"Hitler Grandma" Picture Gets Context

[21st Century Poet]

68. I am not trying to justify the salute at all.

My post is less about the salute and more about this gentleman's story, personal portrayal and expectations.

So let's look at it from a rally attendee's point of view: It's a cold Friday night but you make the effort of driving a long way and waiting in a long queue to attend a political rally to listen to what a presidential candidate has to say, as is your democratic right.

Then, while you are waiting for the event to start, a group of people who you have never met in your life enter the venue, call you a racist, take a political sign out of your hand and rip it up and create an atmosphere which results in the cancellation of the rally.

While others are celebrating the cancellation of the political rally you were keen to attend, a man who portrays himself as a saviour of old ladies nicely tells you to go home. What do you do? Do you tell him "Thank you, kind sir, for having had a hand in ruining my evening's plans and spoiling my chance to listen to what this presidential candidate has to say. I will do as you ask and quietly go home." or do you tell him to take a walk?

The Nazi salute is the wrong reaction but if you cannot understand why the rally attendees were furious at having the rally shut down, then you have no empathy. When assessing a situation, always try to imagine what the situation for people on the other end of your own is like. How this man is expecting rally attendees to be grateful after having had a hand in shutting down the event they were keen to attend is beyond me.

In my opinion, the protest was worthy but it should have been done in a way which gets the message across but does not disrupt other people's plans.