I can’t really count how many demonstrations I have covered over the years as a reporter. Dozens is certainly not enough. Scores is closer, but still runs short.
Hundreds? Well, that depends on what you mean by a demonstration. We’ll get to that later.
My point is that, amazingly, demonstrations are the one thing that Republican officials and Democratic officials really agree on. Deep in their heart, certainly. But, not the way you think.
What they all agree on is that demonstrations are good, as long as the demonstrators are demonstrating for something they want, or against someone they want to defeat in the polls.
Now, every politician knows the right to demonstrate - let’s call it public assembly - is guaranteed by the Constitution. Anti-war protesters and anti-racist demonstrators have exactly the same right as pro-war protesters and pro-racist demonstrators.
Pro-racist? Remember the ACLU going to court in 1977 to support a neo-Nazi group who planned to march through Skokie, a Chicago suburb where one out of every six Jewish residents was a Holocaust survivor or was closely related to one. Local officials denied them a permit. The ACLU sued and won.
Ancient history? Well, only a few weeks ago, a teenager who organized a Black Lives Matter protest in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey was billed $2,500 for police overtime, The bill was later rescinded after pubic outcry and threats of lawsuits over violating her Constitutional rights. What rights? The fact that you can’t limit public protests only to the people who can afford to pay thousands of dollars to hold one.
Which gets me back to my point. There are some demonstrations we all love, things that are supported by Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives alike. A Fourth of July parade. A Christmas Tree lighting at Rockefeller Center, a menorah lighting in all the towns and villages that also have a Christmas Tree lighting and have a Jewish population, not to mention the annual Strolling of the Heifers in Vermont.
Then there are political parades. At least there were a long time ago. Torchlight parades for Abraham Lincoln eventually faded, and were replaced by torchlight parades by the Nazis in Germany and - believe it or not - by the Klan in the United States. One more black mark on the sometimes forgetful longing for the Good Old Days.
But, let’s get back to recent history, and my view of demonstrations. Everyone likes demonstrations, of course. The question is where to hold them.
Four or five people picketing a school or town hall isn’t worth bothering about. But make it 40 or 50, and suddenly the mayor they are complaining about or the school superintendent who is uncomfortable has a problem to deal with.
Not their message, of course. Those officials would never interfere with the people’s right to assemble. Just don’t do it here. Don’t come onto private property - and the school and the town hall are considered private property - and if it is a union, don’t come onto my business either.
There have been offers, many times over, to let demonstrators peacefully protest in a nice public park three or four miles away, where no one will see them. They can certainly be on a public street, but don’t block driveways, and don’t just stand there. Keep walking.
Student demonstrations, anti-war protests, pro and anti-abortion rallies have all encountered problems in the past. For police, it’s mostly a no-win situation. Keep order. Keep the peace. Keep protesters and counter-protesters apart.
The only way things really fall apart is when the police on the ground are seen as taking sides. That’s why one video of police driving past a 17-year-old with an assault rifle who just killed two people is so bad. People who side with the demonstrators will think all police are against them.
And don’t forget that there is always a point to a protest. People don’t like something, and feel that no one is doing anything about it. Now I am not suggesting mob rule will ever get our nation anywhere, but not even being able to discuss a problem with half the country is not a good thing.
And, if your response to a big demonstration is to ask “what do they want” you really aren’t listening.
Name calling will only get you so far in this world. Unless, of course, you are really good at it. Then you can become a commentator and repeat the same lies over and over again, and make millions.
On that point, I was amazed to see that President Trump wouldn’t even talk about the reasons for one recent protest in Wisconsin. A police shooting was not the point for him, only the reaction to it.
It seems law and order is becoming a staple of President Trump’s campaign. Which is not a bad thing. Just add two words to the slogan - law and order and pardons. And, he gets to keep 10 per-cent of any of the books about him.
Don’t like that idea? Well, you can always get a group and protest. I know some nice islands in the Pacific where you could do it every day.
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