Forum Post: Tents as free speech?
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 4, 2011, 8:10 p.m. EST by EthanAlan
(5)
from Fairbanks, AK
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Don't know if you guys are having any problems with having tents in your parks, but if you write something (say the 1st Amendment, for example) on the wall of a tent, it becomes an expression of speech, and cannot be taken down.
The mayor and police said we can have sleeping bags, and while technically we are not allowed to sleep there, they won't arrest us. I'm thinking that will change once we set up something more permanent.
Has anyone here used this tactic? If so, is it effective? What other concerns should we worry about? Also, is there anything we can do that will 'winterize' normal camping tents? Some of us have yurts and arctic tents, but most do not. Any advice will be appreciated, thanks.
http://altshelter.blogspot.com/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-winter-shelter.html
We have our right to peaceably assemble. And our right to free speech. But that does mean peaceful. When we insist on doing something that breaks another persons rights, its not peaceful assembly or free speech anymore. Like for example, if we block a road and it keeps other people from using it. Or spray painting our speech on another person's house. Then we are violating their rights and the police can take back their rights for them. If we take a park and keep the kids from playing in it on the swings, then we are violating their rights and the police can take back their rights that we took. when we blockade a port and close it and keep people from earning their paycheck, we are stealing their rights and the state can come in and take back their rights for them that we took. Im all for doing this, Im in a local camp, but don't spout hyperbole and that the state is violating our rights. they are not. They are taking back rights for other people that we took with our occupation. Just to be clear. Peaceful assembly and free speech does not equal forceful occupation. And we are forcefully occupying. So far the cities are being really good about working with us so we can get the message out by occupying. But its real fine line we are walking, and when one too many citizens gets pissed they can't use their park that we took, or they can't drive down a road to visit their mom in the hospital, we're going to have to understand that we started this. By breaking laws.
Your tent idea COULD work, in that it is a grey area. It would happen that you get a lawyer to sue the city for taking your tent (freedom of speech) down. And it would go to the Supreme court who rules on such things. I have a feeling that something like that might keep them busy and we could see new interpretations on free speech coming out of OWS.
yeah, that's my opinion on this as well. But I've been hearing stuff from the Occupy OC movement that they are allowing tents for this reason. If a precedent is set in regards to this being an expression of speech (as long as it doesn't violate other people's rights to use the park), then I think there is a strong case for this.
I'm convinced that since the crackdown in Oakland went sour, they're gonna rely on the winter getting to us, and to that end try to deny us from having these tents. Working with the local community is key, and if the smaller cities gets something like this approved, then wouldn't the larger cities have to follow suit, for fear of being sued?
It will become precedent if it gets a court ruling somewhere in the same state, and case law becomes law for its own level. And a tent NOT allowed in Alaska? I'm hard pressed to see that upheld by a court. They couldn't defend removing it as a permanent structure, since by their definition tents are temporary. temporary like a sign, and an integral symbol (sign) of the occupy protests. Be a groundbreaker, test it. Let em remove it, and file yourself. Argue it yourself, you don't need to pay attorneys, and by then you might have the ACLU behind you. You have enough smarts anyway. you know, when occupy arrests start hitting the courts, we're going to see some fun stuff and interesting decisions.
more permanent than a tent? like what an RV i think that goes a little far
haha yeah no RVs, what I meant was that now they're allowing us to only have sleeping bags, but they're gonna fight us if we start pitching tents.
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