"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." - The First Amendment

It can be argued that the first amendment is one of the most important amendments of our constitution. I put it up there in importance with the 13th amendment (abolished slavery), the 15th amendment (gave African American men the right to vote), and the 19th amendment (gave the women the right to vote).

The first amendment protects our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, and our freedom to peacefully assemble. It does not, however, technically give us the right to riot.

By all means, be angry. Make your anger heard. March, raise your voice, be heard. But do so peacefully. By rioting, by destroying property and hurting others, you do the opposite of getting your message across. Because then your message gets overshadowed by the damage you have done.

I completely support protesting. I can even go as far as to say that I encourage it. DO IT!!! I think that people should be able to make themselves heard, and that people should be able to fight for what they believe is right. I respect that, and think that the people who do so are incredible.

If people never protested, imagine how different things may be. Imagine if no one had protested for civil rights, for women's right to vote, or for LGBTQ+ equality...we could be living in a very different world than we are today.

I know that a lot of people feel that with this election, we have taken ten steps backward. And I feel this way, too. However, breaking store windows, setting cars on fire, and hurting others is not the way to make yourself heard or to get your message across.

So yes, please protest. Raise your voice. Use your emotions. Show how you feel. Peacefully.

Actions speak louder than words, and by destroying property and hurting others, you are no better than what you are protesting.