When is protest

beyond

a request

to suggest

an alternative?

What do you

hear

and fear

and why?

Is memory

from history

your guide

or a side

to which

you decide

shall (not)

be

again?

The rants

and chants

feel scary

when

we know

mob

mentality

easily

becomes

destructive.

It is

perhaps

instructive

to consider

the real

terror

within

ourselves

and  potentially

each community

where disunity

is weaponized

such that

some

feel

terrorized.

We now

take

a message

as what

is not

stated—

but rather

interpreted

as meaning

something

else.

So whether

distortions

are heard

rather than 

said

by the herd,

however

absurd,

the message

left

or right,

may be

wrong

to some

who hear

what’s not

there.

The Pro

Palestinian

protests

on campuses

are not

called

anti-Israel

or anti-war

or pro

Hamas.

The silent

message

left out

is potentially

concerning

to the discerning

ones 

still learning

from history.

Likewise,

most recent

movements

have

messaging

intending

to claim

the same

rights

as others

have gained

with feigned

innocence

despite

incidents

to the contrary.

But being

contrary

is the message

that leaves

us in a constant

state of fear

of terror.

What do you

hear

from fear?

What message

do you take

when what’s

at stake

feels

existential?

The answering 

machine

is an automatic

response

to feeling

left out.

But what

about….?

Protests 

succeed

not merely

to dismantle-

try to

handle

lost

battles-

but to expose

and propose

solutions.

The struggle

for power

is now

or never

for those

who endeavor

to demonstrate

in the current

state

of leaving

a message

after 

the tone.