The religious protesters in the University Plaza, they suck. They are extremely rude. They anger us. But that’s exactly how they’re trying to make us feel.
They want to incite anger and violence within us, so they can turn around and use that to drive their mission. As long as you are angry, they will continue to live and flock among us.
Their presence has arguably been more and more clear, and some say it’s because it has gone too far. There is a bunch of ‘he said, she said’ that one of the protesters have gotten physical with the students.
But what if we are also contributing to the street preacher’s growth in numbers? Sometimes when they are on campus, you can see students and bystanders banding together and staring them down ferociously. Others confront them directly by getting in their faces.
The retaliation against these protesters only adds hostility to our campus, and it makes others worried, it makes others fearful. And that’s exactly how they want us to feel; they want us to be fearful. We need to not let that take a hold of us. We are strong, and there are other ways to fight them than get in their faces.
Sure, it’s our right to petition, but we would also be taking away the street preachers’ freedom of speech and assembly if we just completely remove them from campus.
There is a petition going around, asking that the street preachers be removed from Georgia State campus. It currently has 283 supporters.
While we understand the intention and support behind that, aren’t we also infringing on the protester’s rights by shunning them away? These protesters are only allowed to be in the free speech zones on our campus. Sure, it’s our right to petition, but we would also be taking away the street preachers’ freedom of speech and assembly if we just completely remove them from campus. Taking away their right would set concerning precedents for everyone else.
It would speak more if we made them stay away from campus by choice.
As savvy urban commuters, we can navigate the streets to avoid the street preachers. If you’ve been on campus for a while — and it’s been a whole semester now since the preachers have been here — you may know where they tend to flock: the University Plaza, Courtland Street, anywhere near Langdale Hall. All in places where many students are passing by.
Let’s allow them to practice their freedom of speech, and let’s practice our own freedom of speech without infringing on them. You could, instead of walking through the University Plaza to get to class, walk underneath the plaza and go to the first floor of your desired location.
By physically avoiding them, you are showing them that their presence is pretty much futile here. They won’t get to feed off your emotions, which halts their movement in the protesting. Also, it’s just more convenient to navigate class and completely avoid the University Plaza rush.
So now you’re staying away from all the extra downers — hostility and unnecessary traffic. It’s a win-win!
Or, if you are feeling a little more active, you can be like our peace promoters, and sit in the Courtyard showing signs aimed to unite the community. Several weeks ago, we covered the efforts of one of these peace promoters, named the ‘Love Samurai.’
“Either what you’re doing is out of fear or it’s out of love, whether it be for yourself or for another,” he said.
One of his messages is that we are all one in this world, and should accept each others’ differences — even if the person on the receiving end isn’t returning the gesture.
We should show the street preachers that we aren’t hostile, that we aren’t weak, that we aren’t afraid.
And we don’t deserve hell.
