Reply #8: To compare teenage rioters with the martyrs at the Dharsana Salt Works...

[Reader Rabbit]

...is pretty disingenuous. As you say yourself, those who subscribed to Gandhi's idea of satyagraha did not "even raise an arm to fend off the blows...There was no fight, no struggle, the marchers simply walked forward until struck down." Compare that to the behavior of the young people at the Portland rally on Thursday who spoke out against following the planned route, who sprinted away from the majority of the marchers and headed toward the 405 freeway. I can tell you, there was plenty of struggle, arms raised, profanities spat, etc.

I can only assume that you do not live in Portland, were not present on Thursday, and have not been present at countless other demonstrations that these malcontents disrupt with their adolescent, exhibitionistic behavior.

The "anarchy kids," as we in Portland call them, show up to most of the big protests here in the Northwest and behave in the most inflammatory way possible. I might have a bit of sympathy for them if I thought their behavior was the result of sincere interest in the issues, but for the most part, they display all the maturity and true dedication of my eighth grade students trying to stage a sit-in in order to get out of doing homework.

The martyrs of Dharsana were making a statement. The pugnacious, petulant kids in Portland were making a spectacle, with only themselves—and not the cause—in the spotlight.