All of this would be a terrible, terrible shame.

It would be a shame if protesters learned that police scanners are legal to own in the US, allowing them to learn where police are moving. It would be a shame if they discovered that these scanners can be used to send as well as receive, allowing them to flood the scanner frequencies with noise.

It would be a shame if protesters started wearing safety glasses, hard hats, respirators, and gardening gloves, all of which can be found at the same hardware stores as the plywood.

It would be a shame if the people behind the shield wall held up umbrellas so that tear gas canisters fired over their heads on the front line will be bounced away. It would be a shame if protesters began constructing improvised armor vests out of duct tape, hard-backed books, and ceramic tiles.

Apparently the phrase I grew up hearing "Never Forget" has been forgotten.