From my newsfeed, I got the impression that the protesters were a bunch of weirdos. All that the million and one sources in my feed mention about the protesters is that they are “defending sacred ancestral sites”, and it’s hard to take this concept seriously.
But then I finally saw a representative of the Standing Rock Sioux on TV and he explained that the protests are about preserving water from being contaminated by the pipeline. That is, the protest is important and reasonable and the protesters are not kooks but people who should be supported in their good fight. I Google photos of the protest, and sure enough, people are standing with placards that say “Clean water!”
It’s almost like there is a conspiracy to shit on the protest and make it sound like a bunch of weirdos being extra special weird.
One should always go to the source and not trust retellings – that’s the lesson here. I almost condemned people who defend an issue I care the most about because I trusted retelling.
Clarissa's Blog 
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