It’s been an interesting year for America, especially this past week. Early last week, somehow Donald Trump became the next president of the United States — even though Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than just a little bit.
This sparked a number of large protests in multiple cities across the country with people chanting, “Not my president,” as their mantra.
Angry citizens across the country, especially immigrants, women, members of the LGBTQ community and other minority groups, have taken to the streets to protest in the hopes that their concerns will be heard.
I know not everybody feels this way, but generally speaking, those who voted for Trump are disapproving of these protests, while those who voted for Clinton make up the majority of protesters.
I’ve been hearing about a lot of people who are condemning these protesters, saying that they’re not going to change anything or that they just need to accept that Trump is going to be the president.
Well, I’ve got some news for you — historically, protests are what’s gotten stuff done.
In 1517, Martin Luther protested Catholicism by nailing a list of proclamations to a church, which ultimately led to the Protestant Reformation.
The Boston Tea Party in 1773 arguably jump-started the American Revolution, which helped create the country we know today.
The French Revolution in 1789 began with the storming of the Bastille, a French prison that was the symbol of royal authority.
The Civil Rights Movement of the ‘60s was bursting at the seams with protests, some peaceful and some violent, to end racial segregation and discrimination.
There have even been protests about presidential elections before — in Kiev, Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of people protested against the results of the 2004 presidential election for 12 days until a revote was called and the results of the election were reversed.
My point here is that nothing ever got done in history without somebody being pissed about something. If you’re passionate about something, protest — that’s why we have the First Amendment. That amendment was made for the sole purpose of giving citizens powers that they otherwise may not have.
If you’re mad that Trump is the president, you have every right to be mad. You have every right to march through the streets and raise hell to voice your opinion that is otherwise not being heard.
Not every protest in history has resulted in major changes or reform, but you never know until you try. So for the people saying that these protests don’t matter or won’t change anything, you should probably consult your history textbook — because you get to enjoy the country we have today from one of the earliest American protests.
SAMANTHA GRISWOLD
