"Alright, guys you can go ahead and start," my junior English teacher had said.



During the year ofwe had online school, my teacher had come up with a way to keep us connected with what'swhat was going on in the world, a current events discussion to be held every other week.



"I think it's smart to address the elephant in the room," I started with,. "The attack on the Capitol was the most shameful thing I've ever seen as an American."



A week before, one of the darkest events that have ever occurred on U.S. soil took place at the United States Capitol. A mob of Trump Supporterssupporters stormed the building in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.



"I think it was patriotic.," Oneone of my classmates had said.



Slightly shocked by the comment, I asked him, "What was that?"



"I think it was patriotic," Hehe reiterated,. "They were standing up for what they think is right."



Not onlyOnly a month prior to that, this same person was exclaimingproclaiming his disapproval of the BLM protests that were not only happening in our city of Portland but also acrossacross the U.S.



It made me feel uneasy that this was his opinion, he was being hypocritical. But as the conversation continued, I realized judging his opinion would only end in a fight. The real way that we could find a common ground iswas by discussing why we felt the way we did.