I suppose if I wasn’t so predisposed to being a “news junkie,” I might be able to spare myself some angst and grief over what’s happening in the world. But I am who I am and one of the results is letting the news of the day upset me.

In some ways, we should all be upset over things that are happening, specifically the so-called protests. They leave me dismayed. Shocked. Discouraged and disheartened.

The word dismayed means a cause for someone to feel distress. Shocked is when we face something that surprises and/or upsets. To be discouraged is to have lost confidence or enthusiasm or become disheartened, which means losing hope and even energy.

How can we not feel distress when we watch what’s happening in the war-torn world and deep divisions in our own nation? How can we ignore such feelings when we watch what some believe are just peaceful protests that turn to hate speech and threats of violence?

I am, indeed, shocked to see the crowds growing on college campuses, largely young, supposedly educated, people rallying behind terrorist groups, organizations that want to kill and are becoming emboldened by the support.

I am discouraged and disheartened to see such reckless disregard for other people, including authority. Who will ever want to pursue law enforcement with the way so many are treating them, the shocking numbers being killed in the line of duty? What’s happening in our country is appalling, and it doesn’t help that millions have entered the United States illegally with no one knowing who they are, where they come from or what they intend to do.

The protests on our elite campuses seem different from those in earlier eras. They are very organized, some presuming by non-students. Those in the Vietnam era came together as grassroots gatherings of students then spread as other colleges and universities heard of these actions. Today’s conformity of the tents, signs, even the words being yelled and including very hateful words targeted toward Israel and people of the Jewish faith, point toward influence that’s different from earlier times.

I well remember those anti-war demonstrations on the Michigan State University campus where we lived from 1969-1971 when we were first married. This even included a tent city that sprung up almost overnight. Some of these were bedsheets fashioned into tents, not new fabric that looks to be straight out of the outdoor store. Memory says this tent city was behind the Student Union, but might have been behind the International Center where there was a big, square grassy patch of ground and sidewalk network.

I don’t remember hate speech. I don’t remember violence — with the later exception of what happened at Kent State University. I do remember peace symbols everywhere. I remember sit-ins, teach-ins, and music. This tent city lasted a few weeks because the weather was nice. It involved peaceful protest, but was almost a party atmosphere and students and even community members with children could walk safely through the quad without being accosted or yelled at. There was no defacing of property.

While there was war and continued unrest in the country and a dissatisfaction with government, hate and violence just weren’t a factor, at least not at MSU. There WAS a massive march later that snaked through the campus avenues, led by the interim president, after the Kent State shootings.

I also recall a later incident in which students stormed the administration building, but it wasn’t to destroy property or harm anyone. They sat on the floors for a peaceful sit-in. Once students made their point, they left the building.

It appears things are very different now. It has to be “us” vs. “them” with target groups or segments of the population on the receiving end of the vitriol. I don’t understand why. Yes, we should be concerned about what is happening in the world and seek ways to actually help. To build bridges, not widen separations. To discover what we have in common as human beings who have to share space on the planet. Do we really have to spew hateful words and threaten and engage in violent actions, broadening divisions, even between faiths? There should be no room for such as these in a civilized society.

Many made fun of him at the time, but something I often come back to, especially now, is what Rodney King said after riots raged in Los Angeles in May of 1992. King was beaten by police after a high-speed chase. He had fled a traffic violation earlier. Tensions were high as many were killed in the riots and a lot of property was destroyed. Actions by those particular police highlighted a problem of overuse of force, but King asked for a press conference following the event.

People were surprised by what he had to say in light of his circumstance. His words still resonate: He said, “People, I just want to say, can’t we all get along? Can’t we all get along?”

Maybe King’s words still apply.

(Contact Deb Wuethrich of Portville, N.Y. at deborahmarcein@gmail.com)