Saturday 12 March 2016

The Protest Cycle

Considering Trump is the candidate for anti-establishment protest.

And of course I have an opinion to share.

People will say despicable things. They have a right to say those things. If we suppress that right then they simply think them and fester in anger. Better to hear them said and to know with whom I disagree.

The most disturbing parts of the Trump phenomenon have been the invitations and commendations - sometimes subtle, sometimes not - to violence and intimidation. To ridicule and fear. This is how bad people come to power. This will only work, however, if everybody else stands aside and lets it happen. The forces and law and order first of all, and also the citizens.

A commentator on CNN said it best (sadly I forget her name): this has been going on for months but because Trump was not taken seriously, neither was his outlandish behaviour. Any other candidate would have suffered the consequences of his language.

From this stand point I was glad to see people out protesting the Trump rally. Political rallies are protested all the time, and I was happy to see citizens saying "enough with the violent and hateful rhetoric".

Shutting the rally down?

Not so happy about.

Of course I personally am happy to see Trump destabilised and denied a chance to spew more rubbish. I also realise that is self-centered and somewhat petty of me. Does he have a right to bring his followers together, and stand on a podium, and say stupid things? Yes, he does have that right.

And let's not forget: people are reactionaries. 

So continue to protest, and certainly always - citizens, media and police - highlight his incentives to violence and hatred, every single one of them.

That's all I have on that.

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