[LETTERS TO THE EDITOR]Reflect before rallying

I was appalled after reading the article “100,000 conservatives denounce reformists” on Tuesday. I felt we still had a long way to go to be civilized.
While I was reading the article, it reminded me of the 1970s and 1980s, when a lot of reckless demonstrations were held.
I thought we had passed that phase, but I guess I was mistaken.
People still express their opinions by shouting slogans (thus making a lot of noise), by causing violence and inconvenience and by burning things.
I am not saying that expressing one’s opinion in itself is wrong. It is perfectly okay to do that, but I am just saying you have to think about how to do that, how to rally.
There should be better ways to rally. We can have less violent and quieter rallies. We don’t have to shout slogans. People can read them [from signs] instead.
We don’t have to burn North Korean flags and pictures of Kim Jong-il. I think it only worsens inter-Korean relations, which are not so good right now due to the nuclear experiments of South Korea.
I would like to tell those people who want to rally: People will turn their backs on you if you cause any inconvenience or violence to them even before they listen to your voices.
So if you want your voices to be heard, think how to go about it before you rally.

by Park Eun-sook