Non-Violent Protest?

Via Michelle Malkin, Random Numbers gives an account of his personal experience at the Dallas immigration protest.

For the most part, the protest was peaceful. The organizers were smarter than the idiots who set up those disgraces last week, and they passed out US flags and suggested that Mexican flags be less prominant. On the march from the Virgin of Guadelupe to City Hall, I got a lot of pics of really cute babes young women and thought that this one might do these folks some good in the PR department.

Then came the ugliness. There was a very millitant group holding provocative signs and loaded down with very angry looking young men. Some were shouting “Gringos go back to Europe!” and waving fists. Che was all over the place and the reconquista theme was all over them.

I was trying to get a good shot of a sign with Che Guevera on it when my camera was slapped out of my hand and kicked down the street. I turned to the asshole who decided he didn’t like me and found myself facing about a half-dozen Latino males approx 19-25 years old and looking like trouble.

“You got a problem, white boy?” said the thug closest to me.

I decided to employ the better part of valor - I bugged out. I turned away and followed the path my camera took, looking for the remains. I found the smashed body, but the doors had sprung on it and I couldn’t locate the memory card anywhere. So all the pics, especially the babe pics I wanted for a “Protest Babes” post, were gone. I still had my video camera, but I decided that I wanted to keep it, so I gave up and left.

I was wearing blue jeans, a grey golf shirt, unadorned, a black, grey, and red jacket, adorned only by the Texas Instruments logo on the lapel and a green Dallas Stars ballcap. I said nothing to anyone exept the occasional “sorry” or “excuse me” as I moved through crowds. Yet these thugs singled me out for beligerance because I was white and not obviously a reporter.

Although this was an isolated incident, it was an incident.

Let's not pretend that these protests are completely peaceful, OK?