October 7, 2011

Boston's response to Occupy Boston: "if there are so many people joining a demonstration that the city doesn’t want to tangle with them, then they will waive the requirements."

Does that mean it's viewpoint discrimination, which is what some Tea Partiers are insinuating?

I raised this question during the Wisconsin protests, as we saw the police do all sorts of things to yield to the protesters. For example, they would respond to impromptu marches around the Capitol by blocking regular traffic. We talked to the police who were carrying out that policy — I have video — and they explained that it was the best way to deal with crowds that size. That is, it's not viewpoint discrimination, but a neutral response designed to maintain the best semblance of order when the police are outnumbered.

I tried to needle them with law professor questions — I do random acts of law teaching around town — about whether they'd treat Nazis or some such loathed group the same way. The crafty but troubling answer was: The Nazis would never arrive in such numbers.

The first link, above, is via Instapundit, who attributed Boston's special treatment of the Occupy Boston protesters to the fact that "the officials are Democratic hacks, and the 'protesters' are Democratic tools. Duh."

36 comments:

Shouting Thomas said...

My leftist friends on Facebook are all saying:

"Well, violence could break out if this or that condition is not met, or if the police respond in the wrong way. Mind you, we don't approve of violence, but it would be sort of understandable given the frustration the demonstrators are experiencing."

Contrast this with the insistent leftist condemnation of anything that might hint at violence in any way at any point in the future in the case of the Tea Party.

You see, the intentions of the demonstrators are so admirable that, if violence were to break out... well... what can you do?

Christopher in MA said...

"Duh" is right. This state is a Democrat shithole, corrupt from top to bottom and still clinging to the long-cold stained sheets of the Kennedy bed. Which is why I will bet anyone who wants to put down money that the loathsome Elizabeth Warren will win in a landslide.

If anyone thinks Mumbles Menino, kneepad-wearing union booster, or Deval "Mini-Me" Patrick, the Curly to Litle Black Jesus' Moe, would ever go against O(bama)ccupy Boston, they're dreaming.

Retirement and move out cannot come too soon for me.

Bob Ellison said...

The "occupy movement" is very interesting. A bunch of smelly anarchists are doing protest stuff, and the MSM wants to support that, because the MSM is overwhelmingly leftist and thinks this might be a way to take power from the Tea Party.

But the Tea Party has always been out of character: most Americans don't like protests or protesters, especially when they smell. So the Tea Party is unusual and interesting, and the occupy movement doesn't even merit Title Case.

Remember the Seattle WTO protests? Probably not. Bunch of smelly jerks, signifying nothing.

MadisonMan said...

The crafty but troubling answer was: The Nazis would never arrive in such numbers.

You asked a never-gonna-happen hypothetical and then you complain about the correct answer.

DADvocate said...

Does that mean it's viewpoint discrimination, which is what some Tea Partiers are insinuating?

Of course. Insty is correct.

The rule of law only applies to the enemies of the Democratic state.

Ann Althouse said...

""Duh" is right. This state is a Democrat shithole, corrupt from top to bottom and still clinging to the long-cold stained sheets of the Kennedy bed."

How does a shithold cling? Does it have arms? And what's the "top to bottom" of a shithole. I'd say it's all bottom.

traditionalguy said...

Reelect the leader of the mob or worse things could happen to your pretty little town.

The Obama campaign is organizing the community against the Super Rich who refuse to bow down to the Kenyan God.

Ann Althouse said...

"You asked a never-gonna-happen hypothetical and then you complain about the correct answer."

It's not the correct answer. The hypothetical smokes out the fact that it is ad hoc judgment.

If the point is: Only liberal causes will have such numbers in Madison, so the policy will only ever apply to people we like, then the policy is not neutral.

And I didn't limit my hypo to Nazis. As I said in the post "Nazis or some such loathed group." I specified Nazis because it's dark comedy to say that the Nazis will never appear in great number.

Shouting Thomas said...

The Obama administration has become a house of mirrors.

Wall Street is the wicked enemy.

Geithner is Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs is everywhere in the Obama admin.

Rise up against the evil bankers1

Pay off the evil bankers!

The evil bankers must direct our economy policy or we are doomed!

Rialby said...

Holy crap, did anyone catch the two OWS manifesto writers on Olby's show? I was up early this morning and caught a couple of minutes of it. Wow, they are truly the most incoherent and stupefying people I've seen in quite a while.

A. Shmendrik said...

Some parts of a shithole could be better than others. On the other hand some shitholes are uniformly bad.

Wince said...

Viewpoint discrimination aside, tactically, the closer these "useful idiots" are associated with the Democratic establishment, the better.

The city is giving the undisciplined mob enough rope to hand themselves with eventually.

When things get out of control, both the mob and their establishment enablers will get the blame.

"Thank God."

Winding down said...

No surprises in Bean town. Business as usual....when the earth needs an enema... insert the tube there...

Moose said...

Oh god, its a quiz.

So, the fact that police are, as they say, yielding to keep the peace to what is essentially a mob (though, for the most part pretty well mannered) would lead me to say that the police are either expressing their helplessness or their sympathy. To call the Boston action a function of a mostly Democratic city government is not an unreasonable supposition.

The Dude said...

Keep voting for democrats, it's rational.

Fen said...

As I said in the post "Nazis or some such loathed group." I specified Nazis because it's dark comedy to say that the Nazis will never appear in great number.

You should have said Brownshirts. The *whoosh* of irony would have been amusing.

Titus said...

Boston is a "creative economy". It is very expensive and fab. We don't let anyone in her.

viator said...

OWS demos show a surprising Paulist libertarian streak. Across the country one of their targets are the regional Federal Reserve Banks.

"Libertarian Wall Street Protesters Demand End to the Fed

“Obama Is Not the Answer

Libertarians also point out that – while the Obama campaign and Democratic National Committee are trying to hijack the Wall Street protests – they have been part of the problem, not part of the solution.

They point out that Obama has appointed Wall Street insiders to all of his key economic posts, and accepted more money from Goldman Sachs and the other big Wall Street banks than anyone else (and is still raking it in). As such, despite his populist rhetoric, he’s with Wall Street, not the protesters. Indeed, he is Wall Street.

They point out that Obama has continued the process of turning the U.S. into a banana republic, and whether you call it communism, fascism or crony capitalism, Obama has been at least as bad as Bush.

They point out that Obama has been a wolf in sheep’s clothing, someone who thinks high levels of unemployment are good.

They point out that Obama has been more brutal than Bush and has destroyed our liberties even faster than Bush.

For these reasons, libertarians correctly state that re-electing Obama is not the answer. And they note that Ron Paul’s consistent, decades-long positions are much closer to the American peoples’ demands than Obama’s.

Postscript: Anyone who still thinks Obama will save us is high.

On the other hand, libertarians have been out of power for a long time. Neoliberals and Neoconservatives – two masks on a single face of corruption – have been in the driver’s seat for decades. Libertarians should welcome the protests as a chance to challenge the status quo, to promote liberty and to end the Fed – the chief enabler of corruption in our country today.

Folks dismissing the Occupy protests as being Obama propaganda or left-wing haven’t yet learned the facts, are blaming the fact that the mainstream Democratic party is trying to infiltrate the movement on the protesters, or are letting Fox, Drudge or other mainstream news sources blow a sub-set of the overall protests out of proportion. See this, this and this. Indeed, as the Associated Press notes, the protesters are fed up with BOTH mainstream parties.”

Zerohedge

Youtube

Will the Paulites, and the libertarian analysis take the day? Or is this progressives seeking cover. The clincher is that they all know Obama is in Wall Street’s pocket. But beware of the capacity of organized vanguards like hard leftists and unions to always prevail in a situation of mass action. They have the requisite background, experience and ruthlessness. Democratic centralism (Leninism) is a powerful tool.

Titus said...

I am so excited about Romney's major foreign policy speech. It is very important.

Anonymous said...

OWS demos show a surprising Paulist libertarian streak.

Birdbrains of a feather.

Anonymous said...

This is not my area of the law, but don't speech restricting rules have to be applied consistently, because the exercise of discretion itself can be a first amendment violation (I don't think it has to be viewpoint based).

This becomes a form of bizzaro equal protection/rational basis/first amendment mish-mash problem -- the only people to whom permitting requirements are applied are those most likely not to cause disrpution or require extra police presence.

Anonymous said...

There is some sort of "takeover" of Love Park here in Philadelphia, which is only a few blocks from my office. I haven't been there yet, but I'm thinking of buying a top hat, monocle and cain and strolling on over during lunch today.

I'll post some pics on Twitter if I do.

David said...

Maybe it's viewpoint.

More likely it's the knowledge that the Occupy Boston group would love to trash the place and be arrested. Tea Partiers, not so much.

Winter is coming, so this won't last much longer.

Real American said...

just give the children a pacifier and put them to bed.

Bob Ellison said...

Real American, how do you do that to an entire party?

Carnifex said...

"LOOK AT ME! I MATTER!" is basically what these idiots are trying to express. Its the culmination of decades of touchy feely everyone's special bs the left subscribes to.

As with their constant assertion of equivolancy between societies and behaviors. There ARE differences/ We are not all equal/ there is good and evil. And there are consequences to choosing poorly. There is no right of happiness, or good health, or free x-boxes.

You want it , go work for it. If you choose to follow a ethos that chases industries outta business, and then complain you can't find a job, well eff you.

You want to save the rain forest, but bitch about "do these jeans make me look fat?" Yes they do. especially standing next to that starving family from the Amazon.

"Why can't we all just get along?" you cry. I'll tell you why, it's because you never gave a rats ass about another persons point of view in your life, you refuse to look at reality, and basically you are just a whinny little bitch.

Sanctimonious Liberals are never, NEVER, about doing what they preach. Tell me about Al Gore and his mcmansions. Tell me if the science is settled why they keep asking for more money to collect info to "prove" AGW. Tell me about Planned Parenthoods ties to eugenics. Tell me about Woodrow Wilson and his progressive disdain for the Constitution.

These people, and I use the term loosely, are lazy in their intellect, slovenly in their hygene, and basically just walking meat bags that should be sterilized for the improvement of the gene pool, and have their voting rights rescinded for just being that damn stupid.

"Now let's all recite the Non-Conformist Oath! I promise to be different! I promise to be unique! I promise not to repeat things other people say! Good!"--Steve Martin

PS My family won't talk politics with me-lol

edutcher said...

Nothing wrong with Baaston that young Bonaparte couldn't cure.

Hell, they've been in love with this sort of nonsense for 40 years. Let'em live with it for a few weeks and see how much they still like it.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Yes blocking traffic for people who, you know, are working is an awesome way to generate support.

Hoosier Daddy said...

".. How does a shithold cling?.."

I'm sure Titus can esplain.

Crimso said...

"You asked a never-gonna-happen hypothetical and then you complain about the correct answer."

I'll bet there was a time when people in Skokie would have thought the same thing. And before you counter that the actual number of Nazis in Skokie was quite small, I'll point out that it was large enough, wasn't it?

Anonymous said...

"if there are so many people joining a demonstration that the city doesn’t want to tangle with them...,"

...then they the mayor should ask the governor to send in the State Police or the National Guard.

SGT Ted said...

The OWS stuff must be petering out. There wasn't any breathless reportage from the DNC Media Arms about "the spontaneous rising of the disaffected people of America" bullshit last night.

Simon said...

I have some sympathy for the police, because when you're outnumbered, you have to be careful. On the other hand, I would argue (and have argued) that when a protest threatens to spiral out of control, it's not the beleaguered boys in blue who ought to be handling it, but overwhelming force from the gals in green.

So let them have their protest, and at the slightest hint that it's turning ugly, send in the troops. Have we learned nothing from what happened in London? Don't let this fringe of troublemakers develop a sense that they have some kind of power or they'll take you for everything.

Goes for the tea party, too. Let them protest, but if they start brandishing firearms and shouting "revolution!" it's time to shut it down.

Chaz said...

Up is down.
Black is White.
The Truth is a lie.
Lies are true.
War is Peace.
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength.
Poverty is wealth.

There is only one principle on which leftists truly rest upon and that is the unbridled pursuit and requisition of power.

Remember this and you soon begin to understand the mindset of the left.

Porkov said...

"An idle mind is the devil's playground." If we had a military like Switzerland's and some means of infecting our disaffected youth with the motivation and competence of illegal immigrant labor they'd all be working at useful jobs and we wouldn't have this problem.

It would be a lot easier to sympathize with protesters whose complaint is lack of gainful employment than it is with this unruly mob that represents envy's perpetual unhappiness with successful greed.

BJM said...

I couldn't help but notice that the LA OWS didn't protest in Beverley Hills. You'd think the obvious place to rail against the rich would be Rodeo Drive.

Funny how the millionaires and billionaires in the entertainment industry are getting a total pass.

I'll believe they are serious when they are outside Spielberg's home.