Tank Man

In April 1989, a student protest calling for freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and democratic reforms started in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. At its height, it’s estimated that 1 million people were participating in the protest.

The protests continued for over a month. Then, on June 1st, the Chinese government labeled them terrorists. On June 3rd, the People’s Liberation Army invaded Beijing.

On this date, thirty-one years ago, in an iconic act of non-violent protest, a single man stopped a convoy of tanks by simply standing in their way.

Photo by Jeff Widener of the Associated Press.

Looking at the protests in China in 1989 and at the protests in America today, we need to remember the words of one Donald Trump:

“When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength.”

Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press are enshrined in our Constitution. Democracy — “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people” — is at the very core of the American identity. The people at Tiananmen Square were protesting in the hope that those same ideals could take hold in China, and the man currently occupying the White House (or, more accurately, hiding in the White House) commended the Chinese government for using ‘strength’ to end the protests.

This year, there is no ‘protest vote.’ There is no ‘both sides do it.’

You are either for America or you’re for Trump. There is no middle ground.