>I heard about peaceful protests. I didn't hear about riots (which, to me, indicates violence) anywhere.
>
>I heard about some window smashing, which seems a bit violent to me. I also heard about a student somewhere in California who was deliberately run down by a car during a protest. If this is true, it is not exactly peaceful. I certainly have no problem with peaceful protests. I happen to believe in the first amendment....

Window smashing is wrong, though minor. If a student was intentionally run down, that's also wrong and someone should be punished. But I don't think any of that can be characterized as rioting.

Tamar