Letter: Ways to Protest Safely
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To the Editor:
With hate groups marching in cities across the U.S., it's tempting to attend to show opposition. However, direct confrontation will only escalate tensions. Hate-mongers are always wrong. Let them be wrong a little farther away from you in order to de-escalate the cycle a bit.
I fear we're heading toward more intense violence at protests in the U.S. and even possibly civil war (sounds far-fetched, I know, but it wouldn't take much).
The Southern Poverty Law Center released a guide titled "Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Response Guide."
To reduce the chance of violence:
"Do not attend a hate rally. As much as you might like to physically show your opposition to hate, confrontations serve only the perpetrators. They also burden law enforcement with protecting hate-mongers from otherwise law-abiding citizens. If an event featuring a hate group, avowed separatist or extremist is coming to your college campus, hold a unity rally on a different part of campus."
Substitute "city" for "campus", and you get what I'm trying to say.
Stay safe, everybody.
Monica Henry-Seifert
Quaker Hill, Conn.
Tags: protests,
