Post I made to the CTC forum early this morning:

One of the great things about this country is that it provides for its citizens right to protest. It was something so important to our founding fathers, that it is right there in the first ammendment.

Protesting what you feel is injustice is something I support, even encourage. But there are restrictions on how you can protest, and a lot of those restrictions are there for public safety. When you tread on that ground, its not your protest that earns you time in jail, its the blocking of traffic or chaining off exits to buildings.

Endangering people’s lives is not free speech.

There’s nothing new here, though. This isn’t a revolution. All I see is a bunch of people who missed out on the 60’s, so they’re trying to make up for it by protesting against what I see as a moral imperative.

Chain yourself together in support of rape, torture, people being dropped feet first into plastic shredders, people being chained to posts and having their tongues cut out and left to bleed to death, people being killed by chemical weapons… Lets all get together and support that.

I am just so confused by how anyone can actually want to see Saddam continue in power. I try to convince myself that people are just ignorant, that they don’t understand what they’re actually trying to accomplish with their protests…

I believe in peace. I’d like to live in a world where no one hurt anyone else. But until that happens, there will be bad people out there that need to be stopped by those good people who have the ability to do so.

I’ve read about the human shields who have come back from Iraq, with the understanding of the hopelessness that the Iraqi people feel, the malicious tyrrany that suffocates them… I’ve read the stories about people who say they’ll kill themselves if we don’t come… And I think about the message that our anti-war protesters are saying…

“No, you have to die. We don’t want to help you.”

Its tearing me apart… Why the hell can’t we go help these people? Why are all these seemingly intelligent people supporting the continuance of Hussein’s reign of terror?

No war for oil? Fuck the oil!

Idealogically, I know that we need peace protesters to keep us in check, to keep us from crossing the line. Diversity of beliefs is what made this nation strong… I know that. But in this case, I just can’t help but be disgusted by everyone who takes to the streets in support of Saddam Hussein.

I just don’t get it.

I take comfort in the fact that Hussein will be gone soon, whether there are protests in San Fransisco or not. But it can’t blot out the pain and confusion I feel when I see people out there saying such hateful and uncaring things…

I know this was off the topic, but its really been bothering me lately…