Letter: Student protests offer lessons in nonviolence

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Thanks to The Herald for impartially reporting the latest interactions between student demonstrators and the opposition (“Tensions flare during Lake Stevens student ICE protests,” The Herald, Feb. 10).

I’ve read internet criticism saying students need to be in the classroom learning reading, writing and arithmetic. I doubt that there has ever been a time when it was more important for young people to learn how peaceful protests works and why it is so vital for it to remain peaceful.

We should be looking to the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. We must also seek to understand the meaning and use of propaganda, fascism and totalitarianism.

Many are feeling fear, heated and uncertainty. We are being thrown into chaotic times that will require great strength and unity in order to arrive at an outcome that will preserve the heritage of our freedom. We have arrived at dangerous times when it has become difficult to know whom to trust. Regardless of which side we’re on, it is a time to step back from past mistakes and prepare for a future in which we defend our beliefs without the type o anger that makes us cause physical harm to others.

Herb Fox

Marysville