Flashmob dancing: stupid yes, but is it constitutional?

Started by CountDeMoney, May 30, 2011, 06:12:18 PM

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CountDeMoney

May 30, 2011, 06:12:18 PM
QuoteShould protesters be arrested for 'expressive dancing'?

A recent federal court decision that declared illegal "expressive dancing" inside the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in D.C. caused quite a stir this weekend.

Five people were arrested -- and one apparently choked and slammed -- by U.S. Park Police Saturday as they silently danced at the memorial.

The incident has sparked a debate over whether (and where) dance is protected free speech and whether Park Police went overboard in their treatment of the dancers.

Federal regulations require anyone holding a demonstration at the memorial to get a permit. A demonstration is defined by the regulation as an act of expression "which has the effect, intent or propensity to draw a crowd or onlookers."

A key distinction in the issue is whether the demonstration takes place inside or outside of the memorial.

"Aside from the official birthday ceremony, no demonstrations of any size are allowed inside the Memorial," Judge Thomas Griffith of the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. wrote in his ruling, which sparked the controversy. "... Outside the Jefferson Memorial, of course, [protesters] have always been free to dance to their hearts' content."

Protesting the judge's ruling, the dancers, who were organized by Internet show host Adam Kokesh, set out to prove a point in front of a statue of Jefferson, a champion of free speech.

The dancers were warned that they would be arrested if they danced inside the memorial, but they chose to do so anyway.

"If you come out here and demonstrate by dancing, you will be placed under arrest," an officer told them, according to a YouTube video of the arrests. The officer also told them they would have to spend the weekend in jail.

The first two protesters police arrested were slow-dancing and not causing much of a scene. Once the arrests started, the rhetoric and physical confrontations escalated.

Protesters were heard telling the police "You hate America" and "You hate the Constitution." Police got physical, and shoved around several of the protesters. An officer is seen slamming Kokesh to the ground and putting a hand around his throat.

"This is a police state!" one of the dancers shouted as he was being escorted out in handcuffs. "You cannot shut me up. That is not the way this works. You cannot shut anyone up. You cannot stop them from dancing. You cannot stop them from kissing. ... We did absolutely nothing wrong."

Here's a video for Marty to not disparage the police, because they're arresting heteros.  And if there's one thing Marty can't stand more than cops, it's heteros:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jUU3yCy3uI&feature=player_embedded#at=254

Ed Anger

#1
May 30, 2011, 06:18:14 PM
Quoteand one apparently choked and slammed -- by U.S. Park Police

Stay Alive...Let the Man Drive

JonasSalk

#2
May 30, 2011, 06:45:48 PM
If the police hadn't been there, no disturbance would have been made. The police created the disruption.
Yuman

grumbler

#3
May 30, 2011, 06:51:03 PM
Quote from: JonasSalk on May 30, 2011, 06:45:48 PM
If the police hadn't been there, no disturbance would have been made. The police created the disruption.
If the Memorial hadn't been there, no disturbance would have been possible.  Had Jefferson never been president, the memorial wouldn't be there. The voters of 1800 created the disruption.
The future is all around us, waiting, in moments of transition, to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of that future or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain.   -G'Kar

Bayraktar!

Razgovory

#4
May 30, 2011, 06:54:43 PM
I see nothing wrong with this.
I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

Neil

#5
May 30, 2011, 06:55:34 PM
Quoteand one apparently choked and slammed -- by U.S. Park Police
I do not hate you, nor do I love you, but you are made out of atoms which I can use for something else.

Eddie Teach

#6
May 30, 2011, 08:27:53 PM
Quote from: grumbler on May 30, 2011, 06:51:03 PM
Quote from: JonasSalk on May 30, 2011, 06:45:48 PM
If the police hadn't been there, no disturbance would have been made. The police created the disruption.
If the Memorial hadn't been there, no disturbance would have been possible.  Had Jefferson never been president, the memorial wouldn't be there. The voters of 1800 created the disruption.

Really, it's Thnurg's fault for creating stone tools.
To sleep, perchance to dream. But in that sleep of death, what dreams may come?

garbon

#7
May 30, 2011, 08:45:39 PM
Throw the book at them. Flash mobs are annoying.
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

HisMajestyBOB

#8
May 30, 2011, 11:34:51 PM
Quote from: garbon on May 30, 2011, 08:45:39 PM
Throw the book at them. Flash mobs are annoying.

:yes:
Even worse, it's a libertarian flash mob. They should all be executed without trial.
Three lovely Prada points for HoI2 help

Barrister

#10
May 31, 2011, 09:47:25 AM
Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on May 31, 2011, 05:23:41 AM
isn't it ironic though...

No, it is not.
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

Valmy

#11
May 31, 2011, 11:44:37 AM
Free speech, as Hans has taught me, primarily exists to bribe politicians.  Dancing without first creating a Flash Mob Lobby is an outrageous abuse of our system.  :sleep:
Quote"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you'll be bombed."

Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

alfred russel

#12
May 31, 2011, 11:49:33 AM
If you have a right to dance inside a monument, then is it okay if you put a hat in front of you? I'm envisioning a world where you have to fight through a sea of michael jackson impersonators to see major monuments or public museums.
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

There's a fine line between salvation and drinking poison in the jungle.

I'm embarrassed. I've been making the mistake of associating with you. It won't happen again. :)
-garbon, February 23, 2014

dps

#13
May 31, 2011, 06:53:00 PM
I'd say that stuff like this is covered by laws against creating a public nuisance.

Capetan Mihali

#14
May 31, 2011, 07:09:32 PM
I read this as flamenco dancing which, while admirable, is certainly not constitutionally protected.

I found it hilarious how this silly white yuppie phenomenon was translated into mass violence against persons and property by black teenagers in Philadelphia on South Street when I was living there.
"The internet's completely over. [...] The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."
-- Prince, 2010. (R.I.P.)
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