I am grateful for the peaceful protesters, who stood against the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and others in Berkeley, Boston, Charlottesville and elsewhere. I admire their courage and will forever honor the beautiful soul of Heather Heyer, who gave her life in this struggle.
As the stakes get higher, so must the thought that goes into such protests. There must be responsible leaders and there must be responsible ground rules:
1. Folks wearing masks however, fashionable, cute or necessary to avoid arrest for prior convictions, should be banned. Don’t let them hijack the movement. Some of these folks, regardless of who they think they are, are just a subset of the fascists anyway.
2. “Peaceful” protesters who attack or are about to launch an attack on the fascist/neo-Nazist/racist counter-demonstrators should be physically subdued. Oops!! Sorry, that’s not the image I meant. I was thinking of those moving aggressively, being surrounded and, having the space in which they can move, blocked in by those with strong bodies but peaceful minds. The trouble makers could then be turned over to the police.