Protesting a protest</MCC HEAD>

Story last updated at 1:45 p.m. Thursday, July 17, 2003

Protesting a protest
The recent verdict against Jeff Webster casts a dark shadow on those of us who desire to exercise our right to not have a disagreeable opinion or point of view forced upon us by those "practicing" their free speech and assembly rights. These rights, like all the rest, are priceless heirlooms routinely and willingly defended by the soldiers of our nation and should be exercised with the greatest of responsibility. But where and how you practice*free speech has limits placed upon it. Can I stand up in the middle of a courtroom and spout my opinions? No. The judge would say, "Take it outside." Can I march into the middle of a basketball court during a championship game and hoist protest signs? No. Police would remove me if the crowd didn't do it first.

Many cities require that an assembly be permitted by authorities before it is allowed to proceed. Many courts have prohibited protests from taking place in front of abortion clinics because these courts recognize that the free exercise of speech and assembly are being used as tools of intimidation and harassment against those who have only one path in and out of these clinics.*

And while you have the right to express your opinion,*no one is obliged to listen to you. I have the right to walk away.*But if you push me into a corner where I cannot escape having to listen to your opinion, you*are no longer practicing free speech and assembly*but harassment. Jeff Webster was targeted by the protestors. Jeff had a high profile in the community. They knew of his son's service in the Marine Corps.*

They knew where he lived. They knew where he worked. They knew that his daily life and duties required him to pass through the "Y" many times daily. They*knew that by protesting at the "Y" he could not escape their signs; signs that targeted not Army soldiers, airmen, or sailors, but Marines. Signs with picture stories that implied that*Marines kill civilians. Signs with pictures of dying Marines.**

And they knew that they had him cornered. So they pushed him, and they pushed him hard. They forced their opinions on him. After repeatedly pleading and arguing to no avail with them to move;*to take away their cruel demonstration, he reacted.*

He reacted not to deny these people their rights, but get himself out of the corner that they had forced*him into. With this verdict, the district attorney has succeeded in establishing that*anyone can be deliberately targeted with a hateful and cruel message under the guise of constitutionally protected free speech and assembly. And if we try to protect ourselves or our family, we become criminals. This is not what Marine Corporal Shane Webster fought for.

Doug Ruzicka

We encourage you to add your comments. To prevent spam, comments with links are manually approved during the normal business day. Please be respectful of others with your comments, bear in mind anyone in the community may be reading your comments.