Thank God blu is out of the country, because she once said she liked me better when I was not political (or was that Urban?)
Anyway, this article pisses me off
Political Dissent
What's more American than protesting the administration or the Powers That Be?
Hello Boston Tea Party? Hello Civil Rights protests?
9/11 gave this kind of stuff validity. It gave Conservatives a legit cause to arrest anyone who was anti-war and/or anti-Bush. It's got to stop. And, yes, I'd be against it if the protesters were Republicans demonstrating against a Democratic Administration.
These current protesters ended up not being charged which makes it all the more disgusting--they get carted away, booked, stripped search . . .when the cops KNOW they are not "threats" to national security.
17 comments:
Dissent is the most important quality of any sort of democratic state or republic. We, as a country, often use that notion to declare other countries tyrannies, so what happens when our government starts hiding dissent, pushing into small corners, or arresting dissenters in the name of security?
Harry S Truman:
Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.
i read the article you reprinted here and i don't doubt it's all true or i'll at least go with that assumption but as the article mentioned but pretty much glossed over is this type of thing is nothing new . you 3 are probably too young to remember what was going on with civil liberties during the hay day of the vietnam war protest period in america . not only were people arrested , strip searched , not allowed representaion of a lawyer for days but also they were often badly beaten as in chicago at the democratic convention , and also some were shot and killed at a place called kent state. most people in the peace movement , including myself assumed we had a file at the fbi . was it true , i honestly don't know , i suppose many people did have an fbi file and were investigated by the government . does this make it right. thats a bitch of a question and heres why it is now as it was then . the government is suppose to protect the populace from violence from what most people would consider radical crazy groups , at this time nutty muslim organizations like al queta . back in the 60s nutty radical organizations like the weathermen who were hell bent on causing violent disruption here to stop a war in south east asia they felt was wrong . i;m not going to make any moral judgements here but it is a catch 22 situation. if the government just said , oh fuck it, let the terrorist types bomb the subways , cities , etc , i think people would be rather pissed off and would be yelling for a government that would protect them . on the other hand when the government tries to protect the citizens from events like 9/11 and some civil liberties are abused because by nature that protection involves a certain amount of what is seen as abuse of rights then people are screaning about that , and thats whats called a catch 22 , you cant win no matter what you do . anyhow , i don't think this type of thing with the government intruding into lives is something new under mr bush and his bunch , i think if you look into it you will find out it's the type of thing that happens when there is what is perceived to be a threat to america be that a soviet union during the cold war , a nazi germany during ww2 , an imperial japan also during ww2 or for that matter a conferation of breakaway states during what is called the civil war in america . does that ever make it right , you tell me, its all a big trade off , safety vs freedom . allan
To equate people arrested for wearing STOP THE WAR or BUSH SUCKS T-shirts at Bush speeches with terrorists bombing buildings and the public "safety" is just stupid.
"It's nothing more than an attempt by the president and his staff to suppress free speech..."
Stifling dissent is what having power is all about. How long do you let LP carry on with his dissents? Do we need to get the ACLU involved on his behalf.
It's a simple human response, to want to cut off criticism. Pres. Bush, and his lick-spittle lackeys, are the latest in a long line of people in power who give vent to this. And I'm very happy to hear that the over-the-top efforts are being, in turn, opposed. Sadly, when damages are paid, it's the American people who pay, not the wrong-doers.
Are you upset about something your employer does, or doesn't do? Are you going to rub the boss's face in it via some kind of public display, as would be your right under our vaunted Freedom of Speech right? You are? Well, good for you!
look emma, i don't really know what happened in these cases except for this one article . i gave it the benefit of the doubt but that doesnt make you happy . as usual you have become hostile and start calling people names , i wrote a very intelligent piece . no it gave no answers , there are no answers , in a hundred years people will be talking about the same tripe in this country , they were talking about it 40 years ago when i was in the protest movement and they are talking about it now , i don't get your hostility . i really don't . if you had read what i wrote i also said people were killed at kent state , people were beaten in chicago for little more then protesting . you have such a bug up your ass about this bush guy you cant seem to see beyond it . believe me , bush will be gone and i can only hop e to god a republican wins again otherwise you will have nothing to bitch and moan about . you really make me tired emma , you really do . allan
Exactly what name did I call you sparky?
I must confess I am puzzled; I for one cannot equate "a very intelligent piece" with a total lack of punctuation, grammar, or capitalization, not to mention all those curse words.
Having said that: just because Emma said that something is stupid does not mean she was calling anyone names.
And having said THAT: yes, dissent has been stifled in this country since at least the Boston Massacre. Should we allow suppresion of dissent now, just because it's been done in the past? I think not; and I agree with Emma that one cannot group people wearing anti-Bush T-shirts with weapon-carrying terrorists, no matter what the administration might think.
Come on Boit. We all know that's you! Come out of the closet, and admit you still love us!!!
look emma , i over react to what you say maybe but i dont think the word stupid is nessessary and kath , punctuation or grammer has nothing to do with whether something is intelligent or not. surely you know that . my point was / is that this has always gone on, i have personal experience from the 60s of it going on and except for a small mention of clinton and nixon that article makes it sound its a new thing under bush . thats all, simple and of course the fact that its happened before and will continue to happen doesnt make it right , i never said it did . i thought itmight be interesting to share the eperience i had with it during a period in american history when the government practiced far more repression on rights then it does now , thats it , simple
Actually, punctuation and grammar have a great deal to do with the appearance of looking intelligent and sounding intelligent.
If u onleez evah tips like dis, than u is hard to undertood and you iz a phule.
Allan, I would much rather be free than safe. Because if you give up the freedom, you never really have the safety.
You may have said that, Blu, but how are we supposed to remember, when you took down your blog?
On the other hand bad typing and puctuation can also the preserve of the genius ;)
Only in your case dear Mum!
START QUOTE Allan, I would much rather be free than safe. Because if you give up the freedom, you never really have the safety. END QUOTE
What she said.
Blu, if you're going to claim Republicans have more class than Dems, I can refute that with one name Ann Coulter. I can refute it with two names Rush Limbaugh, and I can even add a third Bill O'Reilly. So please let's not meniton class.
Blu said it . . . not me.
Rosa -- I love ya darlin' but your grammar, spelling and punctuation sometimes shock me especially given you're an English prof!!!
It's summer, Urbs. I am on vacation.
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