(Common good over individual rights)
In Seattle, November 30th, 1999 the WTO (World Trade Organization) protest started. It started out with 6,000 protesters that early morning. There was also about 2,000 riot police. Around 11:40am the police had cleared two streets using tear gas which affected many of the protesters. By noon there were about 50,000 people, even with their whole families marching against the WTO. Violence then broke our, bottles were starting to be thrown at the police and rubber bullets were then being shot back at the protesters. Vandalism started to rapidly spread with people spray painting and breaking windows of buildings owned by large corporations. Then, the once peaceful protest turned into a riot. After midnight most the peaceful protesters had left and the only ones still there were the punks, and the anarchist who were vandalizing everything. Only 68 people were arrested on November 30th.
On Wednesday, December 1st Police brutality became an effect on the protesters. They were firing hundreds of rounds of paint balls filled with pepper spray. The police arrested over 400 protesters on December 1st. The workers of the downtown Seattle buildings were finally allowed to go back to work. Many of the commuters going to work were pepper sprayed because the police couldn’t tell if they were a protester or not. The police became so strict and tore down protest every sign, wouldn’t let any walk around the streets or speak out loud downtown. At around midnight on Wednesday the police arrested anyone downtown and set a curfew for the city. They chased most of the protesters up Capital Hill in Seattle away from downtown. Police have attempted to declare downtown Seattle a protest free zone, which is violating the Constitution of the United States. There was about 7 million dollars worth of property damage done to the city and personal property. Around $15 million was lost in holiday sales because of the vandalism done to all the stores downtown. Another $6 million were spent on the police force prior to the state of emergency. A total for about $28 million dollars was lost because of the events that took place. (2)
Argument for Freedom of Assemble:
To have a voice in our country is very important to an individual. If you took that away from a citizen, our country wouldn’t be a Democracy at all even though we are turning away from a Democratic Government now. Protests are important to let others see how important some issues are, like the war. By having protests it makes a difference by making people aware of the current events that are taking place in the world, or our nation that affects us. At Kent State in 1970 four students died protesting peacefully against the war in Vietnam. The police or the National Guard are feared by protesters and retaliate with violence even if there is no violence by the protesters. The Government wants the people to be feared so we won’t protest about how the Government should change and how the war should be stopped. People need to rise above the fear they have for the Government and protest in what they believe in. If enough people come together to protest an issue they can make a difference. Freedom of speech and peaceful assemble is a very important Constitutional Amendment.
(Individual Rights over the Common Good)
On May 4th, 1970 students went onto the Kent State campus protesting the bombing of Cambodia. Some students started throwing rocks and windows were broken which made the Governor of Ohio James Rhodes send in the National Guard. The Ohio National Guard that went to Kent State on the order of the Governor were ill-trained and came right from riot duty elsewhere; they hadn't had much sleep. The National Guard had lack of military judgment and walked straight down a hill into the crowd of angry students. Then they turned back and were almost out of sight of the protesters when some of the soldiers opened fired on the crowed of students, hitting thirteen and killing four. They shot at the protesters for 13 seconds with rapid fire. The soldiers were not punished criminally, civilly or administratively for the death of the four students. One protester was shot because he was giving the finger to the National Guard. The National Guard wasn’t threatened by the protesters and were almost around a corner of a building out of harms way. None of the soldiers were even injured, but they still opened fire on the protesters. The Government never took the time to investigate what happen at Kent State until a long time after the incident happen. Tapes from the White House were released and Nixon who was the President at the time talked about how demonstrators were bums and how the protesters at Kent State victims had it coming. (6)
The Constitution of the United States gives people the freedom to protest. Our government fears people who want change for our country. When there is very little violence at a protest on a college campus in Ohio, the National Guard open fires, killing four students. We have the right to a peaceful protest but most of the time it becomes a disruption to the community so the police have to come. Police brutality is used on the protesters to make a strict example on what not to do. Protesting helps our community and our society see change which goes against our government. Freedom of assemble is an individual right for every one of the United States but the government doesn’t give the citizens that freedom. They control the protests with violence and tries to make people fearful of protesting. The government should support protesters but instead they punish them for exercising the First Amendment. The common good is to enforce more laws about were protest could take place to make it less of a disruption for the community. Individual rights are more important than the common good because being able to voice your opinion to your community on public spaces is necessary.
Works Cited
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(1)
Gray, Peter. "Basic Law for Road Protestors." Your Rights. Jan. 1996. 10 Mar. 2008 <http://www.urban75.com/Action/protest.html>.
This website was agreat secondary source. The author wrote this page to let the readers know about the laws of road protesting. It is an informational site which was very helpful. I will incorporate many laws which the author describes on this site on my paper. I would definitely use this website as a source again. It is really great for the basic law for road protesting and isn't missing anything that would be helpful.
(2)
Lendman, Stephen. "Protesting Power: War, Resistance and Law." The Populist Party. 29 Feb. 2008. 10 Mar. 2008 <http://www.populistamerica.com/protesting_power_war_resistance_and_law>. This website was a good secondary source. The author described different events about the civil rights of an individual. It was to let readers know what is happening to citizen rights. This website tells about different events that I can use in my paper letting me relate to the stories on how individual rights are very important. This source isn't the best but I would use it again in another paper or presentation. It explains on a lot of different issues that don't even relate to my subject.
(3)
"Right to Protest." Democrats.Com. 2006. ACLU North Carolina. 10 Mar. 2008 <http://www.democrats.com/right-to-protest>.
This website was a very useful secondary source. It was published to let people know about the laws and different rights protesters have. This site was to educate people who are protesters and activists. This source will help me in my paper by laying out many boundaries that protesters face. The website describes what protesters have to obey to not break any laws so the Government won't make arrest or harm the protesters. I would definitely use this source again because it has many restrictions protesters face. If it had more information on different laws about peacefully protesting, it would have been more helpful.
(4)
United States. Cong. Constitution. Amendment 1. Washington: GPO, 1791.
This is a very important primary source that impacts the right to freedom of speech which is part of protesting. The Government created this bill in 1791 for the purpose of freedom of speech, religion, and press. This Amendment is the very first amendment and one of the most important ones. The freedom of speech leads to the right to protest and speak out in what you believe in, even if other people are against you. You are given the right to free speech. This source is one of the most important sources for dealing with freedom or speech or protesting rights. I will use this source every time.
(5)
Mcdonough, and Yona Zeldis. Peaceful Protest : the Life of Nelson Mandela / Yona Zeldis McDonough. New York: Walker & Company, 2002. 5-122.
This book was a good secondary source. The author wrote about the life of Nelson Mandela and how he used protesting in a peaceful way. This was an information book but it made the reader support Nelson Mandela and how the Government over re-acted even though the protests were completely peaceful. This will help me in my paper by adding ideas of Nelson Mandela and how he thought of protesting. He never acted in a violent manner and he said that acting in a violent way will get you know where. I will use this source again. This source was a very helpful, useful and understandable.
] (6)
Gordon, William A. "Kent State, May 4, 1970: America Kills Its Children." The Ethical Spectacle. May 1995. 16 Mar, 2008 <http://www.spectacle.org/595/kent.html>.
This website is a great secondary source. The author described in detail the events at Kent State. He wanted to let people know what happened and why it was a tragic event that took place. I will use the information about what exactly happened at Kent State in my paper. I will use this source again if I ever research this topic.