The Six Freedoms of the First Amendment: BLM

The first amendment is one of the greatest gifts the founding fathers have bestowed upon us. It enables us to have a diversity of thought, and it enables us to stay true to ourselves. However, some people distort this idea, and sometimes they may not even realize it. This can be said about the Black Lives Matter protests that have become headlining news for months now. While the Black Lives Matter movement hasn't been unheard of for years, it is fair to say that this is the first time they have become very widely known and even controversial. It has even gotten to a point where some people are labeling the movement as a "marxist" or even a "terrorist" organization. So what does this have to do with the first amendment?

The first amendment consist of six clauses: freedom of religion, freedom from religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to petition, and freedom of assembly. Note that freedom of assembly ties into the right to protest. With that being said, the Black Lives Matter protests should be protected by the first amendment. However, it has been shown all over social media how some protests can lead to violence. For example, there have been reports of people burning down buildings, attacking civilians, looting, and other criminal activities. This is NOT protected by the first amendment as they are actions rather than speech. Action is not the same as speech or expression. Therefore, it is not protected under the first amendment. 

While this certainly doesn't speak for the whole Black Lives Matter movement, the instances that turn violent are clear examples of how free speech can be distorted. The same can be said for the law enforcement who abuse their positions of power. With that being said, it is important that everyone knows that action and speech are two completely different things, and that you can get your point across without being violent.

93% of BLM protests are peaceful:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/05/nearly-all-black-lives-matter-protests-are-peaceful-despite-trump-narrative-report-finds