Black Lives Matter
Back in May 2020, the tragic death of George Floyd caused protests all around the world against racism. Flash forward to February 2021, in the article I read, it explains that the BLM movement is receiving a Nobel Peace Prize Nomination. This is obviously happy news and amazing, however, not everything that came out of the Black Lives Matter movement was good. One of the 6 freedoms listed in the first amendment is the right to peacefully assemble. This is the individual right or ability of people to come together and collectively express their shared ideas. This is what most of the BLM protests were like.
The protests that were peaceful and made to bring attention to the problem of racial inequality are what are nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Another freedom that is included by the first amendment is the right to petition the government. This grants people the freedom to stand up and speak up about injustices they feel are occurring, and also it grants the power to help change those injustices. These rights are allowed because the government needs to know what is on the peoples minds and what they are fighting for. These two rights that I just brought up support peacefully speaking your mind, not violent actions.
The first amendment does not cover violent action or speech that can cause incitement to violence. This means that the peaceful protests were amazing enough to get nominated for a Noble Peace Prize, because the marching is welcomed and protected. As soon as the protests got violent and the looting and destroying of property started, it was no longer protected. The First Amendment does not protect actions of violence whatsoever.
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