Blogdaughter Michele of Letters From New York City has recovered sufficiently from her latest bout of carpal tunnel to post an entry in the form of an open letter to me.

After the pleasantries (which make me blush), the bulk of it is an analysis of the protestors at the Democratic convention - who they are and what they're trying to do:

These protestors don't wish to engage in a discussion, they don't wish to educate the public by putting out position papers or informational flyers. Instead, they're main goal is to show 'what a fascist society we live in, as a result of our Homeland Security policies and the Patriot Act'. How do they do that? By provoking the police through various subtle but systematic means.

She's got a good point.

I'm not entirely comfortable with the notion of "Free Speech Zones", because, in principle, it opens the door to acceptance of the idea of "Non-Free Speech Zones", which entails a vague threat of having such zones, once legitimized, expanding to cover vast swaths of the nation.

However, as Michele points out, what the protestors are seeking in Boston isn't so much "free speech" as it is the "right" to forcibly interfere with other peoples' rights to go about their daily business unimpeded. The concept of "disturbing the peace" probably applies here.

It isn't discussion the protestors are after, it's intimidation and harrassment, which, like blackmail, death threats, "fighting words" and "yelling "FIRE!" in a crowded theater", aren't protected speech. Since it's pretty obvious that this is what's going on, I don't have that much of a problem with the police temporarily containing the trouble-makers in a single area where they can be more easily watched while the convention is ongoing.

Still, I'm aware that other perspectives on the issue are possible, so feel free to present them in the comments, if you're so inclined.

Posted by: Harvey at 09:57 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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