Protesters interfere with others

Many people throughout the world are protesting the United States’ war with Iraq, including U.S. citizens. There have even been some arrests made in connection with the protests. In some cases, the police stepped in only after the protesters became violent. In other cases, protesters were arrested for trespassing and other minor offenses. So where should protesters draw the line when trying to prove their point?

In Madrid, Spain, 200,000 protesters forming a line one mile long became violent. Four protesters were arrested, and 50 people were injured. Violence should never be used when protesting, by the police or by the protesters. But sometimes a bit of force is needed to dislodge the protesters. Does this sound like an injustice?

In New York City, more than 200 people were arrested after protesting in midtown Manhattan. The protesters were staging a “die-in” to show the loss of American life the war with Iraq will bring. However, these protesters were outside a government building. They chose to lay in the middle of a New York City intersection.

According to organizers quoted on CNN.com, the idea was to show that “every day now, the lives of Iraqis are ending, and our everyday lives must end as well.”

If the current protesters are trying to get people to notice the war, they should just hand out a TV Guide with all news channels circled. The war receives constant coverage.

Maybe the hope of the protesters at the “die-in” was to shed light on what Iraqi civilians might be going through. The war isn’t in our streets, it is in theirs. Maybe these protests bring some disruption to our streets to show us that war is not to be taken lightly.

There is no doubt our country doesn’t see the horrors of war first hand, at least not now.

Nonetheless, protesters should realize that blocking streets violates others’ rights to go to work, school or wherever they please. Don’t promote freedom by taking it away.

University Wire — Bowling Green State University