Those protesters who spearheaded the cancellation of Donald Trump’s Chicago appearance on March 11 apparently didn’t realize that they played right into the Donald’s “small hands.”
The forces that “organized” that Friday night outburst failed to realize that peaceful protests work better than disruptive displays. Protesters who think of Trump as a “villain” handed him a huge sympathy vote and a primary win in Illinois.
It’s no wonder GOP supporters “reacted” favorably to Trump’s message at the March 15 primary. Disruptive protesters may rant, rave and shove, but the most effective way to defeat a political opponent is by convincing voters of your message instead of venting.
I’m sure there are some who will counter this argument by citing the effectiveness of the 1968 protests during the Democratic National Convention. Those protests, however, were the outgrowth of the unpopular Vietnam War which ultimately cost the lives of 58,220 American servicemen and women and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy.
These, too, are turbulent times; however, rioting and political disruptions won’t resolve today’s issues.
— Dean Dranias, Plainfield
