12/2: College freshman learns about dissent

[Undertoad]

A.J. Brown is a 19-year-old freshman at Durham Tech. She got the poster she displays at an "anti-inauguration" protest in DC. It reads "We hang on your every word. George Bush: Wanted, 152 Dead" - a reference to the number of people executed by the state of Texas while Bush was governor.

One night she was playing some CDs a little too loud and a police officer came to tell her to turn it down. Two nights later someone else was playing music a little too loud and the cops came back to her door "by mistake". And two days after that, she was visited by the Secret Service and accused of having "anti-American material" in her apartment.

A smart lass, she refused them entry without a search warrant. They explained that they have to investigate every "complaint" that they get, but they stuck around for 40 minutes. Finally she got her mother on the phone - an Army reservist - who explained to the agents that her daughter was harmless and the poster was not anti-American. Finally she relented and allowed the agents in to see her poster wall, after which they left.

How does it start? It starts like this.

The full story: http://www.indyweek.com/durham/2001-...triangles.html

[elSicomoro]

John Fisher posted this on phl.media a few days ago.

That is just ridiculous. Does this mean that I'm being watched b/c I still think Dubya is a doofus?

[juju]

I heard about this on 2600's radio show. If this trend keeps up i'll likely be next, as i've aired plenty of 'unpatriotic' views of late. :]

[Whit]

     This just plain sucks. It's good that the agents were reasonable in an unreasable situation though. With all the rights we lost with 'anti-terrorism bill' they could have done alot more than stand outside the door. I suppose that is the last line of defense Americans have. The shared understanding of what our country is meant to be.

     For the record I disagree with all of this kid's stated political views. Still I refuse to accept that this was deserved. She has a right in this country to express those views. If we don't stand up for the views of others that we disagree with then it will soon be our own veiws we are not allowed to express.

     By the by syc, you think he's a doofus? Huh, I've never called him anything that nice. Go figure. =]

[serge]

Think you can't spend the rest of your life in an Alaskan labor/death camp for criticizing a president in even a letter to a friend? THINK AGAIN, AGAIN AND AGAIN!

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by serge
Think you can't spend the rest of your life in an Alaskan labor/death camp for criticizing a president in even a letter to a friend? THINK AGAIN, AGAIN AND AGAIN!

The book sounds interesting...I've heard of it, but didn't know that it was written by Solzhenitsyn. I read "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" in college, which was a great read.

[tw]

Originally posted by Undertoad
...two days after that, she was visited by the Secret Service and accused of having "anti-American material" in her apartment.

The poster reads "We hang George Bush". That is a federal crime. However once inside the apartment (instead of reading it from the street), then read the fine print: "on your every word". The Secret Service agent did exactly what we want the agents to do. Only the paranoid would see a sinister government in this act. They rightly stayed around just to make sure she did not fit the profile of Lee Harvey Oswald and friends. That is what they are suppose to do. That is what federal law demands of the Secret Service.

BTW, that fine print was no accident. It was intended to test the limits of the law. It is illegal - a federal crime - to say to anyone that we should shoot or hang the President. Why? In Israel, one man did just that repeatedly - and as a result is now the Prime Minister thereby resulting in the massacre of innocents Jews and Arabs.

There is certain speech that is not free. You cannot (and should not) make threats on a President's life just like you cannot yell fire in a theatre or that your gun in already on the plane. That speech is just not acceptable - or legal.

Once the agent determined this poster contained fine print and that the girl was indeed not a threat to the president, then the agent had done his job.

As for the girl, there is absolutely NO reason for her to be rattled if she is stable. They asked some honest questions as they should have. She had no reason to be scared or threatened. She had nothing to hide. But she should have learned about what that poster (and what free speech) cannot say.

What is more scary? A door to door salesman. If he is trying to sell that trash in my neighborhood, he is certainly deranged and a threat to honest people. Questions from a policemen where he has good reason to ask - never been a problem.

This article is silly nonsense because it intentionally ignores obvious facts (ie the fine print) and therefore is probably being hyped by the paranoid.

[jtm]

Originally posted by tw
The poster reads "We hang George Bush". That is a federal crime.

No, it clearly says "We hang" at the top with lots of space and some small print, then at the bottom says "George Bush WANTED".

If "We hang" and "George Bush" were a lot closer, then it would support some of your points.

Imagine you were looking at it from far away. The words that would stand out are:

We Hang







George
W Bush

If I

write a sentence

like this,

it is




still a

sentence.

But, to support your point, I have an idea. Please make a sign that says

Fuck






Niggers

and head into downtown Brooklyn. Make sure to argue that it doesn't really mean what it says. Thanks.

[elSicomoro]

Personally, I think it could be interpreted in more than one way. For example, the poster could be read as, "We hang, George W. Bush." A reference to his death penalty legacy in Texas. Or, a reference as to his potential performance as President.

Tip for the day: Although we are taking about the President here, remember, assuming makes an ass out of you and me.

[Undertoad]

Kuro5hin and /. point to the FBI having gone and interviewed a gent based on his post on Kuro5hin, which is archived at Google (Kuro5hin is down for hardware problems):

http://www.google.com/search?q=cache...smallpox&hl=en

You too can waste government official's time, energy and money. Just post raw speculation about terrorism! Because it's on the Internet, it must be true!

If intelligence can profile the Anthrax guy, why can't they figure out that Kuro5hin is built for exactly that kind of high-level clever speculation? Why can't they figure out that the web, not Hollywood, is where people will figure out the next terrorist plot?

I read about that when it happened. Basically, the deal was:

He speculated about how to infect the Vice President of the United States, and also speculated why it probably wouldn't work. Secret Service got wind of it, went and interviewed him, figured they had nothing to fear and let it go. The scary thing is, the Attorney General still *could* prosecute - but, I would imagine, probably won't. Still.

[jtm]

Originally posted by dhamsaic
Imagine you were looking at it from far away. The words that would stand out are:

We Hang







George
W Bush

What's the point of discussing this if you can't be honest. If you stand far away, the words that stand out are:

We Hang







George
W Bush
Wanted

It doesn't even make sense, but of course you will see what you want to see, not the truth.

[jaguar]

the "on your every word" is nearly as big as the george bush anyway. Scary stuff. Any way waht kind of terorist mastermind is gonna put that in his window?

jag -

the "on your every word" is in a thinner font than the rest. i'm sure that's intentional.

jtm -

okay there buddy. actually. it would be

We Hang






George
W Bush
anted

Nevermind the large picture of him.

The "anted" is smaller than the rest of the text. Period. I guarantee you that there is a point in the distance that the others would catch your attention better.

Now. I have a suggestion. Please make this sign and wear it in Brooklyn:



FUCK




NIGGERS
is a racist word.

Lemme know how the African American police officers react.