“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States grants us those precious freedoms. But, where does one person’s rights end and another’s begin?
The current “Occupy Movements” spreading across our nation are not dying out. They are gaining momentum as protestors spread out from large cities to smaller communities. Their message may have have been confusing of convoluted at times, but it is clear that people are fed up with the way things are today. And, corporate America and the government are to blame.
The message has been heard and appreciated by many. But, there are also many who have grown to scorn the protestors.
It’s been over two months since the Occupy Wall Street protestors set up camp in Zuccotti Park in New York, and over a month since a similar tent-city was erected on Dilworth Plaza in Philadelphia. More have sprung up in other major U.S. cities.
Protestors may have started out with a clearer message but the meanings grew as more and more people joined in. There is much to protest about.
The protestors lost supporters when they blocked roads and public transit systems during rush hours causing the working group of the “99%” inconvenience and, in some cases, access to their jobs. In their attempt to disrupt the “1%” they angered many people who previously supported them.
And, things got worse in some of the tent cities. Public urination and defecation teamed with overflowing portable toilets to become a public health hazard. Walls, decorated with graffiti formed from human feces, were a public health hazard to all – protestor or not. One had to only traverse the concourse from Dilworth Plaza to the Broad Street Subway stop to experience the repugnant and unhealthy display. And of course, there was the onset of serious crime in some of the Occupy communities.
What should governments do? The unhealthy acts and conditions were most likely caused by a few, not the many. How do you protect the rights guaranteed in the First Amendment for all of the people.
Are government officials on equal ground with protestors when they march into public areas and remove tents and cleanup unsanitary conditions caused by weeks of Spartan living on the part of the protestors? We think so. Those who link arms and desire to be arrested should be accommodated. A police officer should use mace, pepper spray and batons to defend themselves, not as a first attempt to move protestors.
Government has an obligation to be concerned with public sanitation, security and safety. It is their responsibility to safeguard the rights of all from being infringed by others.
The problems caused by the few should not cause the many to alter their message or resort to tactics that disenfranchise supporters. That goes for police and protestors.