Intellectual Freedom - Post #4

Well, here's a strange story, thanks to the Heretical Librarian, "a conservative librarian, documenting radical Islamism's war on intellectual freedom (and other topics of interest)." Frankly, his blog is usually too political for me, but this post was pretty funny (and sad).

It seems that a activist group known as Code Pink has been picketing a Marines recruiting station Berkeley, California. So far, so good. They certainly have the right to do that, just as much as anyone else. But here's the strange thing: the City Council voted 8-1 to tell the Marines that they must leave, calling them "uninvited and unwelcome intruders". And strangest of all, the Council, in a separate 8-1 vote, gave Code Pink its own designated parking space in front of the recruiting station (once a week) as well as a free sound permit (I assume this means they can use powered sound equipment like a microphone). According to someone who works nearby, the protestors are "aggressive, take up parking spaces, block the sidewalk with their yoga moves, smoke in the doorways, and are noisy."

Now, I'm aware that Berkeley is a very liberal city, and it's not surprising that a protest like this would occur, but this surely sets a dangerous precedent. To officially side with one point of view and condemn another completely valid view is certainly unconstitutional and against free speech, not to mention silly. The one thing I could possibly say in the Council's defense is that they possible felt a lot of pressure from influential political groups in the area, where seeming to vote "for the Marines" might be considered political suicide. But alas, such is politics.

P.S. I found another article about the situation where one of the council members stated "I'm ashamed of my vote...The protesters should have free speech - this is where Free Speech was born, after all - but to tell the Marines they are not welcome is shameful." It sounds like this might shape up to be a pretty divisive issue.