I’m angry, I’m ashamed, I’m disappointed. I know DePaul is stronger than this. Milo came to speak and spread hate on our campus and we had an opportunity to show him that we’re better than the angry irrational people he expects us to be. And most of us took that opportunity. A peaceful protest was planned, one that wouldn’t intrude the actual event. But a select number of people took it too far, and now Milo has made his point. He’s used us to victimize himself and publicize his mission of hatred. Protest without purpose beyond disruption is useless. It quickly dissolves into anger and irrational acts of violence. And that’s what happened today.
But it wasn’t all that happened. I saw something else. At the beginning of the protest, people gathered to speak about love and acceptance and the equality we all struggle for. Different minority communities of DePaul I rarely see together stood side by side in solidarity to fight for equality. Once the protests dissipated, I watched as small groups of people stood together and discussed the days events. Rationally. Respectfully. We questioned what was right and what was wrong, and what we can do to better ourselves in the future. There’s possibility there. There’s potential there.
The events of today turned into little more than mindless aggression between two political poles that have refused to budge or listen for years. But I saw moments of hope when thoughtful discussion broke through. That’s how we make change. We listen. We discuss. We educate and we allow ourselves to be educated. And I truly believe my peers are capable of doing this, because amongst all the madness, I saw the potential for some real change.
turnnoffyourmind
blakekathryn
theartofmadeline
ellievsbear
yousharknotpass
