[Vision2020] Doves/Hawks agree THIS is sheer stupidity

[Ted Moffett]

All:

Follow-up on the arrest of the "Peace T-Shirt" guy:  a vocal protest  with 
numerous attending against this man's arrest was held inside the same mall 
where this man was arrested.  As far as I gathered from the news report, not 
one of the protestors was arrested.  The mall has dropped the trespassing 
charges against the peace t-shirt guy.  Seems as though the mall is backing 
down on this issue.  I bet today if someone wore a peace t-shirt in that 
same mall, they would not be arrested or asked to leave, assuming they were 
not engaged in some other outrageous conduct.  The man in question was 
accompanied by family members when he was arrested, who are considering 
suing the mall.  According to statements made by people who were 
accompanying the man who was arrested for trespassing, the evidence seems 
weak they were creating a large enough disturbance to justify removing them 
from the mall purely on non-political grounds of disturbing the mall's 
operation.

Ted





>From: Debbie Gray <dgray@uidaho.edu>
>To: Tim Lohrmann <timlohr@yahoo.com>
>CC: vision2020@moscow.com
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Doves/Hawks agree THIS is sheer stupidity
>Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 11:01:04 -0800 (PST)
>
>Here's an article that goes into the story a little more. Note that he was
>also 'confronting' people and that the mall (PRIVATE PROPERTY) has signs
>about clothing that had the potential to provoke disturbances was banned.
>I don't see the sense in arresting the man, but it is private property.
>How do you balance that against free speech? What if he or someone came
>into your PRIVATE business or even home and refused to leave even though
>he/she was wearing a 'I Box and I Vote' or 'Boxers are Beasts' or
>even worse: 'Boxers vs. Briefs'...
>
>Debbie
>
>------------From the London Times online--------------------------
>POLICE have arrested a 60-year-old lawyer wearing a T-shirt saying "Give
>Peace A Chance".
>A judge charged Stephen Downs with trespassing after he politely declined
>to leave the Crossgates Mall in a suburb of Albany, New York State, on
>Monday evening, or remove his top, which he had had printed there.
>Mr Downs pleaded not guilty and cited his right to free speech. He could
>face up to a year in prison. His son, Roger, 31, avoided arrest by
>removing a T-shirt saying "No War With Iraq" on one side and "Let
>Inspections Work" on the other.
>His father's second offending message was: "Peace On Earth." "We weren't
>talking to people or handing out leaflets," Mr Downs Jr told a local
>newspaper. "My point was I'm not trying to convert anybody," his father
>said.
>Most Americans support President Bush's war plans, but many Democrat
>voters oppose them. James Murley, the local police chief, told The Times
>that his office had been inundated with complaints since the arrest.
>"We're getting all kinds of e-mails, some of them rather nasty," he said.
>Chief Murley said that one of his officers had tried for an hour to
>persuade Mr Downs to end a stand-off with two security guards who stopped
>him and his son after a shopper reported a confrontation with passers-by
>that she thought might turn nasty. But, as one guard pointed out three
>times in his deposition to police, he did so "in a nice way". The other
>guard took a tougher line, alleging that the men were "bothering" shoppers
>by telling them why they opposed the "pending war with Iraq". Chief Murley
>said that the shopping centre had signs advising customers that the
>"wearing of apparel likely to provoke disturbances" was banned. Paul A.
>Clyne, the District Attorney, also said that it was up to the mall to
>choose its clients.
>However, Mr Downs may have an ace up his sleeve when he appears in court
>on March 17, with no jury. He is the director of the local office of a
>state commission that investigates complaints against judges and imposes
>punishments.
>
>
>Debbie
>
>%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%
>   Debbie Gray      dgray@uidaho.edu      http://www.uidaho.edu/~dgray/
>   We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to
>   have the life that is waiting for us." --Joseph Campbell
>%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%
>
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