SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
The Fine print: The following are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Journal by DeathMonkey
In other totally-not-a-slide-into-fascism news, peaceful protestors who had a permit to march were teargassed on the way to vote.
They have elections in all those shithole dictatorial countries too. They just make sure the wrong people don't vote.
The participants in Saturday’s “I Am Change” march had intended to conclude at an early-voting site to emphasize turnout in the final days of the presidential campaign. Those plans were thrown into disarray when law-enforcement officers in riot gear and gas masks insisted demonstrators move off the street and clear county property, despite a permit authorizing their presence.
Protestors with a permit teargassed on the way to vote.
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 92 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Now KEN and BARBIE are PERMANENTLY ADDICTED to MIND-ALTERING DRUGS ...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday November 02 2020, @08:45PM (13 children)
Most, but not all, righties have learned to not play in the streets. I suppose it makes people's groins tingle to walk fifty abreast down the street, right up until they are hit by a car.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 03 2020, @12:46AM (10 children)
it's called civil disobedience and it's a very American thing to do. This country was founded by people who routinely engaged in civil disobedience like the Boston Tea Party. Perhaps you should go back and read how the colonists rebelled against British rule.
Hitting protesters with cars sounds a lot like the murder of Heather Heyer. It should be noted that both the Unite the Right rally and the counterprotesters marched in the streets of Charlottesville. Although it didn't involve a car, Bloody Sunday was an ambush of peaceful civil rights protesters.
There's a long history of marching in the streets, going back at least to the Selma to Montgomery marches. The intent is to get attention and for the protests to be inconvenient [washingtonpost.com] while not physically damaging anything. After Bloody Sunday, the marches were explicitly permitted by a federal court order issued by Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr., who ruled that the rights of the protesters were protected by the first amendment [latimes.com].
Those rights have since been scaled back, essentially allowing the government to designate free speech zones while preventing any sort of demonstrations in other areas. The effect is to minimize the impact of protests by confining them to less visible areas.
During this past week, a bill has been introduced in Nebraska that would make it a felony to block roads while protesting [omaha.com]. But conservatives are outraged when they're told to move to free speech zones [aclu.org].
If you truly care about liberty, anyone should be free to protest on public property when they want to, provided they're not damaging the property. This means that both liberal and conservative protesters should be free to protest in this manner. Protesters shouldn't need a government permit to exercise their speech on public property, even when it's inconvenient for others. Protesters shouldn't be allowed to block emergency vehicles but should otherwise be free to exercise their freedoms of speech and expression on public property. They shouldn't need to demand a permit from the government; the first amendment is the only permit they should need.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday November 03 2020, @01:46AM (9 children)
If you have a PERMIT, as Unite the Right had, then it becomes LEGAL to march down a street. At that point, you are not impeding traffic, because traffic has been shut down, so that you may march. Please tell me that you understand that crucial bit of data.
Protesters who shut down interstate highways, especially, should be mowed down like bowling pins. Major highways, ditto. You want to mill around down at the courthouse, in front of the police station, and crap like that, I'll give you some measure of respect - unless I'm headed to an emergency of my own. How 'bout those silly rat bastards who mocked the expectant mother, on her way to the hospital - I think that was in Houston.
Uhhhhh - free speech zone? That zone extends to wherever my feet are planted, thank you very much. Same goes for you - you may speak any damned place you choose to speak. Just don't block the traffic, you idiot. Blocking traffic is not "civil disobedience", it is an infringement on the rights of others. Get your ass on the sidewalk, or the bike lane, or parking lanes, and leave travel lanes the hell alone. That ambulance that wants to go by may well be on it's way to rescue one of your own fucking mates!
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 03 2020, @04:39AM (8 children)
Unless, of course, that traffic is a Biden/Harris campaign bus, in which case you're completely okay with it.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 03 2020, @04:51AM (7 children)
The Biden bus was not stopped. It may have been somewhat impeded, in that it couldn't go as fast as the driver wanted to go. But the bus continued it's journey without interruption, despite some asshole in a little white car crashing into a Trump pickup truck.
Why don't some of you pull your heads out of your asses? What you saw in the Biden bus video does not compare in any way to fuckwits completely stopping traffic on the interstate highway. Antifa halted at least one person who was on her way to the hospital, and they just didn't give a shit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 03 2020, @07:17AM (6 children)
Interstate highways have a minimum speed limit of 40 mph. The Biden bus was forced to slow to 20 mph, which most certainly violates the law. The bottom line is that you have different standards for breaking the law to obstruct traffic. It's apparently completely okay when your side does it but it's terribly wrong when the other side does it.
As for the collision, the Biden bus and the white SUV were both attempting to change into the rightmost lane. It appears that a black Trump truck in the rightmost lane sped up to block the white SUV from changing lanes, forcibly pushing it back into the center lane. Some camera angles of the incident show a much larger gap initially between the rear of the Biden bus and the trailing Trump truck. The driver of the white SUV may not have expected the black Truck to accelerate.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday November 03 2020, @03:11PM (5 children)
Correction: Someone associated with the Biden campaign said that the bus was forced to slow down to 20 mph. The clips that I have seen of the bus all show the bus rolling at speeds in excess of 40 mph.
If so, then we must castigate every police officer who fails to write hundreds, even thousands, of tickets every rush hour morning when the traffic slows below 40 mph.
Perhaps. And, you're saying that you don't? Face it, you're up in arms because a bus was slowed down a little bit. But you have not one word of sympathy for the woman who was on her way to the hospital, and was forced to sit in traffic for a half hour or more when YOUR SIDE completely closed an interstate.
A little honesty on your side would be a good thing. If, in fact, you were honest, then maybe you could claim the high ground here. Now, kindly fuck off. I'm really not into drama, and I'm not voting to give you an award. America's got talent, but you aren't that talent.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 03 2020, @05:18PM (4 children)
The hypocrisy and dishonesty from you is absolutely incredible.
The fact is, I'm not bothered by Trump supporters slowing the bus. And the collision was probably the result of the white SUV trying to stay right behind the bus and two cars trying to fill the same gap behind the bus as it changed lanes. I doubt the collision was an attempt at expressing political views.
In regard to blocking emergency vehicles, both you and the other AC have misrepresented my position, where I explicitly said [soylentnews.org]:
You lied when you claimed I didn't care about emergency vehicles being blocked. But we should acknowledge that protests like the Trump Train or the gridlock around Michigan's capitol could also block emergency vehicles, yet conservatives were okay with those protests. Emergency vehicles should always have the right of way. But you're being disingenuous and misrepresenting what I've already said.
Aside from your dishonesty, my objections are that:
People shouldn't need to engage in permits for exercising their first amendment rights. When it comes to marching in the streets, it would be a good idea to notify the authorities to make sure it's done safely, but the permission of the authorities should not be required. In the present day, the government would most certainly refuse to grant a permit for a similar march like the Selma to Montgomery marches. Permits have been used as a tool to silence protests by moving them to a location where they wouldn't be visible or inconvenient.
For that matter, modern protests are usually very tame compared with the methods used by colonists rebelling against British rule. Riots and looting were part of the American Revolution. That is a pretty good description of dumping British East India Company's tea into Boston Harbor. The Slave Insurrection of 1741 involved burning numerous buildings in New York, including the governor's house. The right often justifies the need to own guns as protection from tyranny. However, actually using those guns in such a manner would constitute a violent act of civil disobedience.
Some of the actions taken during civil disobedience are illegal. But that doesn't justify the use of deadly force unless it's to protect someone else from killing or seriously injuring another person. That means you don't get to drive your car into a group of nonviolent protesters blocking the streets, something you claimed you would do earlier in this thread. If a person is accelerating toward a group of protesters with the intent of mowing them down, it should be legal for people to shoot at the car's tires or even at the driver to prevent this from occurring. You don't get to run down protesters just because their civil disobedience is inconvenient for you.
I don't intend to reply to you again because you've shown you won't debate honestly.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday November 03 2020, @05:48PM (3 children)
No, I don't see that I've been "dishonest" anywhere. Perhaps if you used a registered nickname on SN, I wouldn't have misinterpreted your position on any particular issue.
Thank you for that - it goes a long way toward explaining your position. And, the constitution backs that up - there's really not much to argue there. But, we must keep in mind that emergencies happen when there are no official emergency vehicles around. If Joe has severely injured himself, and his wife is driving him to the ER in the family car, that is an emergency. Impeding Joe's progress should be punishable. So, long story short, you DO NOT have any right to shut down a street, unless you have coordinated with officials. Said coordination would probably include detour signs and police traffic direction, which would route Joe down a couple side streets, so that he arrives at the ER in a timely manner.
Agreed, in principal. But, then you get into local laws. Some jurisdictions are more constitutional than others. Want to stage a demonstration, you just go to City Hall and file the paperwork, and there you go - you have a demonstration. Other places are less constitutional in their approach, and presume to grant or deny permission for your demonstration.
You've gone to City Hall and filed your paperwork? City Hall denies permission? Well, you belong in court. City Hall has no right to deny permission for your right to assemble. Challenge that authority, request an emergency injunction from the judge for your own demonstration, then follow up with a suit to establish that City Hall is over stepping it's authority.
As for random violent acts this election cycle? How about the left be honest, and admit that the left is rioting. Portland, St. Louis, and Kenosha are prime examples of violence. I'm sick of the "fiery but mostly peaceful" bullshit from the left. Violence is violence. Stop spinning bullshit as "peaceful protests". Those are the lies.
All the talk about a boogaloo, or a revolution, or a coup, comes from the left. The left needs to make up it's mind whether it wants an armed confrontation, or it wants peaceful dialogue.
You speak of hypocrisy, but you don't seem to see that damned near all the hypocrisy is coming from the left?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 03 2020, @07:01PM (2 children)
YOU were the first to start calling for civil war 2.0 to protect your grandchildren from the darkies.
Not surprising you're a hypocritical lying turd yet again. Go fuck yourself you nazi collaborator (your admission not my accusation), your constant shitposting to minimize the right's fascism is pathetic. Get a life wanker.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday November 03 2020, @07:10PM (1 child)
That is a lie. Go back and re-read what you thought you have read. I have promised that IF the left pushes for a civil war, it's going to be far uglier than they can imagine. The right won't just roll over after the left waves a gun around.
Reading comprehension - try it.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 04 2020, @08:33PM
Nice revisionism you hack.
Own your own shit for once, and if you regret your own words THEN ADMIT YOU WERE WRONG AND APOLOGIZE!
Don't worry, I know you are incapable.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 03 2020, @10:10AM (1 child)
Trumpies blocking public thoroughfares to slow down emergency vehicles so that Trump voters with the Covid-19 can't make it to intensive care in time, which lowers health care costs for everyone. A Public service, actually.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday November 03 2020, @03:14PM
Had to give you a funny mod for that one. The really funny part is - those people who hate Boomers should be praying that Covid-19 sweeps the nation coast-to-coast then sweeps back again, taking all the Boomers out of the picture.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.