Editor,
I have to say that I am sickened by the way people in this country treat protesters who go to certain events ready to voice their opinions. Just because protesters disagree with the speaker does not mean they should be turned away from the event or be accused of “screaming and whining.”
Everyone in this country has the right to protest, even if it is against the President of the United States. Let us not forget that this country was founded on freedom of speech, and the one thing that separates us from many other countries is the fact that we are, for the most part, able to say what we please.
That is a big reason why long ago, and even now, people from around the world traveled to America. From Thomas Jefferson and George Washington to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, protesting has been a part of this country’s history and will continue to be a way for the citizens of America to get their voices heard.
When people are being unjustly persecuted, being treated unfairly, or even just disagree with a certain opinion, they can protest, either by the traditional way of marching or displaying signs, or other methods such as writing a letter to a representative or a newspaper.
That does not make them whiny or annoying, it makes them outspoken and honest. We live in a time when moral and spiritual dilemmas, such as abortion, are broadcast by the media and other means. I am thankful to say that I do not feel ashamed to say in public, that yes, I am pro-choice, and I believe for my own reasons that the President’s tax cut only benefits the upper class.
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I am able to share any and all opinions I have, and it is the people with open minds who are willing to listen. Those people then give their opinions, or dispute what I have to say, and I know that I can listen. It should not matter to whom the protesters are addressing or where they protest.
No one should be turned away just because they disagree.
In closing, I have a message for the graduate student who agitatedly and enthusiastically addressed her assessment of protestors in the Aug. 22 Daily Lobo — I applaud you.
For what are you doing by writing a letter to the editor if not protesting? Does that make you whiny?
You would be surprised to find how many of us “apathetic, socially inept dregs” do for our community, and how much we get done by protesting. Perhaps the lower and middle class scum should just crawl back into the hole we came from.
Maybe you should open your eyes, and your mind.
And that goes for the rest of us.
Natalie Rogers,
Undergraduate Student
