know that some of you are feeling inspired to protest against this use of excessive force, I decided to prepare some advice for demonstrations in order to help you guys protect your health and safety.
That being said, I really hope that no one is put into a situation where they will be forced to use that last piece of advice. It is absolutely better for both the message being espoused by the protestors and the safety of our communities, people are not detained. That being said, the right to protest is only is as strong as the will of the people to use it. In the face of a threat to this important right, it is our responsibility to exercise it in as safe a way as possible, in order to preserve for the next generation of Americans.