I was involved in a protest one time. It was a time when I felt the system was failing me. It was a time when I believed that authority wasn’t listening to my demands. It was a time when things weren’t going my way. It was 1978, the year I turned nine years old.
I decided to protest against my parents and the strict blanket of rules that was expected to be followed in the Roberts household.
I can remember very well the moment when it came for bedtime and I wasn’t ready to go to bed.
I walked in the living room, stood in front of the television while Daddy was watching “The Rockford Files” and boldly said “I’m not going to bed and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
My parents didn’t think it was cute. They didn’t laugh and snap a picture to show their friends on social media how their child is strong willed with a mind of her own. They didn’t coddle me so that I could prosper.
After I picked myself up off the floor which is where I ended up after doing the circle dance to avoid the leather belt it didn’t take me long to realize that in order to get your message heard, how you deliver that message is the key to being taken seriously.
The riots and demonstrations that are occurring in parts of the United States are disheartening.
I believe in peaceful protests, but when those protests turn into acts of violence, rioting and the destruction and or loss of persons and property, your message is null and void.
What point are you proving? What is the purpose?
It is sad and makes me furious to see people so outraged over the outcome of the election, they feel entitled to go out and destroy property as a way to cope with their loss.
A car dealership in Portland, Oregon had 19 new vehicles vandalized or destroyed following the presidential election last Tuesday night. Numerous other businesses are being vandalized in bigger cities as protestors use violence as a way to “express their anger.”
Your message is lost and not being heard when you stand in the streets acting like hoodlums.
Why? Again? What was the purpose?
Friday morning as I attended the Veterans Day program, to see the faces of our veterans who have served our country stand so proudly for their contribution to America, makes me sad to see some people in our country will never grasp the importance of what a united country truly means.
