Here at Berkeley, we are all working towards our second major Protesting Studies, where firsthand experience is a necessity and books are useless. Most of us, if not participate, have at least watched a protest here at Berkeley, concerning topics from immigrant rights to tuition hikes to Milo Yiannopoulos. All of these have had varying rates of success. However, in recent times, protests have been getting out of hand. And I don't mean just the Milo one.
There is a time and place for everything. Many times, protesters have been choosing the wrong time and the wrong place. After Trump was elected, protests left the streets and went onto the freeways. I'm sorry, but if you're running across the freeway acting like hooligans and you get hit by a car, you don't have my sympathy. All that is accomplished is irritating the very people that you seek to be recognized by. This has happened more than once, including several protests in the Los Angeles area. Just because the First Amendment gives you the right to free expression does not mean that you should exercise it at all times. Just because you have a right does not mean you should exercise it without thought.
I recognize that protests are supposed to be controversial in order to get attention. But there is a fine line between being controversial and just being plain annoying. For instance, take the viral video that went around recently of Black Lives Matter protesters holding a rally inside of a library. A library. Disrupting students studying is not going to help their agenda. All they look like are self-centered individuals who are willing to scream and shout about an issue that, quite frankly, no one in a library really cares about while they are at the library.
So what is the right way to protest? Obtain protester permits. Write to officials. Send in letters and petitions in order to get your voices heard. Protest peacefully and on the side instead of getting right in people's faces. Write articles, get on radio stations, get on TV. Use social media. There are so many ways to get the word out besides bothering the majority of the people who may be on your side but are irritated by your antics.
