Anti-Capitalists Protest G-20 in Germany

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

Let's be clear.  The media is saying, regarding the protests in Hamburg, Germany, against the G20 Summit, that Anti-Capitalists are who are causing violent confrontations on the streets.  Anti-Capitalists?  The reality is that these people are largely socialists, fascists and communists. . . because those are who populates the anti-capitalism forces.

Mixed into the crowd are anti-globalists, ultra-conservatives who reject any globalization of any kind.  I am not a fan of globalism in the sense of governmental power, and I would be willing to get out there to protest against One World Government policies, but the reality is, thanks to technology, we have a global economy, and that is what the G20 is largely about.  That's just the way it is.  It is up to us to ensure the bankers and politicians do not take advantage of that reality and use it for tyrannical control, but the existence of a global economy is not something we can put a halt to, or may desire to put a halt to.

Free trade is a good thing. . . as long as it is also conducted in a manner fair to all parties involved.

The protesters in Hamburg have shown they are prone to violence, so riot police and water cannons are being employed to control the crowds.  Thousands of police are on the streets for crowd control, to assist in the effort to keep the peace.

In truth, for the protesters, this is largely not about G20 as much as it is an opportunity to be an agitator.  That is what leftism does, and promotes.  There is no message, it is about destruction.  It is about agitation.  It is about creating chaos to weaken the existing system so that a new system can be injected.  It is, for a good number of these people on the streets, an opportunity to law-break and vandalize.  And it is largely leftist organizations funding this kind of rioting.

That all said, we have a God-given right to peaceably assemble and protest what we think is wrong.  I have no problem with a people, no matter where they stand on the issues, to take advantage of their free speech rights. . . but that does not include the freedom to disrupt, be violent, or destroy private or public property.

Protests.  Fine.  Violent opportunism.  No, not acceptable.

That is why the police are out there with water cannons.

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