Protests Are Mass Temper Tantrums That Benefit No One

Protesting that obstructs the flow of traffic or becomes chaotic makes no sense to me. How is it that the motivating element is typically the desire to stop hate or incite change, yet the actions people choose to convey their frustrations end up being disruptive and often violent? What happened to two wrongs don't make a right? Seriously, I cannot get behind people who think that causing inconvenience and creating an atmosphere of malcontent will bring about any change for what they claim to represent.

Gathering with others who are fed up with some injustice by carrying signs, obstructing traffic and being generally unruly doesn't convey the message that was likely intended. Unity, real and effective, isn't created out of mob mentality. These protests that impact the livelihood of others — people who may also be outraged by events of late, only serve to further divide us as a society. How does blocking a roadway call the kind of attention that promotes change forth? These human roadblocks prevent the injured/sick from getting the care they need in a timely manner, cause undo stress for those who are trying to make a living and completely distract attention from the cause they claim to be representing.

I had to hide a number of video clips from my newsfeed last night because a throng of misguided activists chose to display their temper tantrum on a completely innocent and unconnected public. Their gathering claimed to be in support of Black Lives Matter, and while that might have been the initial intent, all they succeeded in doing was disrupting the peace and costing the city money because extra law enforcement was needed.

All lives matter. There are awful people in the world who disregard that fact on a daily basis. It isn't right and yes, that needs to change. Taking the frustration we feel out on our fellow man with these protests doesn't bring about that change. It creates more problems than solutions. This anger and outrage would be better applied to actually doing something proactive. As individuals, we can change how we treat others, join together and create peaceful, lasting change without discord and chaos. Fostering tolerance, acceptance, and unity cannot be done by standing in a roadway, shouting, chanting and attempting to push back vehicles of people trying to get to their destination.

Be upset about wrongful deaths. Injustice is wrong and we do need to work together to change it. Work together, not band together in a throng that has no positive purpose. If we want to draw attention to a cause that will effect real change, we need to stop taking actions that completely distract that focus from the real matter.