Thugs or Patriots?

Once again an anti-Trump demonstration has turned violent. At least one Trump supporter was bloodied. A police car was damaged and there were reports of rocks thrown at police. Around twenty people were arrested.
Donald Trump called them thugs. White House spokesperson Josh Earnest painted a much different picture. He talked about our long history of protest and compared them to the patriots that staged the Boston Tea Party. He did go on to oppose violence and interference with the political process.
As much as I hate to agree with Trump on anything, I’ll have to go along with his characterization. Certainly anyone has the right to gather and stage a protest. I don’t care if they are Communists, Nazis or nut jobs with aluminum foil hats. However, they must be peaceful and respectful of others. Unlike the Boston protest in 1773, these people are not out to gain rights. Instead, they want to deny rights to others. They want to stop Trump from speaking and his supporters from hearing him.
One man justified the violence because of Trump’s hate speech. There is a growing trend of violence on the fringe left. I saw what happened in the 60’s and don’t wish to see it repeated.