A peaceful march Friday in Pembroke staged by people calling for an end to police brutality and social injustice, sadly, turned ugly.

Participants and witnesses reported some of the people lining the streets shouted insults, including racial epithets, and threw objects at the protesters.

This behavior was rightly condemned by civic and academic leaders, and members of the public.

But, here’s a reality check for the protesters who were offended by those boorish actions: You were targeted by humans, and humans are flawed, all of them.

Some of the protesters said what was most shocking and offensive were the armed men standing in front of businesses. And, as is normal with most “woke” individuals, these men were tagged by some as racist, ignoring the fact that the “racists” were witnesses to a multi-racial event.

Welcome to the real world, offended seekers of peace and justice.

It is wrong to automatically label the gun-toters as racist. It is easy to believe that what was seen were scared people who wanted to ensure their property wasn’t vandalized, looted and burned.

Remember, these were people who for weeks have read reports and seen videos of businesses being vandalized, looted and burned by thugs who hijacked protests in major cities all across the nation. The gun-toters also, probably, were well aware of reports of how many of the young thugs committing, or at least initiating, acts of violence against property were members of organizations that recruit many of their followers off college campuses, and as of Friday The University of North Carolina at Pembroke was a college. Not saying this is true of UNCP, but many people have come to believe many colleges and universities — you know, those places that are supposed to be bastions of the free and open exchange of ideas — have surrendered to leftist ideology and are now turning out thousands of young people trained to believe the United States is an evil place ruled by tyrannical elitists.

Back to the gun-toters.

Given all that these people have seen and heard, is it any wonder they wanted to make sure their businesses were protected? And remember, Pembroke is in North Carolina, which is in the U.S. South. In the South most people take their Second Amendment rights and their right to defend family and property very seriously.

As for the hurlers of insults and objects, at least some of them probably fell into a category similar to the one occupied by the gun-toters. Why? Because they have seen the same videos and read the same accounts about peaceful-gone-violent protests. And it is quite possible they were frustrated and have had enough of the lawlessness and insanity visited upon other cities. Perhaps, they simply didn’t want the same to happen in Pembroke and were hoping bad behavior would stop Friday’s march.

Then again, it’s not hard to believe that some of them truly were racists. Nor is it hard to believe that the crowd of spectators had been infiltrated by thugs hoping to instigate violence.

Regardless, there is a simple point that “woke” proponents of any cause need to understand: Not everyone who insults or offends you, or disagrees with your cause is uneducated and blind to your cause, nor are they evil or racist. They’re human.