These Aren't Protests; They Are Extortion – HotAir

Political protests are as American as apple pie, cookouts, and a 1970 Chevelle SS LS6 454 model muscle car. 

You know, the ones that used leaded gasoline and had no catalytic converters. Vroom! 





But people seem to have forgotten that the freedom to speak and assemble peacefully, which is protected by the First Amendment, does mean that any form of expression at any time or place is protected. Your right to say anything you want does not also empower you to damage other people or property. 

Rioting as a form of protest–you know, the kind of “speech” that Democrats called “public health” during the George Floyd riots–is not protected political speech. It is violence, with the entire point being to extort political gains through the use of political violence. If not precisely terrorism, it is terrorism-adjacent. 

Similarly, if not so egregiously, tactics of “direct action” that violate the law are not and should not be classified as speech or legitimate protest. 

Blocking roads, vandalizing property, or otherwise destroying others’ ability to conduct their lives with a minimum of disruption is not “speech;” it is a form of extortion. 

“Give us what we want or we will make your life hell” is not a legitimate way for citizens to express their displeasure with policies they dislike. 





Democrats seem to love this sort of protest, which is why, when you walk into any Democratic Party workplace, you will see posters with raised fists, talk of #resistance, and more than a few Che Guevara shirts or posters. Leftist unions often celebrate revolutionaries or appropriate their symbols, and politicians often lionize these tactics. 

Democrats have a thing about revolutionaries and imagine themselves the vanguard of the proletariat. In most cases, they are merely poseurs–they love the rhetoric and smile as they sip their Pinot Noir and eat their canapés–but their approval of these tactics helps normalize them, and as the people who often control the offices of the prosecutors, they indulge this madness. 

Ironically, you rarely, if ever, see these tactics employed in areas controlled by conservatives, because the success of the tactic depends on the indulgence of the Democrats. Try this crap in a Republican area and you will wind up in jail, perhaps with a well-deserved black eye. Not that I am endorsing vigilante justice, but who wouldn’t secretly enjoy seeing a Just Stop Oil protester get dragged off the road a bit too roughly?





The distinct lack of such protests in Red areas shows how easy they would be to stop if Democrats didn’t find them useful. Yet it is mostly their own constituents who pay the price. Most suburban folks–those who don’t work inside the urban ring, at least– only see this crap on TV. It offends us not because it harms us, but because it is an assault on civilization. 

Civilization matters to us. The example set for children matters to us. 

To the Democrats? Not so much. They like the extortion tactics. 


Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this. 

Help us continue to report the truth about the Schumer Shutdown. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership.



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