Unless you've been either living under a rock or living on Mars, you know hat on January 20th, 2016, Donald J. Trump was inaugurated, making him President Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States. Obviously, this upset quite a lot of people-- more specifically those who were... not too fond of President Trump. There were multiple protests all over the country; in fact, there was even a small protest in downtown Dahlonega, Georgia where I currently attend school. However, there was a protest on January 20th that got every media outlet's attention, which can be found here.

This protest took place in downtown Washington DC, where protesters proceeded to destroy virtually everything in their path-- whether that be bus stops, windows, shop fronts, road signs, and a Starbucks and Bank of America. Ironically, both Starbucks and Bank of America have openly opposed President Trump and have given money to the Clinton Foundation in one form or another.

The anti-trump protesters are claiming that "Trump will destroy America," while many of them go out and actually physically destroy America. I'm not generalizing and saying that all anti-Trump supporters are destroying public and private property, because they're not; however, many of them are. Many claim that Trump's inauguration and presidency will incite violence everywhere, yet I have seen more cases of violence and hostility from the left than from the right. I don't want to be one of those that says "get over it, Trump is your president now," but at this point, there is little that anybody can do about the situation. If Trump were to be impeached, then we'd all be stuck with Pence-- and believe me, that's a LOT worse. So really, if it's possible, can someone explain to me what vandalism does to help the situation in any way? How does this help get the left's point across? When people go out and vandalize public and private property to a degree such as this, people will refuse to see their side or even listen to their thoughts and opinions.

According to a CBS article, "Most of the approximately 230 protesters arrested on Inauguration Day will be charged with felony rioting" and "the offense is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000." So not only did they riot and destroy property hat could take thousands, potentially millions, of public tax dollars and private funds to fix, bot protesters are also facing a huge fine that they probably can't afford along with jail time and a criminal record. Another issue is that the left frequently raises an issue when the police use brute force, pepper spray, and "sting balls," yet if the police were to arrive downtown with megaphones and say "please stop protesting and destroying property," none of the protesters would listen; therefore, it seems that brute force and the use of various gases and sprays is the only way to bring the situation to a halt.

Ransacking the streets and destroying everything in their path as "protest" accomplishes nothing but making the protesters; ones who are uneducated on the way the world, economics, politics, common sense, and human decency works. Don't raise your voice, but rather, raise your argument. The women's march on Washington had a huge impact without destroying any property. There are better ways to get one's point across without destroying everything, including property and possessions that public tax dollars and private funding went to, ways to win the fight and sway people without this kind of protest.