Today on Twitter, I watched something that actually made my blood boil. I had to walk up and down the hallway outside my room to calm myself down because I was so outraged.

The video had been taken at an Iowa State game, where Donald Trump was scheduled to make an appearance. A peaceful protest was set up, with protesters displaying signs denouncing some of the things Trump has said during his current campaign (see one account of protest and pictures here).

One of the protesters, completely silent and even smiling, held a sign proclaiming “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” The video I saw on Twitter showed a girl, presumably attending the Iowa State football game, approach the man, grab the sign, and rip it in two. The video shows her laughing, smiling like it’s a huge joke, and sarcastically say “Sorry!” with her hands lifted up in a “what can you do?” gesture.

Laughing.

She was laughing.

The crowd behind her just egged her on with calls of support and laughter. And the guy just stood there, looking at her with the pieces of his sign in his hands.

It’s events like this that make me want to cry for our generation. Whenever a teacher, or a politician, or a relative talks about the ignorance or the lack of knowledge present in my generation, I want to defend us.

I want to make them see. I want to pull out a list of examples that show the shining beacon our generation can be. And you know what? We have the potential. We have student leaders and bright minds. We have Malala Yousafzai.  We have peers who actually want to change the world we live in. Our elders often say that we carry the burden of fixing the world that our parents broke. I believe we have the potential to do that.

But you know what discounts all of that? People like the girl in the video.

People who would disrespect others to not only prove a point, but get attention. Because let’s be completely honest: she wasn’t doing it out of some moral commitment to her views. She was doing it to get a rise out of those around her. She was doing it because she thought that it would be funny, as evidenced by the smile on her face after her despicable actions.

These people, these protesters, they care. They are not standing in the heat holding signs, blocking your oh-so-precious tailgate for a fun time. They care. They are people who are directly impacted by the things that Trump is saying, they have a constitutional right to display their beliefs, and they are taking the initiative to do so.

With the wave of protests following events such as the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the death of Eric Garner, the bigoted comments of Donald Trump, the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore (the list seems to go on and on), people have been known to rip apart the protests for unnecessary violence or freaking out about things that don’t exist. I would like to believe that these events did not happen because of racially driven motives. I want to believe that. I really do. I want to believe that America is a country that values respecting other Americans, our fellow human beings.

But I can’t.

I can’t believe that because I see instances of disrespect every day, just like the girl in the video. If such a display of disrespect for a person can be shown over a simple sign, then what else is possible?

I don’t care if you disagree with protesters. That’s your unalienable right. Go for it. Speak out against it. I wouldn’t have cared if that girl had made a sign speaking out against the protesters and stood right across from that man.

But the blatant disrespect she showed, the blatant disrespect that the crowd showed towards the situation, THAT is what makes it clear to me that we have a problem.

And you know what is even worse? It’s not surprising. The girl ripping the poster into two angered me, but it didn’t SURPRISE me. I wasn’t in shock that it happened. With the way protests, even peaceful ones are viewed by the media and the populace, it’s no surprise to me that someone would feel justified with such an action.

You know what would be a story? If there had been people at the event, with posters supporting Trump, and someone walking along had grabbed a sign and ripped it into two. You know what would be a story? If someone had ripped apart a sign supporting the actions of Kim Davis. You know what would be a story? Someone ripping apart a poster proclaiming something like “Keep America for Americans.”

Now that would have created a reaction. That would have people screaming for an arrest or the removal of the offender and proclaiming the descent of America caused by a war on God or Caucasians or whatever FOX News cooks up.

I’m not defending all protesters. I’m not naive, I know a lot of the protests in the recent months have turned ugly, really, really fast. I’m not condoning violence or destruction of property. And I am NOT saying that you have to be liberal or lean left to be a decent person. But I am calling on my peers to get educated, and get educated fast.

How can we vote in elections, how can we be fully functioning adults in society, how can we raise children and be professionals, how can we be grown ups, if we are walking around with an utter lack of respect for those around us?

Yeah, we’re teenagers, and I care about the trivial aspects of our everyday lives just as much as the next person, but we aren’t going to be teenagers forever. I’m saying watch the news, I’m saying read some form of journalism once a day, I’m saying consider if your words and your actions are disrespecting those around you, I’m saying listen to those who have opposing opinions instead of just shooting them down. I’m saying we need to get our heads out of World Star Vines, Hit the Quan videos, relationship goals tweets, and who’s dating who, and look at the world around us, and pay attention for a little while. You might be astonished by what you see.

All posts are representative of my opinion and do not represent the views of any publication that I have or will write for. Posts are not intended to be discriminatory or intended to harm. I encourage you to use the comments section if needed, but ask that you remain respectful and constructive, and consider that I reserve the right to manage or delete disrespectful comments.