Written by Michael Thervil
It was Tuesday January 9th that a pro-Palestinian group demonstrated outside the walls of city hall in Houston Texas. It seems that no matter where you go these days pro-Palestinian activism will be present. The question is for how long? In America, many people tend to forget about social issues such as the Israeli-Gaza-Hamas War. but currently, activism on behalf of the Palestinian people is still going strong. We are saying this because it’s been an exceptionally long time since anyone has seen protest activities regarding the Ukraine-Russia war.
Another question that many people in America are asking is: how relevant is the Israeli-Gaza-Hamas War on the local level? Many think that there’s absolutely nothing that city mayors such as the newly elected Mayor of Houston Texas and former Texas Senator John Whitmire can do to affect any kind of change when it comes to the plight of not just the Palestinian people, but to all people that are facing similar situations around the world.
However, the Palestinian activists hold a different perspective. Many feel as if local governments can do something – but what that something is, is currently unknown. During their pro-Palestinian protest outside of Houston’s City Hall, protestors felt as that their right to engage in a peaceful protest and their right to assemble has been violated. They feel this way because for them, City Hall is a public place, and they feel as citizens of Houston, they have a right to have their voices heard.
That sounds like good logic. However, there are others that feel as if the mayor can reserve the right to deny access to both groups and individuals inside the walls of City Hall for reasons such as “public safety” for example. Moreover, it can be argued that protest such as these have the potential to not only become dangerous; but polarizing topics like these also could allow “extremist” to exploit protest and activist events to not only promote disorderly behavior but inflict harm on protestors and spectators. With that, there’s always the increased risk of bad actors that engage in acts of terrorism and property destruction. The element of not being able to distinguish “who’s who’ during a protest serves as a social liability for everyone.
No matter where you stand on the Israeli-Gaza-Hamas War, war is never good for the average person as the average person tends to be the only one who truly pays the price.
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