We got an email from a reader named Laura who had the following to point out:
I walked along with the group from Wstlk Ctr to 4th and Marion for about an hour. It was very peaceful. I enjoyed seeing the protestors from Judkins Park meet up with the other group. It would be great if you could share coverage about the peaceful nature of that protest. There are many important issues that deserve to be highlighted – like immigrant rights, gay rights, corporate responsibility, poverty, and I could go on. Much of the rally today was peaceful and the vandalism was a bummer. But the vandalism wasn’t the only thing that happened.
She’s right. A handful of anarchists, whether genuine or not, breaking windows at banks and retail outlets kind of stole all the coverage away from the primary purpose of May Day protests: peaceful public protest about important issues that affect us all.
But, it’s not surprising…a couple broken windows at a Nike Store makes for exciting photo ops and snappy headers. People peacefully marching isn’t very sexy for the 6 o’clock news….unless they’re naked and body painted like Wonder Woman or The Green Lantern.