By Joshua Robison / The Jambar
Recently, mass protests have taken place all throughout France. According to TIME Magazine, the catalyst for the protests were high schools not receiving adequate funding, enough teachers and quality conditions.
Now, I would have believed the protests were just about education reform, if I hadn’t seen countless videos on social media, such as those from Euronews of alleged masked rioters attacking shopkeepers and looting designer clothing stores.
This, believe it or not, has no influence on the state of the French education system.
Assuredly, the disorder in France began as a protest for the education system. However, as seen in the U.S. with alleged riots spawning off protests for the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, a gathering of such magnitude can lead to immense violence in destruction.
This then begs the question of why. Why does it seem that every time something is protested, those involved must become a mob of malevolent savages?
Why are we still at this point with our behavior?
Isn’t the point of a protest to be more superlative than the oppressor? Why must those living in those destroyed communities foot the bill and suffer the damages of those too senseless to direct their attention to the source of the problem.
I know it may seem like I’m preaching to an empty room, as not only those rioters may never see this column, but I see too much support for these gatherings in the form of social media influencers brushing the events off as just a protest. If we allow this kind of violence to ensue, what kind of message are we sending to future generations?
What makes this situation difficult to assess is this isn’t only a matter of ethics but a matter of culture. I was born and raised in America and have never been outside the U.S., so I cannot accurately judge what the French are feeling.
What I can say is that after the culturally and historically significant Limoges Town Hall sustained catastrophic fire damage, somewhere, amidst the chaos, the protesters lost their way.
The point of my message is not to condemn the actions of peaceful protesters amongst the rioters but rather to shame those who participate in the protests as an excuse to wreak havoc on their communities — or someone else’s.
Here in this country, we have the unalienable right to protest under the First Amendment, and I believe that right should be granted to every man, woman and child all over the world.
However, that does not give anyone the right to destroy the lives of the people around them or trash the communities they live in. This not only creates distrust in the rights bestowed upon us but disregards those who sacrificed themselves to ensure that we keep those rights.
To those who may still be reading, when looking at the protests in France, let’s add that to the list of ways to not go about a ‘peaceful’ protest.