To Make Our Point
— Posted by Elizabeth (March 6, 2010 at 3:07 pm)
I was listening to the radio the other day, and heard a brief news report about college students protesting a budget cut, the story ending with, “fifteen people were arrested”. I wasn’t surprised. In fact it seems like in any protest there are always rowdy protestors or damage of property that goes along with it.
It seem that I hear stories like these a lot: “Anti-gun rally in Chicago, six people arrested”, “Police break up anti-war protest, take demonstrators away in handcuffs”, or “Environmental protest ends with fights, multiple arrests”.
But in the Pro-life movement, our protests and rallies are prayerful and peaceful. Arrests are virtually nonexistent. This year’s March for Life was estimated to have included around 300,000 to 400.000 protestors. What other cause could organize a protest that big, and pull things off without an incident?
Obviously, we know violence is never a legitimate solution to a problem. And being peaceful can send an even more powerful a message than causing a disturbance of the peace. For example, who is going to give any respect to the protestors calling for world peace, who go and vandalize property and cause huge disturbances?
So, to make our point, we are peaceful yet unwavering. Our message of love and forgiveness has won former abortion supporters over to our side. And our cause will triumph because of the witness we give to the world.
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R.M. Schultz says:
As a pro-life communist, I have been to my share of both right-wing and leftist protests and I have to take issue with your post. While it is true that there are hooligans at SOME leftist protests, there are also hooligans at many right-wing protests, but the way police deal with them is very different. While I have often seen perfectly peaceful leftists dragged off by cops on the slightest of pretexts, I have also seen the police tolerate high levels of vandalism, abuse, and heckling from rightists. When the last war with Irak began, marchers assembled spontaneously (and peacefully) in downtown Chicago. They then marched for several blocks before the police cut them off and began arresting people arbitrarily and without cause. And you are right, such a thing would never happen to a pro-life demonstrator, but that’s not just because they are peaceful, it’s because the cops are on their side.
Comment posted March 6th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
+Tom R. says:
R.M.
The police can be unbiased or biased in any direction, left or right. It depends on the jurisdiction and the personal beliefs in the leadership of the police, as well as, the prosecutors, politicians, press, general powers that be in the local community. These are the people that make the decisions and whether or how to deploy various forces. They also control the budgets for such things. Large scale unfairness rarely originates with the cop on the beat…it comes from the top.
You are right about hooligans being present in every movement. Thought they seem to be more attracted to some groups over others. I wish they could just stick to common street gangs and such.
Comment posted March 6th, 2010 at 10:06 pm