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My Take | Righteous belief does not excuse violence
- Violent elements ready to fight police and destroy public property with well-honed tactics and organisation are undermining what started off as a perfectly legitimate and justified mass movement
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Alex Loin Toronto
I am not a religious man but someone quoted me from the Bible which I thought was an apt description of the behaviour of our young hooligans and rioters in the past few weeks.
It’s from James 1: “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” Many of our young people are angry, but they are not righteous, even if they think they are. In fact, they are tainting and undermining what started off as a perfectly legitimate and justified mass movement against the government’s extradition bill. They may have the numbers and large crowds to shout empty slogans and attack anyone who disagrees with them, but that doesn’t make it right. Far from it!
Their list of demands is ever lengthening and their actions increasingly violent. They are trying to hijack a larger peaceful movement with the connivance of all the major opposition parties as well as many local media outlets and the foreign press and governments.
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It’s sad because almost all the protests since early June started off peacefully. But when they came to an end, the violent elements emerged with masks and helmets ready to fight police and destroy public property with well-honed tactics and organisation.
That was so with the sacking of the legislature, even though the day started off peacefully with the annual July 1 protest march. It was so with the peaceful rally against buskers who monopolised the public performance areas at Tuen Mun Park, and again with the latest march at the weekend against parallel traders in Sheung Shui.
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