What You May Not Know About Your Right to Protest

I decided to write this after hearing Harold Ford Jr. talk about the pro-Palestinian demonstrators who blocked the Manhattan Bridge amid holiday travel for hours.  He said they had a right to protest as long as they were peaceful.  I have heard this many times before but did you know that just because a protest is peaceful it does not mean it is legal and is a protected right?

The following is from the Oregon ACLU written to help protesters so they know their rights:

“Generally, you have the right to distribute literature, hold signs, collect petition signatures, and engage in other similar activities while on public sidewalks or in front of government buildings as long as you are not disrupting other people, forcing passerby to accept leaflets or causing traffic problems.”

The ACLU goes on to say “The First Amendment does not protect speech that is combined with the violation of established laws such as trespassing, disobeying or interfering with a lawful order by a police officer.”

This notice also says that you do not have the right to remain on private property, including businesses, after being told to leave by the owner.

Your right to protest is very limited.  Remember this next time someone defends protestors who break the law.

First the Sunday People, then the Saturday People

"First the Saturday People, then the Sunday People" is a phrase attributed to the Arab world in the past.  It means that the Jews (the Saturday people) and then Christians (the Sunday people) were to be targeted as victims of jihad.

I thought of this phrase when I heard that Jews were rightly coming out against colleges and read the opinion piece in the NY Times called “What Is Happening on College Campuses Is Not Free Speech”.  It was written by three students at Yale, Cornell, and Brown.

These three wrote the following:

“All students have sacred rights to hold events, teach-ins and protests. And university faculty members must present arguments that make students uncomfortable. University campuses are unique hubs of intellectual discovery and debate, designed to teach students how to act within a free society. But free inquiry is not possible in an environment of intimidation. Harassment and intimidation fly in the face of the purpose of a university… Simply affirming that taunts and intimidation have no place on campus isn’t enough. Professors violating these rules should be disciplined or dismissed. Student groups that incite or justify violence should not be given university funds to conduct activity on campus.”

This op-ed was written in response to the pro-Palestinian protests and antisemitism at American universities.  It is indicative of the feelings of many American Jews and I agree with them whole-heartedly.  That said, I wonder what took them so long.

Did they write this article when conservatives were attacked and assaulted at universities? Did they write this article when U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan attempted to speak at a Stanford event and was shouted down by protestors? Did they write this article when former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines was barricaded in a room at San Francisco State University for nearly 3 hours after she was physically assaulted following a speech to students about saving women's sports?

In the case of universities, they came for the Sunday people first (in this case conservatives) and the Saturday people said nothing.  Now they are coming for the Saturday people.  Hopefully, the actions being taken now will ensure that all forms of discrimination at universities are eliminated going forward.