AND IT'S ONE, TWO, THREE... WHAT ARE WE FIGHTIN' FOR?
WHOOPIE BUSH DON'T GIVE A DAMN, NEXT STOP IS BADDIE SADDAM
HYPOCRISY, OFF THE TOP OF THE CHARTS FOR FASCIST TEAM!
Scott,
Some of these Carolinians from around Greensboro are not taking kindly to having Bush and his co-conspirators steal our freedoms from oppression from us.
-Ray
news-record.com
Protesters deserved more consideration 8-6-02
News & Record
On the same day police had contained a group of anti-war protesters nearly a mile away, President George W. Bush told an audience at Grandover Resort that the nation's terrorist enemies "cannot stand the fact that we have open debate in our society."
The protesters, who were members of the Greensboro Peace Coalition, had notified police of their plans a week in advance. They were complying with city regulations. Yet they were denied the opportunity to join "open debate" by standing quietly where the president might see signs reflecting their opinions during a July 25 visit to Greensboro.
Something is wrong with this picture.
Meanwhile, no such restraint applied to the spontaneous flag waving by residents along the circuitous route of the presidential motorcade. The difference, of course, was the message. Nonetheless, the First Amendment guarantees free speech, regardless of ideology.
In fairness, Secret Service agents and local law enforcement had little time to plan a secure presidential travel route and to establish a safe perimeter at Grandover. In this instance, however, the Peace Coalition reasonably had requested in advance to demonstrate at an intersection a quarter-mile from the hotel.
But on orders from the Secret Service, police kept them a mile away, which would prevent the president from seeing their placards. That turned out to be a moot point because the signs were confiscated without explanation.
Once the president had entered the building, the demonstrators were allowed closer, and their signs were returned. But few were around to see their message at that point, aside from the police.
Why keep peaceful protesters at bay in a distant secured area when traffic moved freely in the direction of the main building? If the protesters were a threat, why weren't they searched, as were attendees entering Grandover for the $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser for U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Dole?
Such an unnecessary clamp-down on lawful protest seems out of place in a city whose planned Civil Rights Museum commemorates peaceful protests against segregation four decades ago and whose rich tradition of Quaker dissent dates back to the American Revolution.
The Peace Coalition is no stranger to local authorities. Members hold frequent vigils and even marched and distributed material without incident during this year's July Fourth parade. Despite legitimate concerns to protect the president, they deserved better treatment.
First Amendment guarantees are not awarded at the discretion of law enforcement. They are not revoked if we don't like what is being said.
Such a chilling response stifles peaceful expression of political beliefs, no matter how unpopular. |
