Chaos and Hate at Ann Coulter Speech, student arrested

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Re: Re: Chaos and Hate at Ann Coulter Speech

Originally posted by Az
So, basically, this was an ordinary Ann Coulter speech?

Yep and typical witless response.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by MrFun


So then why are televised Ku Klux Klan rallies protected, but god for forbid if some unexpected profanity on television occurs -- then it's jail time, mister.

I've never seen a televised KKK rally.

Are those on BET?

ACK!

[Ned]

Just a couple of more points on the arrest, according to the arrest warrant, http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive...oulter_1.html, children under 10 were present in the audience, the speaker made repeated obscene gestures after he asked the obscene question as he moved back to the rear of the audience where the protesters were grouped, and he nearly caused a riot as the Ann Coulter supporters, who were physically present at the front of the theater, were outraged at the question and behavior of the protester and made moves to physically restrain him before the cops moved in and arrested him. In other words, there well may have been a riot but for the arrest.

Assuming that the facts as stated in the war are true, does this change anybody's mind about whether the arrest was valid or not?

For example, should the police have arrested anybody trying to physically restrain the protester?

Should the police have arrested and Coulter?

[Ned]

Also, try to imagine you are a fascist attending an Al Franken speech with a lot of other fascists, and you want to disrupt his speech with an inappropriate question that is bound to offend liberals.

What would that question be?

[Pekka]

I think no one should have been arrested... the one who made the gestures and the question should have been thrown out from the building but that's about it. And if someone else starts with the same thing, them out too. And then onwards with the event. There could have been a riot but there wasn't. Everything AC says could be interpreted as 'possibly causing a riot' when people get offended and outraged, so, no, no one should have been arrested on that basis, since nothing happened. In my opinion of course.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
Anyway, that's not the point. Mrs. T. claims the kid got what he deserved for doing something offensive. My point is that Coulter is more offensive. Both her speech and the kid's are constitutionally protected, however.

Incitment is legal in the US?

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Oerdin
the rest of us hate her for it.

I don't hate her. I'm mildly amused by her. I do recognize, however, that she is a dangergous demmogouge that should probably be put down for the good of the community.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Spiffor
Incitment is legal in the US?

No.

[Spiffor]

Why isn't she punished already for this comment then?

"We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed, too. Otherwise, they will turn out to be outright traitors."

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Ned
Just a couple of more points on the arrest, according to the arrest warrant, http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive...oulter_1.html, children under 10 were present in the audience, the speaker made repeated obscene gestures

Children aren't protected from public expressions of free speech. The only time the "think of the children" argument carries any weight whatsoever, is with broadcasting, and only then because the airwaves are a public resource. In fact, the arrestees actions are protected speech, and have been since SCOTUS said so in Cohen v. California in 1971. Remember, if you can't say "fvck!" you can't say "fvck the government!"

This was a BS arrest, especially since the person was leaving anyway.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Spiffor
Why isn't she punished already for this comment then?

"We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed, too. Otherwise, they will turn out to be outright traitors."

Because she's making a hyperbolic political statement, not telling ordinary citizens to go out and kill liberals. It's clearly proteted speach. If she told the audience to "Kill that Liberal!" and pointed to a specific person, that would be incitement.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Ned
Also, try to imagine you are a fascist attending an Al Franken speech with a lot of other fascists, and you want to disrupt his speech with an inappropriate question that is bound to offend liberals.

Ned, do you think conservatives don't routinely disrupt and heckle liberal speakers? The difference is how they handle it. A skilled commedian like Franken would heckle his hecklers back, and probably with much greater wit.

[Ned]

Then what about the point I made that the only way a riot could possibly have been prevented is by the police moving in and arresting the protester. Had they not done so, there could have been a lot of violence as the two adverse groups would have joined in hand-to-hand combat, somewhat akin to soccer matches in Europe where Brits attend foreign matches and are deliberately provocative.

[Ned]

Che, I'm surprised by your statement that fascists disrupt liberal speakers. It is my understanding that liberals don't speak to audiences that include conservatives.

[Az]

Re: Re: Re: Chaos and Hate at Ann Coulter Speech

Originally posted by Ogie Oglethorpe


Yep and typical witless response.

That hurt Ogie. It really did.