The primary season of the 2016 presidential race has been trademarked with wacky candidates, colorful insults, and fiery political protests. On both sides of the political arena, angry and passionate Americans have raised their voices to object to various problems facing our nation. Bitter conflicts at these protests have made it clear that our country is more divided than ever before.
What I love more than anything about our country is our natural born right to free speech. Any citizen has the unalienable right to voice their opinion, no matter how unpopular or offensive that opinion may be. And if you don't like what that person has to say, you have every right to protest it! I am all for the right of any person, or any group, to exercise their right to free speech -- peacefully.
Nowadays, people don't seem to understand the concept of a peaceful protest. As the words of Donald Trump have enraged more and more Americans, the number of protests at his rallies has grown exponentially. In the past month, a growing amount of these protests have even grown violent.
Every time I turn on the news, it seems that there is always a breaking news update about a skirmish between Trump supporters and protestors, destruction of property, and other illegal activities. Sadly, it is the type of story that I have almost become accustomed to. But it was what occurred the other day in Albuquerque, New Mexico that caught my attention.
After a Trump rally at the Albuquerque Convention Center, enraged protestors broke past barricades, creating a need for riot police to come and quell the situation. There were reports of shattered glass from the damaged convention center, as it was hit by a pellet gun. In addition, there are reports of demonstrators blocking intersections and doing burnouts in the streets. Violence ensued as protestors assaulted police officers, and their horses, by throwing rocks at them. Multiple people were arrested at the scene.
This is not the first instance of a protest gone rogue. Earlier in April, protestors in California smashed the windows of a police car and attempted to flip it over. Another incident in California resulted in two small girls in the hospital after they were pepper sprayed by an angry protestor.
There have been instances of unrest on the other side as well. Often, when a protestor is escorted out of a Trump rally, there is a collective chant to beat him up. One Trump supporter took to this call himself, and sucker punched a peaceful protestor in the face.
Even as I sit here writing, there is breaking news coverage of violent skirmishes between Trump supporters and anti-Trump protestors after a rally in San Diego. As we get closer and closer to the general election, I can only guess that these stories will become more frequent, and damaging.
Somebody has to step up and say something. I can only hope that one of these candidates, whether it be Trump, Bernie or Hillary, will finally take some ownership for their followers actions and condemn them. Somebody has to be a role model and make it clear that these violent and unlawful actions are not noble and will only lead to more unrest between these opposing sides.
There is a difference between exercising your right to free speech and breaking the law to prove a point. I am all for anyone voicing their opinion no matter what it is. But I am certainly not OK with somebody who feels that it is their within their rights to vandalize property and harm others to further their cause. If one of these candidates wants to be our next leader, they need to act like it and take some responsibility for their followers' actions. The next president needs to step up, be a leader and set an example by firmly condemning the actions of these protestors. Otherwise, all we are doing is setting a precedent for this kind of behavior in future elections.
