Protest

Peaceful protest is a time-honored method to voice objections to government. It brings attention to the matter at hand. Sometimes some violence erupts and that brings further attention and can help the cause. In time if violence becomes more prevalent then the cause may suffer and ordinary citizens turn away from the protesters. The case in Minneapolis illustrates the point. What started out as carrying signs and voicing dissent has moved toward attacking vehicles and law enforcement. If this continues to escalate it will hurt the cause of the protesters. If elected officials denounce violence when it first starts it will often subside but when they are silent or in some cases approve then things tend to get out of hand.