Protesting vs. rioting

Anonymous - Junior / Anonymous - Senior | Opinions

Protesting is an inalienable right provided by the U.S. constitution. The citizens of the United States have used protesting to incite change within the American government for hundreds of years. The events of Jan. 6, on the other hand, were an attack on democracy along with the right to protest.

The difference between protesting and rioting lies mainly in meaning and motive. When people's voices remain unheard for too long, rioting is much more likely to occur. Obviously this has happened on both sides of the aisle, but when far-right extremists stormed the Capitol, it made their motive to dismantle democracy clear.

The events that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021 were far from a peaceful protest. Under battle flags, hundreds of people stormed the Capitol. These self-proclaimed “protestors” assaulted multiple police officers, shouted threats at leaders in both parties, raided multiple rooms in the Capitol building, and even stole Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s computer.

The difference between protesting and rioting is critical. President Trump’s comments before and during the insurrection did little to discourage the protestors from storming the Capitol. Post-insurrection, Trump commented on the insurrection in a Twitter video:"We have to have peace. So go home. We love you; you're very special."

During the BLM protests, Trump said, “These anarchists, not protesters, are Biden voters, but he has no control and nothing to say. Disgraceful. Never seen anything like it. Thugs!”

There's a difference between informed individuals who peacefully protest and those who willingly harm American democracy. The people who stormed the Capitol building were ill-informed and influenced by outside conspiracies such as QAnon, which is a far-right conspiracy theory based around the idea that world leaders run a sex-trafficking ring. The conspiracy was created by internet trolls and Russians seeking to interfere with American politics.

Trump has supported QAnon messages at least 265 times by retweeting or mentioning 152 Twitter accounts affiliated with the conspiracy. While people crown President Trump for exposing fake media, his hypocrisy becomes more and more clear. The conspiratorial foundation of the insurrection is the difference between its beginning and the BLM riots’.

Protestors publicly express their response and feelings toward an event -- a prime example being the unjust murder of George Floyd. Raiding the Capitol to defend a sexist, racist, narcissistic president, who made multiple lies about voter fraud, is incomparable to protests like the Black Lives Matter movement, which attempts to end systematic racism. Though raiding the Capitol made many ignorant men and women feel brave, they have proved themselves as cowards.