Stopping traffic—violating other people's right to freedom of their movement—is not a valid form of free speech.

By all means, protest on private property. There are certainly injustices worth protesting. But I'm getting tired of seeing the entitlement of these protesters to interfere with my decisions and my life. The right to free speech does not include the right to be listened to, or in this case, to literally stop people from going where they want to go so you can yell things at them.

Do protesters really think they benefit their cause by blocking traffic, making people who would otherwise by sympathetic angry at being blocked? The decision not to charge the officers certainly seems like a travesty of justice but it was not done here in Menlo Park, or even California. I believe that most likely the majority of residents in Menlo disagree with the decision so why block the streets? I hope the protesters were cited for breaking the law and that they have to pay their fines. Protesting is a great thing, breaking the law is not.

When people in cars honk, it's not in annoyance, but in support!

Our impatience with protestors blocking traffic is part of the problem. Instead of seeing this as an inconvenience would we be open to the possibility of seeing this as an uncomfortable reminder that as white people we don’t have to worry about police knocking and entering the wrong residence in the middle of the night. It’s easy to say it didn’t happen here but it’s missing the bigger point. What if mistaken identity and address lead to the death of your child or family member? Would you want to let it go and ask everyone to forget it? There is a pattern to black deaths and when we tug at that string to unravel it, it is inconvenient and uncomfortable. What if it’s our fear of coming face-to-face with facts in real time instead of seeing it on TV or online? On Friday, the degree of separation was removed and stood in front of your car. We are uncomfortable, we are “inconvenienced”, we may be afraid to admit we are scared, we can say we have no skin in the game, we can say it doesn’t impact us, how come no one helps me? All the above may be true and quite frankly, it’s selfish thinking. When we look at the big picture we can see how we don’t like it but there is room for our internal thoughts and the peaceful protestors- even if it messes with your plans.

What is justice in the killing of Breonna Taylor? There were many faults to be found in that tragedy. Was a no-knock warrant necessary? Could the search have been done in the daytime? Could a bull horn have been used to assure that the residents that it was the police entering? However, once having entered, the police were fired upon and returned fire. Was it necessary to fire as many rounds as the police did?
Still, If you had been the policeman getting shot, would you have fired back? A grandjury of citizens used their judgment to not indict any of the police for the killing. Is there reason to believe that these citizens were biased? Perhaps their judgment was in line with the laws. If so, it was just.

Sara T.

When I am honking I assure you it is not in support of blocking traffic and causing all the people trying to get some where an inconvenience. By some of the gestures I have observed at other protests that blocked traffic I would guess that not that many people are honking is support.

The "stopping traffic approach for increasing social consciousness" has always puzzled me. Consider: what causes people to actually change their minds? You want people to increase their empathy, to see how others don't receive the justice they deserve - great. However, if someone - in the middle of doing their daily chores - is significantly inconvenienced, they will be primarily thinking about how they will get their chores on time, not about the cause. Failing to show empathy to people going about their business is not likely to increase empathy towards your cause. If you actual examples where people say, "I never thought about this cause before, but since I've been stopped in traffic I'm fired up to fight for it," please let us know. Otherwise, it looks like it's doing something just for the sake of doing something.

The definition of "selfish thinking" is being so convinced that your message is right and important that you are willing to occupy and deny access to a public resource that others depend on for their daily lives.

Rest assured I was not honking in support. Protest all you want on side walks, etc. Blocking traffic is that a way to get support.