Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing
I guess it has come down to throwing the elderly out of malls so that we don't have to deal with the reality of King George's War
An 80-year-old church deacon was removed from the Smith Haven Mall yesterday in a wheelchair and arrested by police for refusing to remove a T-shirt protesting the Iraq War.Police said that Don Zirkel, of Bethpage, was disturbing shoppers at the Lake Grove mall with his T-shirt, which had what they described as "graphic anti-war images." Zirkel, a deacon at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Wyandanch, said his shirt had the death tolls of American military personnel and Iraqis - 4,000 and 1 million - and the words "Dead" and "Enough." The shirt also has three blotches resembling blood splatters.
An 80-year-old church deacon was removed from the Smith Haven Mall yesterday in a wheelchair and arrested by police for refusing to remove a T-shirt protesting the Iraq War.Police said that Don Zirkel, of Bethpage, was disturbing shoppers at the Lake Grove mall with his T-shirt, which had what they described as "graphic anti-war images." Zirkel, a deacon at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Wyandanch, said his shirt had the death tolls of American military personnel and Iraqis - 4,000 and 1 million - and the words "Dead" and "Enough." The shirt also has three blotches resembling blood splatters.
posted by Gary at
3/30/2008 06:03:00 PM
5 Comments:
How about posting the whole article. You missed the part the he was part of a demonstration on the Mall property and had been asked to turn his shirt inside out and leave. I am a big believer in freedom of speech. But, I also believe that I have the right to shop on private property without being subjected to ANYBODY's demonstration. Sponsors of the demonstration told supporters that they could go into the mall 2 or 3 at a time...hmmmm sounds like they knew they werent supposed to be there!
I'm sorry a retailer has the right to censor what I wear on my t-shirt? Not a chance in hell would I stand for that. WHile the mall may be psuedo "privated property" it is clearly what the founders had in mind when they spoke of the "town square" in the federalist papers, we now have "shopping malls". As long as they open the doors to the public, the public has a right to be there and express their opinions
I grew up believing in freedom of speech and it saddens me that so many voices are being silenced by those who are in power and disagree with what is being said.
You both missed the point. No a retailer should not have a right to censor what you wear on your t-shirt. But, it was NOT the retailer but the Mgmt Company that owns the mall, big difference. If I am an owner of a large commercial building and I lease that space to retailers, then I want my tenants to be able to run a profitable business so they continue to want to lease space from me. I wont restrict Joe Customer that comes in for the sole purpose of shopping, but if it is OBVIOUS that he is part of a LARGE demonstration that has been asked NOT to come inside then I have the right to have him removed. You are willing to trample on my rights as a landowner just to support the freedom of speech rights of a fanatic. Freedom of Speech is a HUGE part of the foundation of this great country, but it was not intended to be touted while IGNORING all the rest of peoples rights.
I get your point grasshopper , you are just wrong. When the management company decides to open a retail mall to the public which is now the equivilent of the "public square" free speech cannot be supressed
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