or with “so-called”* protests or demonstrations are wrong, and that ALL of the perpetrators who are positively identified should be held accountable for their actions, should face the legal consequences that are already set forth by law and statute, regardless of the reasons for the protest or for the “so-called” protest or demonstration.
Physically attacking ANY person during any of these events is especially abhorrent to me, and it doesn’t matter to me if the victim is a private citizen, a public figure, your opponent on the other side of the issue or matter at hand, a counter-protester, a spectator, a passerby, a member of the crowd, a journalist, a homeowner, a business owner, a property owner, a business employee, a law enforcement officer, a spokesperson, an attorney, a politician, or any other human being.
If certain of those positively identified people who committed the illegal acts are sheltered from being arrested, or arrested and not charged, or charged yet released from custody without bail/bond, or case dismissed due to social pressure, then ALL said people should be sheltered from being arrested, or arrested and not charged, or charged yet released from custody without bail/bond, or case dismissed due to social pressure.
The people who stormed the US Capitol Building are just as much in the wrong as any other people who stormed any other building or physically attacked any person or damaged any property or looted any business/home in any other protest, so-called protest, riot, melee, massacre, strike, etc. Focusing on the year 2020 alone, there have been dozens of these that took place all over the United States, some of them were sieges that lasted days, weeks or months. Some people applauded the events as nothing more than expressions of free speech, even though they were accompanied by acts of violence. Still others openly applauded that violence.
Every murder and other physical injury that took place during one of these events is in the hands of the person or people who physically acted it out. Numerous people at the lowest levels of employment lost their minimum-wage jobs when their places of employment were destroyed, and their livelihood tanked because few other options were available. Thousands of homes, businesses, government locations and other property has been part of that destruction, often leaving up to millions of dollars in losses.
I believe that anyone and everyone has a right to disagree and/or protest, but I disagree with any person striking out at any other person or defacing/destroying any property while doing so.
Everything I have stated here is without any regard whatsoever to which side of any issue any person is on, and does not condemn nor support any organization, ideology, dogma, group, subgroup, etc. It is a blanket perspective that covers all, as evidenced by my lack of upholding or vilifying any of the above-named entities, and it is free of name-calling, finger-pointing, blaming, defending, excusing, coddling, or apologizing for any of them. [And above all, I sure hope to heck that I haven’t missed any grammatical errors. You all know how much that gets me. Grrrrrrr.]
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WelbyQuentin 