The actions of several people shaped the discussion of a protest during the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday night.

Residents of Buckingham’s third and fifth districts kneeled during the meeting’s Pledge of Allegiance, a form of protest that captured national attention after Quarterback Colin Kaepernick with the National Football League kneeled during the National Anthem while with the San Francisco 49ers in protest of police violence.

Every person present at the meeting, from the county administration and members of the public to the board of supervisors, has the right to state their beliefs.

The act of kneeling is an expression of the U.S. First Amendment, which establishes freedom of speech or expression.

The response from members of the board of supervisors, finding the act as a sign of disrespect to the U.S. flag or disagreeing with the response by Marie Flowers, one of the protesters, that night that she performed the action because it “was just the fashion of the day,” is also carrying out the First Amendment.

However, for members of the board to tell the protester in question to leave if he or she does not respect the flag, or confronting a resident in the parking lot and continuing to yell at the resident while entering a vehicle and driving away was not only enormously disrespectful to people who were fully in their right to make a protest, but indicates that better understanding of the First Amendment is needed.

County officials represent the district in which they live. This does not mean that they aren’t allowed to have their own beliefs. It means that they have a responsibility to interact with their constituents with respect, understanding their constituents have a right to express ideas that they don’t agree with.

Between silently kneeling and telling someone to leave, I see the latter as more disrespectful.

Emily Hollingsworth is a staff reporter for The Farmville Herald and Farmville Newsmedia LLC. Her email address is Emily.Hollingsworth@FarmvilleHerald.com.