It’s Open Season on “Black Lives Matter Protesters”
“I believe he was going to aim it at me … I didn’t want to give him a chance to aim at me.”
During the Civil Rights Movement, protesters were viewed more positively over time, especially after the public became aware of attacks against them. An example is the positive mood swing after the vicious attack on peaceful protesters crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday. The image of protesters dramatically improved, and as a direct result, the Voting Rights Act was passed, which was the main goal of the protesters.
Students protesting the Vietnam War were viewed more positively after the Kent State shootings, where National Guard troops killed four students and wounded nine. Public support for the war dwindled. President Nixon soon signed legislation to end the draft, putting it in stand-by mode. Changing attitudes about the Vietnam War led to its earlier end.
When millions of protesters took to the streets after the video was released of George Floyd’s murder at the hands (and knee) of Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin, the protesters were initially viewed favorably, and their cause was seen as just as voting rights and ending the Vietnam War. Who could be against ending police brutality and murdering citizens, even imperfect ones?
