An American musician, Gerard Way, once said: "Say what you want but never say it with violence!" In the wake of violent protests by the Tshwane University of Technology students on Soshanguve campus, let me highlight something.While I acknowledge the fact that everyone has a right to demonstrate and the right to quality service delivery, I condemn the idea that protests should be violent.How do we justify a situation where protesters burn tyres on the roads and disturb traffic, all in the name of showing anger?How do we explain the motive behind the burning of exam halls and security guards' vehicles by these students?This evil behaviour stretches beyond the university gates as the same thing happens during community protests.Question is: if you decide to burn schools, police stations, libraries and clinics in your own community, who ends up on the losing side? Truth is, if people embark on violent protests, attention is shifted from addressing their grievances to following up on the crimes they committed while trying to raise their grievances.Their problems therefore remain unresolved and service-delivery protests become a never-ending story. If only people would realise that protesting does not mean vandalism. Surely you cannot solve a problem by creating another problem. After all, protests are inspired by the need for a solution, not more destruction. We can do better...