Don't Feed the Beast: Assemble, Don't Riot

People have the right is to peaceably assemble. Check your Bill of Rights. Everyone is so caught up in the Second Amendment, they forget that the right to bare arms is not the cornerstone right of America. Every time there is a protest, people seem to complain about the 'complaining.' Unlike the Second Amendment, the First Amendment is pretty clear.

The First Amendment:

First Amendment. 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.

Not that it does not come with safeguards for the public.

The government can regulate time, place and safety parameters, as long as it is not specifically to do with the content or purpose of the assembly (Right to Peaceful Assembly, Library of Congress).

There have been almost as many protests as there have been Trump tweets, but what the people who are assembling need to remember is that they have an obligation to keep up their end of the bargain. The key word here is 'peaceful.' This is where your impromptu gatherings can turn into a riot. There is  good chance blood is going to get hot and fists and rocks could fly if those gathered are not reminded why they are there.

Once it becomes a riot, the point has been lost. It's one thing to get beaten up by the cops for a cause, but it's a whole other if you provoked it. I'm not saying cops have the right to beat people indiscriminately, but I am saying they have the unfortunate job of maintaining order. If you pose a threat to that, then they can and will subdue you.

My wife and I have been itching to get out there and show support and whatnot, and we even thought about getting our kids involved, to show them what it means to be American. Then I saw a protest at an international airport and they were spraying pepper spray into the crowd. Not every gathering of civic minded people is necessarily going to be civil. It could get to the tipping point where police or protesters feel threatened and then things start flying.

Remember, your goal is to help the country get better, not worse.

Naiive Prometheus

Everyday the world holds hope
and everyday that hope is shattered

Optimistic about the world's
system
people and their
      morals
      empathy
      humanitarianism

But each day, I wake up

Strapped to the rock
     my naiveté is eaten from my heart
     with teeth from the true face of the world

The light stolen, everyday anew
innocence grown only to be devoured

I Don't Like You, and That's Okay

If I am acknowledging and protecting my family from people who could  be harmful,  why do I feel like such a hateful person?  I don’t hate people who voted for Trump,  I just would rather not associate with them.  They have values that are wholly different than mine. I know people can change,  but who am I to change them? I was raised to respect people,  but making the principled decision to not associate with them seems contrary  to that.  

It feels wrong because I have never made that distinction before.  Not that I previously let my kids associate  with bad or misguided people,  but I have never defined them as such.  That and the fact that people who would fall in that category did not spread across such a wide spectrum.  From people I vaguely know to family members. But when I feel that guilt, I need to remember, I don't have to be everyone's friend just because I respect them, or they fit into any other category established by society.

Just because I won’t associate with them does not mean I hate them.  It does not mean I wish them ill will.  Just like I let my kid play at someone’s house because I don’t agree with their parenting style,  I won’t knowingly associate with someone who either hates certain people or condones that hate.  

Whenever I feel like I am not loving my neighbor just because of their beliefs, I think of how the people I have talked to and the people I see online and in the news never seem to show the same consideration or compassion. Do they feel guilt for comparing our former president to a monkey? Do they feel like hypocrites when they realize that less than a year ago, they were still complaining about Obama's birth certificate? Do they realize what kind of person Trump is? (not all Trump supporters have done or said the above things, but the ones who had done or said the above things were his supporters) I can't really answer yes to any of these.

I think that it is natural to not want to be around people who you don't like or with whom you share no common interests or ideologies.

Righteous Hypocrite

I have been thinking about my decision of essentially disowning anyone who voted for Trump. Even though the reasoning is sound, it has grated on my logic bone. How can I claim to be open-minded when I said if you vote for Trump, you either support what he says and the ideologies he puts out there, or you’re too stupid to know any better. I’ve had zero conversations on the topic...no one has come forth and talked to me about it and I’ve approached no one about it either. Not that I don’t want to talk about it, but...well, I don’t. The few times I have talked to people about him, they excuse away what he has said and done; they simply don’t see it that way.

There are people with whom I want to talk about it, but we have never talked politics. I want to know who they voted for, but I also am scared to find out. I don’t want to lump them in with the others who voted for him, but if they didn’t, that would be good news.

I feel like a hypocrite. I catch myself judging people on not being open minded, but then I reassure myself that I am protecting my children from people who hate, or support/condone hate. But that consolation never lasts long and I have to fight away the dirty feeling.

I’m scared. I am disgusted. I am ashamed

Scared

Scared: of the dark;
to sleep;
To dream;
To breathe

I close in
Upon myself
To escape

But everything
I run from
Waits for me

in the dark

Mindless

Thinking, consumed
Eaten by

Gluttonous assumptions
Tailored to

Devour laughter and
Sunshine

Body joins the feast
Tearing into

Reserves of energy,
Sapping it

Infuriated zombie
Hungry

For the thoughts and
Emotions of

Others

Ink

Walk into the wall.

Walk into the wall

Walk into the wall

Fall down the hole
Wrap my arms around nothing

Stab myself in the back
I fall deeper in the black
My eyes bulge to see
Burst from the effort

I sleep.