Emotionality and Ignorance and Lack of Critical Thinking Rules the Day…again.
No. I’m not talking about the cops.
 
This article is written in response to a video which you can watch here. It portrays the behavior of Seattle residents responding to a permitted rally organized by the “Patriot Prayer” group, from Vancouver WA. I suggest you watch the video, then come back. And, yes. There are also links, below, to an actual speech by the group’s organizer, as well as other direct quotes from their Facebook Page and the speech itself.
 
Q: WHY are these “supposedly” peaceful protesters being so very violent and threatening toward fellow Seattleites who happen to work for the Seattle Police Department?
A: Because they don’t understand how things work.
 
(1) Who created this situation? Really…answer that question, first. Ah…the city. Yes, people. The city makes permitting decisions…then, the police are put in the position of defending and protecting whoever the city gave a permit to. Right?
 
(2) So, why scream at the police for doing what they can to prevent the fevered pitch of the crowd from turning into a violent attack on the “Patriot Prayer” group which arranged to lead this permitted and legal rally long before violence erupted in VA?
 
(3) Free Speech is a double edged sword. YOU get to say what you want, and OTHERS get to say what they want. There is a fine line between free speech and hate speech. So far, I haven’t come across any evidence of hate speech from the permitted group holding this rally. (If you have such evidence, please share.)
 
(4) Reminder: The Seattle Police Department is obligated, required, paid and hired to protect lawful citizens engaging in lawful activities. You got a problem with this? GO TO THE CITY PERMITTING OFFICE.
 
(5) Hating the police is DUMB. Let me say that again. DUMB, DUMB, DUMB, DUMB, DUMB, DUMB. We need the police as our allies. Period. The day they truly turn on us, will be a dark, dark day.
 
(6) We MUST make allies within our domestic peace keeping forces. This means convincing the “good cops” to remain good and to love and trust and care about the average citizen they have power over. The behavior exhibited in this video is NOT how you do that, and while they are extremely good at maintaining their cool while ignorant citizens whine and scream and insult and taunt and threaten and shout in their faces…that doesn’t mean such behavior is acceptable or honorable.
 
(7) In fact, treating police in this way is cowardly. Because it is easy and cheap and safe to yell at someone who is literally required (by their commanding officer) to basically put up with it. You don’t need to be gutsy or brave to shout at disciplined police officers who are managing a crowd, do you? BUT, consider the long term consequences of the anger they hold inside during these moments of frustration and unfair treatment by those they risk their lives to protect every day…and ask yourself: “Who may be injured when a police officer finally snaps?” Police work is HARD. If you don’t know that, then you really aren’t paying attention or using that noggin of yours.
 
(8) Duh. Some people in uniform do terrible things and commit awful crimes. But, as this footage shows, so many of them endure ridiculous behavior by immature citizens who take pot shots at “men and women in blue,” and many, many, many people in every police department are good and doing their absolute best. But, they are still human. So ask yourself AGAIN, “Why make it more likely that they will snap? And who will suffer, when they do?”
 
BY THE WAY, HERE IS THE DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT:
***Patriot Prayer Large Event***
Seattle is running our state with a pedophile as a mayor.
The West Coast has slowly been infected with communist ideologies throughout our entire culture. It is a belief that the individual is weak and that we are all victims. This is the lie of the century. No matter who you are, we are all amazing people with the ability to do anything that we put our minds to. These liberal strongholds run off of hatred and negativity. Patriot Prayer will bring in a positive message to Seattle that the people are starving for. With light we will change the hearts and minds of those who are surrounded by darkness. Live music and motivational speakers to promote freedom, free speech, and the power of the human soul.

WELL…
(A) The mayor has been accused of pedophilia by four (4) men. The verdict is still out, but it is possible that the accusations are true. We don’t know. The courts will decide.
 
(B) The rest of this event description is the opinion of a group, worded in a relatively positive way. These folks are worried about political thinking that they consider to be communist-leaning. They are worried that people are being viewed as victims and weak. They are concerned about the hatred and negativity which self-described liberal-progressives HAVE been expressing A LOT over the past couple of years. They want to bring a positive message, focused on freedom, free speech and the power of the human soul. All of this is perfectly legal in a free society, and I don’t even see anything that verges on immorality. This group is, in a word, NOT the same as the “Unite the Right” group that rallied in Virginia, triggering an outburst of violence and vehicular murder.
 
(C) If Seattle’s truly peace-loving liberal/progressives were to show up and LISTEN, and then respond with unified song or chants AFTER certain ideas were expressed which were deemed to be hate-speech…this would be appropriate. But, the “pitchfork army” that decided, in advance, that they hate this group and are going to destroy their access to freedom of speech through violence…IS NOT OUR FRIEND. Honestly, I doubt any of them know anything at all about this group they’ve shown up to protest against. Research, people! Do. Your. Own. Research. 
 
Only non-violence works. To change the minds of people, we must BE the change we want to see in the world. Lowering ourselves to the level of those we oppose is absolutely counter-productive. Want to learn more about Kingian Nonviolence? Click here!
 
Did you miss the rally? If so, are you judging it based upon media hearsay and rumors? How about we go to the source? Click here to view the speech given yesterday by the young activist who helped organize this rally.
 
This man’s viewpoint is actually pretty darn brilliant. I don’t 100% agree, but that doesn’t bother me. I agree with enough of what he said to want to call him up and say, “Hey. If you really were being honest, then we’ve got things in common. How can we work together on the issues we agree on?”
 
THIS IS WHAT A PLURALISTIC SOCIETY NEEDS TO HAVE HAPPEN. PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER. WHY? BECAUSE…TOGETHER…THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN NOT DO.
 
This man’s “awakening” to activism was heavily impacted by the violence which has been perpetrated by so-called liberal/progressives against Trump Supporters. Proof that those who use hate and violence to “supposedly support peace” are simply making the situation far, far worse. And quite possibly on purpose. The time has come for us to NOT REACT OR RESPOND until we’ve done our gosh darn research. 
 
Quote from the video: “It came from the elite, to brainwash all of us. But it’s not just on the left. Political correctness is a big problem, even in our own little movement that we have going on here. The Republicans, the conservatives, the libertarians, everybody is getting so triggered, because someone disagrees with you. Because someone is different from you. We are having a hard time accepting people who are different, and just letting bygones be bygones, and just coming together. Okay? …. It boils down to us just being good people to one another.”
 

Tell me how this is a bad message?

Final Notes:

(1)  According to The Seattle Times, “Leaders of the Patriot Prayer group — among them Joey Gibson, left — gave the microphone to anyone who had something to say Sunday. “I’m not right-wing. I’m not a conservative. I just believe in the Constitution, and I believe in freedom,” Gibson told the crowd.” YET, right before that, The Seattle Times makes the claim that a young man, who wished to lead a #BlackLivesMatter chant (which is beautiful and true and absolutely vital for our nation to fully back up and support) “took the stage” from the Patriot Prayer group.

(2)  Question: How can these two statements be true? Is The Seattle Times trying to stir up emotions by suggesting that Arthur Ford used violence to “take the stage” by force? Only to negate themselves with the very next sentence, where they acknowledge the “stage sharing” approach of the rally? It’s a question worth getting an answer to, as it suggests that (as always) mainstream media is trying to stir up trouble, rather than report honestly and objectively.

(3)  I am still doing research. I will learn more about this group. And, I will come back to give an update, if what I learn is significantly different from what I’ve learned so far. However, in the meantime, I encourage every human being on earth to spend more time listening, researching, questioning and behaving in an admirable and constructive manner…and far less time reacting with violence or based upon assumptions.

Credits:

Photo by Ken Lambert, The Seattle Times
Video of Protest:  Chelsea Lyons
Video of Rally Speech:  Joey Gibson