FL seeks to limit protests at Capitol with rules to protect children from 'harmful materials'

[Vidanjali]

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2022/11/26/florida-deems-state-capitol-limited-public-forum-prevent-protests/10713550002/

[VickySGV]

Quote

"Protecting Florida lawmakers from anything children shouldn't see"

 

Or are not going to listen to even if they hear them.  I would more like to see children kept away from the politicians who are more harmful to them than LGBTQA people as we have found out the hard way.  Give the adults to the adults and let them cope.  Our current rough group of protestors has been encouraged to overthrow elected officials from the top down unless they are puppets who do what the protestors like, just because.  SIGH.

[awkward-yet-sweet]

That one is definitely going out on a limb... How many kids are actually at the Capitol?  And if they are, I'd be worried about having kids so close to the unhealthy infestations in the building...also known as politicians.

[Marcie Jensen]

4 hours ago, awkward-yet-sweet said:

That one is definitely going out on a limb... How many kids are actually at the Capitol?  And if they are, I'd be worried about having kids so close to the unhealthy infestations in the building...also known as politicians.

Amen! I would also question of the sanity of the parents for bringing their children into such an environment... Just sayin'.

[Vidanjali]

This news as LGBTQ+ organizations are currently planning a Rally on Tallahassee in January. https://stonewall-museum.org/march-on-tallahassee-2023/

 

More "won't someone please think of the children!" hand wringing from Tallahassee as a poorly veiled initiative to increase oppression and scapegoating. 

[VickySGV]

51 minutes ago, Vidanjali said:

More "won't someone please think of the children!" hand wringing from Tallahassee as a poorly veiled initiative to increase oppression and scapegoating.

 

It is listed as a Saturday event which is NOT a day that school field trips take place unless someone wants to manipulate children as they say we are doing. They will not see the irony, self-righteousness, or hypocrisy to their actions.  Now what will happen though if children of the attendees are on site?  That is easy, you remove the children from their safe, supportive and loving homes and place them with others who will "cure and save" the child.  Yeah

[Vidanjali]

1 hour ago, VickySGV said:

 

It is listed as a Saturday event which is NOT a day that school field trips take place unless someone wants to manipulate children as they say we are doing. They will not see the irony, self-righteousness, or hypocrisy to their actions.  Now what will happen though if children of the attendees are on site?  That is easy, you remove the children from their safe, supportive and loving homes and place them with others who will "cure and save" the child.  Yeah

 

I just had this Monty Python -esque image of Floridian children being launched into the rally by medieval catapults from the Capitol: "You see there? (as children crash into the rally) They're (the ralliers) injuring the children!! Harmful materials! Harmful materials, everyone! Won't someone think of the children (as more children are loaded into the catapults)?!"

[VickySGV]

@Vidanjali That one is almost too raw for me, and I am going to be seeing it for a bit.  OHHHH!!  but yes it is what they are doing as it stands with words and distorted reality on their part.

[Marcie Jensen]

@Vidanjali, shades of Monty Python and the Holy Grail come to mind (The attack on the French castle scene specifically.) Makes me wonder when the Killer Rabbit of Caer Bannock will appear.

[awkward-yet-sweet]

@Vidanjali@Marcie JensenI still remember the French Revolution scene, trap shooting with peasants.  "Its good to be the king."  Funny, but less so when you find out that's basically what governments do. 

 

I've noticed that it is hard to have freedom of speech when people have the idea that there should be limits to it.  One side is always trying to censor the other.  The people protesting are usually described as "rioters" by the opposition.  If we want freedom of speech, we have to acknowledge that it will always involve speech that is loud, obnoxious, ill-timed, ill-placed, offensive, lurid, angry, slanderous, and possibly destructive. Liberty is dangerous...but less dangerous than what we face now.   

 

However, our Founders had a check on freedom of speech quite apart from the law.  They had a tradition of dueling.  In a rush to make society more polite, the tradition waned in the 1800's (with a few areas that remain exceptions), replaced by the travesty we have now.  I suspect that society would be more hopeful if we returned to some of the old ways, as long as those ways are accessible to all. 

[Marcie Jensen]

8 hours ago, awkward-yet-sweet said:

@Vidanjali@Marcie JensenI still remember the French Revolution scene, trap shooting with peasants.  "Its good to be the king."  Funny, but less so when you find out that's basically what governments do. 

 

I've noticed that it is hard to have freedom of speech when people have the idea that there should be limits to it.  One side is always trying to censor the other.  The people protesting are usually described as "rioters" by the opposition.  If we want freedom of speech, we have to acknowledge that it will always involve speech that is loud, obnoxious, ill-timed, ill-placed, offensive, lurid, angry, slanderous, and possibly destructive. Liberty is dangerous...but less dangerous than what we face now.   

 

However, our Founders had a check on freedom of speech quite apart from the law.  They had a tradition of dueling.  In a rush to make society more polite, the tradition waned in the 1800's (with a few areas that remain exceptions), replaced by the travesty we have now.  I suspect that society would be more hopeful if we returned to some of the old ways, as long as those ways are accessible to all. 

It's been said, and I can't recall by whom, that the first amendment (Freedom of speech included) is the most important item in the Bill of Rights, and the second amendment is there to ensure the first. I'm not sure if that's 100% true, but it makes sense. 

 

Something too often forgotten is that with freedom of speech comes the right to be offended. By this, I mean that if the other person is free to speak their mind without fear of being censored, I'm sure to be offended by their words at some point; as is the other person! And yes, @awkward-yet-sweet, the alternative to Liberty is dangerous. And frightening imho.

 

The tradition of the Code Duello did indeed make society a more polite place for the most part. Interestingly, the American Old West was one of the least violent eras in history, despite how Hollywood portrays it. I suspect that was in part due to everyone being armed to the teeth, and not being afraid to use those arms. As far as I know, there are exactly two instances of outlaws riding into town and trying to rob a bank in broad daylight--specifically the James gang at Northfield MN, and the Doolin-Dalton gang at Coffeeville KS. Both ended with the outlaws being shot to pieces by the indignant townsfolk.

 

Protests are okay. Violence and property destruction are not. By either side. This includes both the January 6 people AND the entire gamut of the summer of 2020 people. (For the latter, I still remember watching a CNN reporter calmly declaring that the protests were peaceful, as buildings were burning to the ground behind him. Shades of Wizard of Oz there.) Regardless, any attempt to protect children makes sense to me. AND, I contend that politicians are by definition, "harmful substances."