{"id":5717,"date":"2016-01-05T06:32:55","date_gmt":"2016-01-05T11:32:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=5717"},"modified":"2016-01-05T06:43:43","modified_gmt":"2016-01-05T11:43:43","slug":"mad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=5717","title":{"rendered":"mad"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"photo-1450849608880-6f787542c88a\"<\/a>Over the weekend, a group of men took over the headquarters of a U.S. wildlife refuge near Burns, Oregon \u2014 a small city in the Eastern part of the Beaver State. The men are angry over the imminent imprisonment of two area ranchers who were found guilty of arson three years ago. The convicted men set a series of fires in 2001 and 2006, intending to protect their lands and cover up evidence of deer poaching, but one blaze went on to also burn 139 acres of federal property.<\/p>\n

The ranchers were convicted by a federal jury in 2012. After a plea deal, one was sentenced to three months in jail \u2014 the other, one year. This past October, however, a U.S. district judge re-sentenced each man to five years in prison \u2014 even though their sentences had already been fully served. That judge \u2014 differing from the previous, presiding judge \u2014 felt the initial sentence was too lenient.<\/p>\n

The men now occupying government property decided to protest. They are mad.<\/em><\/p>\n

A couple clarifying, relevant notes: (1) the family of the convicted ranchers does not support how the protestors have behaved; (2) many of the protestors have come from other towns and other states; and (3) the convicted ranchers still turned themselves in to police custody.<\/p>\n

I find myself pondering, no less, a Slate Magazine headline: \u201cWhat in Tarnation Is Going on With All These Angry Ranchers?\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be clear\u2026<\/p>\n

They have a right to protest.
\nThey do not<\/em> have a right to federal land.<\/p>\n

That is true of all the protestors we\u2019ve seen in recent months\u2026<\/p>\n

People have a right to protest.
\nPeople have a right to voice their opinions.
\nPeople even have a right to rant.<\/p>\n

They do not,<\/em> however, have a right to destroy.
\nThey do not<\/em> have a right to threaten.
\nAnd they do not<\/em> have a right to take someone else\u2019s property for their own.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the case regardless of the passion or protest \u2014 regardless of whom the protestors actually are\u2026 their agenda or any demographic category\u2026 be it in Burns, Baltimore, or some place of supposed higher learning, etc.<\/p>\n

The protestors are mad. But their madness does not change what they have a right to do.<\/p>\n

It does, however, sometimes change how we react. That\u2019s the hard part.<\/p>\n

We look at all these protestors \u2014 all these mad people \u2014 and while we may agree or not with the purpose for the protest, we sometimes allow our empathy for the person or cause to alter our acceptance of what\u2019s right and wrong; we extend abundant grace to one but none to\u00a0the other. We then too often find ourselves caught in the queasy quandary of believing it\u2019s ok for some people to illegally occupy or destroy \u2014 but for others, it is not. That may say more about us than it does about them.<\/p>\n

Yes, we can be a strange people\u2026 mad, if you will.<\/p>\n

Respectfully\u2026
\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the weekend, a group of men took over the headquarters of a U.S. wildlife refuge near Burns, Oregon \u2014 a small city in the Eastern part of the Beaver State. The men are angry over the imminent imprisonment of two area ranchers who were found guilty of arson three years ago. The convicted men … <\/p>\n

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