As the country seemed to grow more polarized as the election season wore on, it came as no surprise when Americans awoke November 9 not to find a healed and united nation, but rather crowds of protesters railing against the country they say they have lost.
Weeks later, these demonstrations persist. You may or may not agree with the intentions of these protests (and it is often difficult to discern exactly what those intentions are), but like most Americans, I support their right to voice their opinions. The problem, though, comes when the Constitutionally-protected right to peaceful protest is used as an excuse for disorderly conduct, assault, rioting, and looting.
The First Amendment protects “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Although it remains unclear what the anti-Trump protests aim to achieve, given that they’re in response to a free and fair election, they would remain under the Constitution’s protection so long as they remain peaceful. Protests in Portland, Oregon, however, have turned violent, leading to dozens of arrests. Police state that protesters threw “burning projectiles” at officers, and a separate incident between protesters escalated to a shooting.
The violence seen in these anti-Trump protests mirrors the violence of some of the Black Lives Matter protests we’ve seen in the last few years. Following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, the Black Lives Matter movement gained traction across the country, as people were drawn to the idea of nonviolent resistance to bring about social change. Prior to the court decision, people on both sides of the case held rallies to try to sway public opinion. Ultimately, when the verdict did not go the way that many protesters had hoped, they rioted once again.
Not only do anti-Trump protesters risk arrest and fines when they resort to violence, but they also risk delegitimizing their cause. Leading up to the election, much like in the case of Michael Brown, the majority of the country had been divided along rigid pro-Trump and anti-Trump lines. Therefore, following the election, it stood to reason that a large section of the country would be sympathetic to those protesting a Trump presidency. When protesters are unable to put forth a reasonable list of demands, though, or when their demonstrations deteriorate into violence, they lose the respect of those undecided citizens to whom they hoped to appeal.
There is undoubtedly great power in peaceful protest, such as when Martin Luther King, Jr. marched peacefully to overturn the injustices of racial discrimination. Today’s anti-Trump or Black Lives Matter protesters may see themselves as fighting for an equally worthy cause, but they must first ask themselves what it is they aim to achieve. Once they have answered that question, they must then determine whether or not the worthiness of their cause is reflected in the morality of their actions.