Protest isn’t peaceful

The No Kings Day protests were inspiring. Millions turned out in thousands of protests in large cities and small towns, blue states and red states. All with a clear message: Our country rejects corrupt totalitarianism.

But a mistake a lot of us make (including me) is to call these protests “peaceful.” They were certainly non-violent, and the only violence that happened was instigated by the police or outside attackers. But we must understand that protest isn’t peaceful.

Those in charge don’t relinquish power willingly if you ask nicely enough. Power has to be wrested from them with continuous, unrelenting pressure. It’s risky, uncomfortable, and dangerous.

The last part was made tragically clear with two incidents. The first was the assassination of Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband and the attempted assassination of State Senator John Hoffman. The second was a shooting at the No Kings march in Salt Lake City. Look at the history of any mass movement for freedom — workers’ rights, civil rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights. All of them have had losses of life. Sometimes, substantial losses.

The same danger exists in our current struggle against tyranny. We are not only trying to wrest power from billionaires and corrupt politicians who will do anything to keep it. We are dealing with a cult…