you have the right…
to speak your mind…
-and-
to drive a car, obeying the traffic laws…
but, you don’t have the right to speak your mind, blocking traffic, while people drive, obeying the traffic laws. You then have the right to remain silent…thank you Mr. Miranda.
War protesters plan march, rally on Common today
I’m all for people’s right to protest. I don’t support this war, based on the evidence and information we’ve been given. I won’t be protesting — I don’t like people (some might say that this is a recurring, underlying theme here…they’d be right).
I don’t think that an anti-war protest, at this stage of the game, will stop the war. W will not come in from romantic nature walk with the Brit at Camp David today, and watch the news and say “wow! they DON’T support this war? shit! get our troops back here, now!” But, the presence of the protesters will do something, at sometime…
As much as I don’t believe that our government it truly ‘by the people, for the people’, and I don’t believe that public opinion plays into the decision making process for things like war, public opinion is important: if the government isn’t reminded, even after the fact, of our disapproval, they will forget, and sadly, assume that there IS support.
I know it’s not that cut and dry…that is the essence though…
Go and speak your mind today, if you want. Have a rally…stop short of protest…stop short of blocking traffic…stop short of making the police spend even more of the taxpayers’ money booking you — this doesn’t get the point across.
[note: I just spoke with su, and she heard that people were already fighting out on the Common 
]
Blocking traffic brings the people that are not protesting into the protest. These people are trying to get from point A to point B — usually with a set agenda and time in mind. Do you expect them to not be angry? In an ideal world, people would be mad, and then more on, but this isn’t…people get stupid; people get enraged; people fight; people get hurt; the story gets twisted and the reasons are neve understood…
Speak you mind…do it wisely…