Protests: Difference Between Solidarity and Hatred

By: Rebecca Edwardsen

During protests such as the Black Lives Matter Protests solidarity and hatred are very present. Oxford’s definition of solidarity is “unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a group”, solidarity applied to the black lives matter protests during the time in which people gathered together in peaceful protest to stand for what they believed in. However hatred can also be prevalent during times of struggle. Hatred was also prominent during the black lives matter protests when the peaceful protests turned into violent riots with people getting injured and buildings being vandalized. 

Throughout the black lives matter protests there was a lot of solidarity which was represented when people came together for peaceful protesting. It was also represented when people posted black squares on their social media in show of support for those who were oppressed. People from all across the country showed their support for the black lives matter protests, this was represented by students, adults and supporters gathering and fundraising for the protests. Solidarity for the black lives matter protests was also prominent when the support traveled to other countries around the world. Sadly protests can get out of hand which inevitably leads to hate, hate can make people do reckless and dangerous things.

Hatred is the enemy of peace and can cause massive amounts of destruction and chaos. During the black lives matter movement some of the peaceful protests turned into violent riots. Some of these riots consisted of buildings being burned and people getting hurt. During the riots people became violent and lashed out to prove the point that black people have been oppressed for a very long time. People were so passionate about their cause that they became violet and started causing destruction. Although hatred can be represented from people becoming violent it can also be represented by people not supporting the cause that others are fighting for.