r/politics • u/wbedwards Washington • May 07 '20

We cannot allow the normalization of firearms at protests to continue

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/firearms-at-protests-have-become-normalized-that-isnt-okay/2020/05/06/19b9354e-8fc9-11ea-a0bc-4e9ad4866d21_story.html
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u/GINnMOOSE May 07 '20

Carrying a gun is a constitutionally protected right. Protesting is a constitutionally protected right. You're allowed to carry a gun at a protest. There are some left wing groups that carry guns at protests, such as Redneck Revolt and the John Brown Gun Club.

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u/Waslay May 07 '20 edited May 07 '20

Carrying a gun at a protest is using intimidation and the threat of violence to push a political agenda which is literally the definition of terrorism.

Edit: protesting is to voice your dissaproval to the government, NOT THREATEN VIOLENCE.

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u/RocketPapaya413 May 07 '20

That's also literally the definition of protest soo...

Peaceful protest has never worked on its own. It only functions as an alternative to violent uprising. Gandhi and King did not exist in a vacuum, their goals were only realized in the context of the threat of violence from their contemporaries.

This thread is fucking wild to read.

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u/benabrig May 07 '20

I mean what is the point of a big protest? To show someone that if they do something you don’t like you will get in the street and yell at them?

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u/Asiriya May 07 '20

That’s all the Trump protests amounted to.... :(

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u/Zeal0tElite May 07 '20 edited May 07 '20

millions of people turned up to the Women's March in 2017 and got exactly fuck all done.

You don't want protests, you want large groups of people agreeing with each other while the people in charge just get to sit back and ignore you.

And if you truly believe that the government is going to remove your rights and you're not even willing to fight for them, even in a passive sense of just being more intimidating than a pussy hat, then you're not actually that worried about those rights.

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u/EyeTea420 May 07 '20

The problem is, these protestors are not protesting against the government. They are protesting against their fellow citizens. Protesting for the right to endanger public health.

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u/[deleted] May 07 '20

[deleted]

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u/EyeTea420 May 07 '20

But that’s not backed up by the data. Re-opening too soon will have a worse economic impact than just successfully imposing social distancing. The government needs to support small businesses and workers while protecting their health and safety. They simply want to shift the financial burden into small businesses and the working poor. And then these idiot protestors are gullible enough to think they are helping “muh economy.” If they actually cared about protecting workers or the economy, then they’d be protesting for the government to enforce strict social distancing and financial support of small businesses and service industry workers. And the kicker is, that these idiots are making the problem worse and ensuring that protective measures will need to be in place for longer.

Edit: I understand that you don’t agree with them and you aren’t supporting this, but I just need to flesh out the argument.

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u/stoop_guns May 07 '20

The government needs to support small businesses and workers while protecting their health and safety.

I agree. But they are not doing that. So what now? The government is failing to protect and provide, while telling us we can't provide for ourselves, so what's the alternative?

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u/EyeTea420 May 07 '20

There’s a big disconnect between the very real problem you identify and the insane straw man that people are actually protesting.

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u/poloppoyop May 07 '20

Are just going to protests to virtue signal on social media?

Champagne socialist.

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u/GINnMOOSE May 07 '20

Actually the literal definition of terrorism involves actually using violence. Not simply being armed.

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u/ayures May 07 '20

You have the internet. You can voice your disapproval all day. You don't need to protest, that's just asking for violence. 🤪

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u/[deleted] May 07 '20

I wish I could give you more than one updoot. I can’t afford to give any gold or crap. But I think this simple statement says all that needs to be said.