Protesting the way we protest

The last week has brought a lot of attention to our area, for better or for worse. And because of a crowd of selfish people who hijacked what started off as a peaceful post-presidential election protest, Portland has been thrown onto the world stage in an unflattering light.

When the way a group presents a message eclipses the message itself, we have a problem. In the world we live in, we tend to be drawn to flashy, dramatic displays to prove a point, or to show the world what we believe – much like a child holding her breath until she turns blue in an attempt to get her way, when she wants a puppy, or something. We as adults can find ourselves doing basically the same thing if we have something we want, or in this case don’t want, enough to turn our collective faces deep shades of blue.

The recent episodes in Portland are a prime example of this. In this case, we had a group of (mostly) level-headed people who didn’t get their way so they threw a tantrum, destroying property and causing mayhem under the guise of “protest.” There is a right way to protest, and a wrong way to protest,  and this was surely not the former.

As of midweek, Portland police had arrested roughly 115 people in connection to the protest events, a large portion of whom, it turns out, couldn’t even vote in Oregon. It looks as though a large group of people basically hijacked the protests from the original, and respectful participants. Normally in these situations, a group starts out small, grows and then violent sentiment spreads. In this instance however, there were fliers initially posted threatening media and citizens against using recording devices, and encouraging protesters to “show your rage” and “yell fuck the police,” ending with the grim words “Consider this a warning.”

This is disappointing, does nothing to help the underlying cause, and actually detracts from it. Now, we’ve all heard the saying “a bad apple spoils the bunch.” Unless we make sure to put a to these stop these bad apples from becoming a part of our legitimate protests, activists or causes we may support won’t accomplish anything.

We have a responsibility as citizens who exercise our rights to free assembly and freedom of speech, to make sure the protests we are a part of don’t cause harm or damage to anyone. If we don’t take the burdens that come with our rights, then our rights are diminished. Journalists were targeted by these anarchist individuals. The very people whose job it is to MAKE SURE the point of view of the protesters was heard had bottles and bricks thrown at them and their equipment trashed.

We at the Advocate believe that unless you are ready to point out the disruptive people you hear, or see, starting to turn your right to protest into an ugly, angry mob, then you’re just as responsible for the destruction and should be arrested right along with those who threw the bottles and bricks.

That being said, we don’t offer just a wagging finger. We have a couple of suggestions to make future protests more successful, and less of a riot. First, everyone needs to make sure that the people who are there to protest are doing so for the right reasons. If there are people wielding bats, and bottles and bricks, that’s a good indicator that they are probably not looking for a nonviolent protest.

Second, if you see someone doing something that could hurt someone or damage property, tell the police. The police generally aren’t there to stop you from making your point, they are there to make sure everyone is safe, and that everyone follows the rules. Basically, the point is that if the police are not your enemy, that shouldn’t be where your focus is. Put your focus where it belongs.  

Lastly, if you’re going to be there to protest something, maybe make sure that the people there are all aware of what you’re protesting and that you’re all protesting the same thing. It doesn’t do much for your message if the world isn’t sure if you’re mad that Trump is going to be president, or that women’s rights are in jeopardy or that racism is still a concern for people. Remember, unified voices echo loudly, but it’s easy for a message to get lost in a sea of issues.

Advocate Staff