This photo I took is not really that recent, but I feel as if this is pretty relevant to this week’s topic. I took this photo during a rally that happened during New Year’s in Vegas. It was an organized rally by these protesters- so there were not really violating any laws. Who did violate the law however were the onlookers as they began to assault some of the protesters. In the Decleration of Human rights Article 10 and 11, it mentions that everyone’s opinions are equal to anyone else’s. I didn’t agree with these protesters, but it did not mean that my opinion is more valid than theirs nor did it justify violence onto them. The perpetrators were preaching about freedom of speech and morality as they beat down protesters which was highly ironic in a grim way. That night was an eye-oppening experience for me since I got to really see what some people regarded as equality.
Michael, you really make a great point here, such as reminding us that everyone’s opinion truly is equal. I feel like most of the time we talk about ensuring that everyone’s opinions are equal, but I believe we sometimes forget to actually implement these ideas into our society. And this is clearly evident in your experience. In addition to this, I agree with you in your point that even if you do not agree with another individual’s idea, it does not justify violence, especially after we have established this equality we hope to instill in our society. Overall, great picture and ideas!
You make a good point, emphasizing that it was highly ironic that the people who were preaching about freedom of speech were the ones who were beating up the protestors. It seems that they confused freedom of speech with “freedom for ourselves to state our opinions, and only ourselves.” Quite hypocritical indeed.