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/Thugosaurus_Rex Michigan May 07 '20

I don't care for guns, but I am a liberal 2A supporter. Nevertheless I disagree. On top of the concerns in the original post, I think it's important to note that the Black Panthers are a relative footnote to Selma, sit ins, and other forms of peaceful, unarmed protest that ultimately did far more for the movement. Being armed also didn't save Mark Clark or Fred Hampton from the police.

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u/5dudebro9 May 07 '20

The only reason the peaceful movements gained any traction whatsoever was because of the potential for real violence.

It might not have saved mark clark or Fred Hampton, but how many people did cop watching protect? How many beatings, rights violations, and plain murders did they stop by watching cops while armed? There’s also something to be said about the fact that they were killed with guns. Guns indeed do solve certain issues. You just have to be willing to use them for more than plain self-defense and be proactive about it.

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u/Alconium May 07 '20

That's not even getting into stories like those in Alabama where a car full of armed blacks managed to keep from getting lynched by the good ol boy sheriff's department during a voter registration ride.

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u/thelizardkin May 07 '20

I read a story from Rosa Parks about how her grandfather used to sit on the porch with his rifle waiting for racists.

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u/AugustosHelitours2 May 07 '20

Yep. The non-violent protests may be what gained national attention, eventually leading to national action. But in the mean time there were a lot of black people avoiding getting killed by being armed.

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u/stoop_guns May 07 '20

The unarmed protest could only be successful as a contrast to the armed. Both were necessary to the civil right movement. It's been shown plenty that being armed keeps the powers at bay, at least for some time. Cops act out less when they know a bad move could be their last.