Now the Capitol police say they acted in error in the matter of the T Shirts. I suspect that someone said 'get rid of the chick with the T shirt', meaning Sheehan, and they got the wrong one -- hauled the politician's wife in, said 'oh, crap', and then couldn't let her go without being really obvious about it. Though Sheehan does say she was arrested, and the other was not. The thing is, I don't agree with either person's activity.
However bogus the Bushster's speech was -- some of it was, some was not -- the State of the Union is a change to listen to what the elected leader of the nation thinks is most important. It's an opportunity for him to display leadership. Whether he does or not, whether you agree with him or not, that presentation -- even one that's been clearly politicized and 'hollywood-icized -- is not the time for argument.
Free speech doesn't mean unconstrained speech.
2 comments:
I can see your point, but their t-shirts were not disruptive. No one would've even known of their existance if the media chose not to show them (and they hadn't been arrested/removed for wearing them). I think a silent and respectful message, like those t-shirts, is acceptable at the SOTU.
I agree. If the TShirts had been hidden, even just loosely so, all would have been fine. I also think that the Capitol Police overreacted. Whether thats normal caution during a prime event, or caution influenced by a president who likes to keep his meetings ideologically pure, I don't know. I'd like to think the former. Either way, their followup actions - jailing one, letting the other walk - were unquestionably wrong.
That said, what if the TShirts were visible even though the wearer was silent? Then, I think, it crosses the line. Please don't get me wrong -- I don't like giving the nod to Bush, but, like it or not, he is the president, and even he has the right to expect decorum during such an event. An antiwar TShirt, clearly visible, would have been the same as silently holding a banner, or a flag.
Outside would have been a different story.
Let us hope that when he leaves, someone of more sense (of either party, though you know my preference) get elected.
Post a Comment