194 Protesters

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Today's protests are reminiscent of the turbulent 1960s heyday, but any comparison lacks the context of the time. People still had to fear the police in 1960, the protesters didn't feel a sense of entitlement or even safety, nor were they empowered, which was usually why folks in the past demonstrated in the first place. Back then, the movement leaders were articulate rising-stars, but current protesters appear to be little more than immature bullies & thugs, and when they speak, their sophomoric rhetoric actually condemns their cause. And rather than heroic coverage in an honorable media, we get shaky cell-phone video, and slanted sensationalist stories from admittedly biased news sources.</p> <p>That largest, most reported protesters are identity groups, like Gay Pride, Black Lives Matter & public employees. Their causes seem selfish & narrow. Protesters need to be more than pampered, too-much-leisure-time college students looking for activism selfies to post on Facebook. For example, the inchoate Occupy Movement seemed doomed from the start, and exploited the courtesy of others past the breaking point: what small amount of support the average citizen might have held towards their cause was totally counteracted by their disgust. In fact, the courtesy of the whole nation took a hit from that fiasco, and any support for future, possibly sincere, protests will have to be doubly earned.</p>