why cant they just listen to the cop in the first place maybe strike up a conversation why they cant dance in the memorial and im sure the cop agrees with them but they have to make a big scene and then the cops have to their job....why would you dance at a memorial any ways of all the places?

@TheNewGirl:

You sound exactly like the typical protestor. I'm surprised you didn't mention the "slippery slope" we're on as well.

If I were to believe your BS, then I should expect that in 10 years I'm going to be living under a more oppressive government with hardly any rights at all.

Problem is, protestors have been saying this since the 60's. Always talking about how bad things are and where they're going, and here we are today and we're not living under some police state that was predicted we would be.

So why should I take anything you say any more seriously than someone from the 60's, who also predicted that the "slippery slope" we're on would result in me losing all my personal freedoms? What makes your prediction any more accurate than the countless other predictions over the last 50 years?

if theres a law, then your bound to break it.

if theres no law then they wont do it

dangonay>

You think it's BS?

The lay down and take it "my government knows what's best for me" mentality is the same shit that lead to Nazi Germany and the Authoritarian regimes in the middle east.

It is a slippery slope. And I think it's completely ignorant to dismiss people who are both exercising their democratic rights and holding their governments accountable.

That's our job in a democracy.

If you wanna be a passive sheep that's fine with me but don't bitch when the world is not the way you want it.

The key is, there is a proper way to change laws and an improper way.

The proper way is to elect and lobby your elected representatives that you believe the country is going to become Nazi Germany if you can't do the robot in front of TJ.

The improper way gets a bunch of hooligans in jail.

Let's see how many we can name without wikipedia:

1) Riots downtown during Olympics
2) Marc Emery wanting to change pot laws by breaking them

Ok, I was hoping for a bigger list.

Yes, civil disobedience brings change. Reference the civil rights movement. Berkeley.

IF THE BIGGEST PROBLEM REGARDING OPPRESSIVE GOV'T REGIMES IS THAT YOU CAN'T DO THE ROBOT IN TJ'S HOUSE, THEN THINGS ARE LOOKING PRETTY GOOD.

I doubt you'll have people singing "let my people go" on that one.

But these weren't hooligans. They didn't damage anything. They didn't hurt anyone. They launched an entirely peaceful protest that's done it's job.

We're here talking about it. THAT was the point. :)

But this wasn't just about dancing. Just like the shitty shitty internet laws that Harper is talking about aren't about the internet really.

We can never allow our government to take away Charter protected rights. Because as soon as we do. We've lost them all. That's the way law works. Precedent is everything.

Yes, I agree with you.

And, like all good freedom fighters and civil disobedients, they were arrested for the laws that they were knowingly breaking in attempt to bring notice to the issue.

Thus, the media brings attention to the issue. And they go through the court process and reach out to their elected officials for assistance. Then the ACLU or can. equivalent sends lawyers to take their case.

And soon, we can have an awesome version of Journey's Don't Stop Believing sung by the cast of Glee danced to in front of Thomas Jefferson and Naziism will be stopped in its tracks.

Wow. Just like protestors you make some pretty big assumptions.

First off, I don't "lay down and take it" when I see something I don't like. And I'm not some passive sheep.

That's the other problem with the protestor mentality. They assume that the average citizen doesn't care about issues or is too "un-educated" to understand them. They feel it's their "responsibility" to hold the government accountable.

Please keep up the good work, because I'm too fucking stupid to bring about change or voice my opinion on something I don't like happeneing. ThanK God I've got some protestors willing to do it for me, because without them I'm going to end up living in "Nazi Germany".

Cop was respectful and professional.
Its not as peaceful as you think. Those people were all verbally, and passively resisting, which is sometimes, more annoying than anything.


No comment on the demonstrating issue....but...
I guess you gotta bring awareness somehow.

:speechless: Wut...

I'm pretty sure Marc Emery didn't break any laws in Canada. Correct me if i'm wrong.
And it is pretty bad that our own government sold Marc out. That was a bitch ass move right there.

It's not only a law... but also an issue of respect.

You don't dance at memorials, just as you don't wear bright, flashy clothing at funerals. Would you spit on someone's grave, just because you can?

What the protestors did was inexcusable, their actions are totally inappropriate for what is expected in a MEMORIAL. They were making life harder for the officers, who were only just doing their job. They were KINDLY asked to stop making a commotion, at which point they decided to IGNORE them and proceed to be dicks.

Freedom =/ Ability to be stupid where you please

I wanna see a Glee Episode at the Jefferson Memorial. Because that would be full of awesome.

Dragonay>

I don't think you're stupid at all. I think you have well thought out arguments that make sense from your perspective. I just really think there's a different way to look at it that you're not seeing.


What if it was the particular make and model of car you drive. Some police officer didn't like it and pulled someone over and arrested them. Then they challenged it in court going 'hey I didn't brake any laws' but the courts, with out making a law banning the car, decided 'it's a distraction on the road the officer is right'. And declared that anyone driving that car would now be arrested (despite the fact that there's no on the books law against this).

So... what do you do?

Do you drive the car any way cause that's just a stupid and ridiculous ruling?

Do you put a sheet over your car and suck up the loss of your right do drive your own vehicle and go by a bus pass or a new car because it's the law?

Do you try and legally challenge the rule because it's not fair and frankly makes absolutely no sense?

Do you hope other people who don't drive the type of car you do will see that this is stupid and do something about it?

Are we all forgetting that this is a fucking Memorial?

These are just fucking idiots who just want to have a few moments of internet fame decide to 'peacefully' dance...what's next? tap dance at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?

What dont you understand? Passive Resistance?

That makes no sense at all.

So they wanted to protest to show solidarity for the woman arrested back in 2008. Well, here's how I'd go about it:

- Show up to dance at the memorial.
- When the police show up, and tell you that you could be arrested, leave quietly.
- Post up your Youtube video showing you were about to be arrested, but complied with the police to avoid making a scene. The point is that if you dandced then you would be arrested. You don't need to get arrested - an officer telling you will if you don't leave is good enough.
- At the end of the video, ask the viewer if they're upset with the idea of getting arrested for dancing, and mention the details of the case of the young woman from 2008,
- Have a fund set up for a lawyer for the young woman where viewers can send donations to help cover her legal expenses from this "outrageous" incident.

If you get donations, then the young woman is helped immensely by having a lawyer go to bat for her in court.

If you don't get any donations, then that means nobody gives a fuck about your stupid little cause, and you wasted time trying to protest it in the first place.



What they did accomplished nothing useful for this young woman. Did they raise money for her case? Are they helping her out with something tangible? No, they got arrested just like she did and this little protest will be forgotten when the next Youtube sensational video gets posted up tomorrow.

I don't know about Canada, but when it comes to drugs and the US, I would have suggested that he not ship those seeds.

Our gov't sells out anyone that has a warrant in the US, as we have a long standing extradition treaty with them.

They ship our folks here too.

Ole Marc should have done some research before becoming a revolutionary.

As much as I want to agree with you, I think you are either mistaken on the facts on the incident, OR you aren't able to coherently make your point here...

Your analogy with the car does not make sense at all. There is a KEY difference between your analogy and the actual case involving the girl in 2008. The difference being that there IS a law in place, banning distractions from the memorial whereas you're saying in your car analogy, no such law exists, the officer simply made a decision and enforced it as if it were a law.

In the case of 2008, there was a law in place, the officers attempted to enforce it but didn't go about the MOST EFFICIENT way of doing so. They acknowledged that there were people at the Memorial who were breaking a law, a law that may not be known to the reasonable person. (Don't bring up an ignorance is not an excuse to breaking the law argument here.) That being said, the Officers approached the girl and told her to leave...At that point she said she would leave, only if she was enforced to do so by the law and if she was, she wanted to know which law she was breaking...Instead of providing an explanation or a reasoning for her removal, the Park Police simply arrested her...THAT is the wrongdoing on their part...

So again, your analogy makes no sense to this case because nothing along the lines of your analogy occurred in this particular case.

I had to reread your stupid car analogy. I fucking hate it. It doesn't make sense at all!! Damn it.