Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - RIP: The Right To Protest (1776

analog · 11-01-2007, 10:41 PM

The overly dramatic sentiment expressed in the thread title notwithstanding, the opening post isn't telling me anything other than you disagree with the court finding. That doesn't really give me any indication of why you find it disagreeable (on what terms) or why you feel like the award of money is akin to the outright criminalization of protesting.

There's a huge difference between protesting something and intentionally trying to cause emotional distress by way of a public disturbance. Other things of importance, besides that of the right to protest, are the right to personal privacy, a basic level of respect, and the ability to live without persecution.

Phelps' organization is spreading his message of hate by protesting homosexuality under the dubious guise of religious freedom and freedom of speech. Their actions are disgusting both in intention and execution. They are using the high-profile and sensitive nature of the burial of fallen soldiers to gain the maximum amount of media attention by way of intentional outrage.

They're not simply protesting. They're not simply expression their religious freedom to believe that God is dropping our servicemen and women because America tolerates homosexuality. They're engaging in a calculated campaign of outrageous behavior to attract attention to their cause.

And you know what? Even if we took a step back and thought the impossible- that their intentions are true and they're NOT just doing it this way because it will garner the best possible attention- the rights of one person to protest do not automatically trump the rights of another to peaceably observe over the proceedings of a private funeral, most especially when the protest exists solely to slander the party involved and cause a disruption to the proceedings, which themselves are frequently going to be religious observations.

The bottom line is, rights do not trump or rule each other, they work with each other to attempt to guarantee the most liberty and freedom to each person without interfering with guaranteeing the same for anyone else.

11-01-2007, 10:41 PM	#23 (permalink)
analog Banned	The overly dramatic sentiment expressed in the thread title notwithstanding, the opening post isn't telling me anything other than you disagree with the court finding. That doesn't really give me any indication of why you find it disagreeable (on what terms) or why you feel like the award of money is akin to the outright criminalization of protesting. There's a huge difference between protesting something and intentionally trying to cause emotional distress by way of a public disturbance. Other things of importance, besides that of the right to protest, are the right to personal privacy, a basic level of respect, and the ability to live without persecution. Phelps' organization is spreading his message of hate by protesting homosexuality under the dubious guise of religious freedom and freedom of speech. Their actions are disgusting both in intention and execution. They are using the high-profile and sensitive nature of the burial of fallen soldiers to gain the maximum amount of media attention by way of intentional outrage. They're not simply protesting. They're not simply expression their religious freedom to believe that God is dropping our servicemen and women because America tolerates homosexuality. They're engaging in a calculated campaign of outrageous behavior to attract attention to their cause. And you know what? Even if we took a step back and thought the impossible- that their intentions are true and they're NOT just doing it this way because it will garner the best possible attention- the rights of one person to protest do not automatically trump the rights of another to peaceably observe over the proceedings of a private funeral, most especially when the protest exists solely to slander the party involved and cause a disruption to the proceedings, which themselves are frequently going to be religious observations. The bottom line is, rights do not trump or rule each other, they work with each other to attempt to guarantee the most liberty and freedom to each person without interfering with guaranteeing the same for anyone else.