Protesting vs Rioting

Well, this election has brought us to a new low in American behavior.  I didn't vote for the man, I've never liked the man, but guess what?  He is the choice, apparently, of The People.  Some civilized folks are talking of petitions and abolishing the Electoral College, which I can get behind.  Work within the system to change it - that was the intent of our Founding Fathers.

However, these civilized folks seem to be a minority.  My social media is full of decidedly uncivilized stories.  "Not my President" says the same people who scorned folks for saying it four years go.  Those who did support the President-Elect are dancing around like four-year-olds singing "nanner nanner boo boo".

I"m not going to repeat my speech about checks and balances.  I'm not going to bother to tell you he can't kick down the Oval Office door like Bill Cosby's dad and repeal standing laws on a whim.  I'm just exhausted from saying it.  What I am going to do is define a couple words for the media.

A protest is peaceful.  A riot is not.  The moment a "protester" hurts another person physically or damages property, they become a "rioter".  The two words are not synonyms, and they certainly do not change definition because the reporter agrees or disagrees with their position.  If I go stand in public with a big sign, I am not a rioter just because you don't like what my sign says.  If I beat up people and break windows, I am not a protester just because you think I have a point.

Protesters do not physically attack folks that disagree with them.  Protesters do not bust things up and set things on fire.  Protesters might yell insults, they might jump to conclusions about you based on your appearance (Who doesn't?), but when they cross that line and do physical harm, they stop being protesters.  They become rioters.

About rioting...  what do these people hope to accomplish?  Has anyone even had their mind changed by getting beat up or having their house burned down?  Oh, they might seem to, but they don't.  They get mad.  KKK visits in the 1860s led to race riots in the 1960s.  And the Civil Rights Movement - which, since it was civilized, did bring change.

OK, I'm putting away my soap box now.