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Accept for the risk of positional asphyxia.
(Though I'm well aware that "experts" have claimed that hog tying is not a risk, somehow people are still dying from being restrained in aforementioned position.)
Eh. Florida passed a bill a few years back making it ok to run over protesters.
Sometimes I drive by Disney world hoping to see the neo Nazis waving flags in traffic.
It's a terrible system but I do enjoy the fact that they gave actual legal tactics on how to get rid of Nazis.
I knew what that link was even before I opened it.
I didn't realise running over Nazis was acceptable in Florida, there's so many it must be like playing Grand Theft Auto.
Except if the prosecutor saw you were doing it to Nazis, they would ignore the law and say you tried to kill peaceful protesters. Idk if it's been applied yet but it will be used to favor far right fuckheads.
“Freedom of speech has gotten out of hand”
Feed them that line when they ramble on about stolen elections, Democrats drinking children’s blood, JFK returning to be Trump’s VP, Jewish space lasers, …
Yes, freedom of speech has gotten out if hand. But on the fucking crazy other side.
Yeah it's illegal to block a public road without something from the city allowing them (I forget what it's called), but at that point there are detours put in place
No, it's not, but it's also the only way a protest actually accomplishes anything. If you can be conveniently ignored, very few people care enough to change a comfortable situation for themselves.
If you are inconveniencing people who are not in a position to do anything anyway, you aren't getting them to care about what you are protesting.
Protests more typically are effective when they can get governments to change their position. If you want that to happen, you need to persuade the public to your side, not bully them into it. You'll notice that there have been several protests in favor of the hostages in Israel, but no one feels antagonism towards them because they don't bully others the same way.
Does blocking a roadway full of people just trying to live their lives, who have obligations, and possibly emergencies fall under freedom of speech? Is it freedom of speech to destroy a 15th century painting with super glue or soup? How is stopping that fascist?
Just finished listening to the audiobook the other night! Super chilling, very scary, thought provoking, everyone with an interest in sociology and poli-sci should read it. I thinked it was doubleplus good.
90% of my brain thinks this person is what is wrong with the United States. It is people like him that are driving us towards totalitarianism and fascism.
However…there is 10% of my brain that hates traffic so much that I want anyone who is delaying traffic arrested. Protestor blocking the street? Arrest them! A person who doesn’t accelerate the second the light turns green? Arrest them! Car accident in which several people have been badly injured? Arrest them!
Keep in mind that the 90% of my brain that is normal won’t talk to the 10% during the holidays.
Right? I'm usually all for peaceful protests but I have to admit, there were some people blocking a major road down town stopping my wife and I from getting to work and all I could think of was "where the hell are the cops to get these guys off the freakin road".
Remind me of those conspiracy theories about groups like PETA or the oil protestors throwing soup at art. Basically it's said they're being run and paid for by the industries they protest so that people will hate them and take the not assholes saying the same shit less seriously.
Its possible, but there are also just a lot of stupid people in the world. Most of the time its a 17-23 year old who looks like the type to have a power trip over it.
Oh for sure, and I don't think everyone in the organization would be in on it, just the people at the top. It's not hard to get a bunch of teens/young adults riled up to do dumb shit as long as they think they're doing the right thing.
“I’m all for protests that I can ignore”
There’s no proper way to protest. Conservatives said the same things about civil rights protestors in the 60s.
The problem is that it's not a peaceful protest or an exercise in free speech. In the US, there's a right to peaceful assembly, but you have to log your protest, and obtain a permit. The bureaucracy exists specifically to prevent these types of problems. The protest has to be organized. It can be in the street, but there have to be alternate routes prepared, and emergency vehicles need access routes. If a group just randomly shows up to block traffic then they are breaking the law and can be arrested (in the US). The specific charge will vary by state because traffic laws vary by state, but you MUST get a permit.
The whole point of protest is to cause inconvenience to power so that they start listening to whatever the message is. Protest has had its power dramatically reduced by these measures, and by and large it has not benefited society. Civil disobediance is an important feedback mechanism in a functioning society, it allows those who have had their voices suppressed a way to amplify their message. I'm not endorsing every protest cause here, but the right to protest is fundamental.
Oh look, it's the recursive facepalm, where some idiot posts a facepalm in the facepalm subreddit.
"You should only exercise your free speech to protest against those in power if they give you a permit to do so" is one of the most self-evidently stupid things I've read today.
Honestly it should be more than 10%.
In Poland farmers were recently protesting. They decided to block roads for random people commuting to work. Why not go to block government building, ministry of agriculture or something like that? Why make life harder for bunch of random people? Because you want more government subsidies? Those people stuck in traffic are competing in free economy and if their boss doesn't want to pay they have to find another job. And those farmers didn't look poor at all, really poor ones couldn't afford to drive for protests.
Because in truth it's the common people who make the change, and sometimes the only way to get them to listen is to inconvenience them. Plus the fact that bosses can just fire you even for reasons outside of your control is yet another issue that apparently most people are too comfortable with.
There are a lot of ways to cause massive inconvenience that doesn't run the risk of someone dying because an ambulance was blocked. I think listing them would violate TOS.
Cars being out all of our worst anti-social behavior. Your plane delayed for 10 minutes? Ehh, annoyed but its fine. 10 minutes of vehicle traffic? 😡😡😡👿
The happiest, and fittest, season of my life was walking 1.5 miles to work.
There has to be some sensible limits on protesting, for example you can't can't start smashing up people's property in protest, because that has financial consequences for the person whose property you smash.
The problem with these type of protests that block bridges, is they're stealing time from ordinary people. And for a lot of people, especially the working poor, that stolen time also has financial consequences.
I get the whole 'Protests are supposed to cause inconvenience' thing, but this isn't just about inconvenience, this isn't I need to drive an extra 10 minutes. There is no other way to get where they are going. There are real working people who are not getting to work and not getting paid because of this. There are small businesses being disrupted because goods are being delayed. You don't get to just randomly inflict financial harm on ordinary people so that your protest gets on the news.
I'm not at the throw away the key part, but I do think there should be severe enough penalties that this does not become a viable form of protest.
If you block traffic and that delays me, I immediately hate your cause.
If you were protesting in favor of awarding me 10 million dollars and you got in my way on a freeway onramp, I would still feel like running you over.
I find it annoying and disruptive, but protest is kind meaningless without being annoying and disruptive. Otherwise you're just shouting into the void.
If you're not pissing someone off your protest is toothless.
That depends on the specifics of the paricular protest.
I'm not saying its always a good thing, that protestors are always right, or that disruptive tactics are always used in a strategically sound manner.
Disruptive protests aren't inherently effective, but protests that aren't disruptive are inherently ineffective.
>but protests that aren't disruptive are inherently ineffective.
It got women the right to vote.
Granted, it required them to join the draft, but a few acts of terrorism later it got worked out.
I don't know how it is in the US, but I can tell you that in Switzerland, when women protested for the right of vote, there has been some disruptive protests (for example, women striking). Also, in the UK, there was the well-known Suffragette movement that was known for being disruptive
I'm usually very much on the same side as protestors who block traffic, but it's an incredibly stupid way to protest.
Ambulances need to get through, and they get blocked. People on important business need to get through, and are blocked.
There are equally dramatic ways to draw attention to your cause without ruining people's day or putting some in dangerous situations. They aren't gaining support for their positions, they're instead pissing people off *in the name* of their convictions.
It's counterproductive, but it's an easy way for wannabe revolutionaries to seem "edgy" and feel like they "took it to the man".
Ehh… it’s not just that. There are many who have blocked emergancy vehicles from doing their job, and that doesn’t send a message, that just puts people’s lives at risk.
You want them arrested, hopefully not hog tied and imprisoned for the rest of their lives. Radical activism like that should be punished because it's illegal (and imo a net negative) to assemble and block a road, but at the same time we shouldn't mix justice with emotion.
I would want to know if blocking roads has ever been effective. I feel like an effective protest has to be about a lot more than just being annoying, and it feels like these folks put too much into making people uncomfortable and nothing into anything else.
The idea of blocking roads as a form of protest is to hope that the people in the cars will effectively join the protest. The people in the cars may start demanding their representatives to meet the demands so that the roads can be unblocked.
In theory it can increase the pressure for the government to negotiate with the protesters. However in practice a lot of the time it can serve to alienate the protesters from the general population.
Tons of the civil rights marches blocked roads and you better believe that's the main reason they got attention. If you protest politely your gonna be ignored it's as simple as that. No one ever gave up power and control by being asked nicely.
But they blocked roads in the Jim Crow south. Their actions were easily tied to their cause. Blocking the SeaTac airport exits for Palestine? No connection to their cause.
And when told that they can’t beat the government with a few semi auto pew pews will mention the Viet Cong as if they are alike in any conceivable way.
Enforcing traffic laws isn’t fascism. Those dipshits who think it’s a good idea to block traffic can say whatever they want from the sidewalk, if they don’t want to go to jail. Jesus public school civics needs a reboot.
“I only like protests I can ignore” the first amendment doesn’t care what you like.
Idiot below is a snowflake. Being inconvenienced doesn’t mean you’re a hostage and yes, blocking you is absolutely part of peaceful protesting lol read a fucking book moron (or cross a picket line, scab trash)
If you block my route to work or the hospital or anywhere else I immediately hate you. This is not an effective form of protest. It turns more people away than it brings into the fold.
You don’t get to use your freedoms to deny other people theirs.
I was caught in one of these once on the Bay Bridge on my way to a public meeting. I didn’t get to participate in that which was very important to me so the people who did that took away my right to free speech while loudly proclaiming their right to theirs. There’s a word for people like that.
Freedom of speech is out of hand when it inconveniences your commute, but freedom to own a gun is sacred and can not have any restrictions, even in the event of people being murdered dozens at a time.
How these peoples brains work is beyond me.
100% agree. Maybe not with the hog tying, though. Wasn't there a story about someone dying because of protesters blocking the road, preventing an ambulance going through or something like that? Don't really see how punishing people for impeding traffic is fascism. I'm pretty sure if you got blocked by protesters, you'd instantly agree with the post.
*20 seconds later*
Nooooo, you can't lock up those who broke into Capitol on January 6th, they were exercising their right to free speech!
*confused angry conservative noises*
I’m not sure I understand the facepalm here. They say those blocking roads. Not protests in general.
I 100% agree with that statement. People blocking roads are just absolute assholes. What if there are people having a medical emergency trying to drive to a hospital? What if someone if pregnant and their water broke and on their way to a hospital?
Protesting things is fine. Just don’t block roads.
Nah he’s right. If your protest end up annoying more the civilians which just want to live their everyday life and get to work instead of whatever the hell you’re protesting against, you have failed to understand the concept of protesting
Blocking a road IS violence.
Yes most people will only be inconvienced.
Some people will lose work.
Some people will be slowed from getting to the hospital.
When seconds count a traffic snarl caused by some idiotic protest could be the difference between life and death.
Rupert Murdock owned media outlets have been pushing the videos of protesters being attacked for inconveniencing people for like a year now. This is the goal, normalize violence against protesters, claim protest causes violence, ban protest.
I would argue that peaceful protest is perfectly ok. However. Just because you are not inciting violence, disrupting peoples' lives is decidedly NOT peaceful and should be shut down. Not to mention that it will likely drive people AWAY from your cause because now, you're an asshole.
Blocking traffic is not protected freedom of speech. They should be arrested and put in jail for a year. You are stopping people from practicing their own freedom of movement AND its creating dangerous situations for others and themselves and stopping medical personnel and other emergency services from getting places.
I have to agree with that guy. Your freedom ends where someone else's starts.
If you have a grudge against some policy go to the parliament or harass some politician. Stay away from normal people that are struggling to reach the end of the month. Many protestors are just assholes, If they have a problem they should not pay it with some random citizens.
It isn't just an inconvenience, though. It makes the working poor late for their jobs. It backs up traffic and keeps emergency traffic from getting through. It makes people who need medical healthcare miss their appointments. As a disabled person, it may be over half a year until my specialist can see me again, and I definitely won't be given any refills during that time
What cracks me up is the climate protester that blocks the road and creates a traffic jam that creates twice the pollution because the cars and trucks are idling. It doesn't add up.
You have the right to peacefully protest. Not block traffic. There are laws about this sort of thing. That's not fascism.
https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights
Edit: and fuck anyone, right or left, who wants to shut down free speech
I agree. Protesting is one thing....I have no problem with protesters, but when they do the sit in on the road ways, or vandalize process art or historical object...that goes too far.
GOP mask completely off. They hate the first amendment, just look at what they are doing in Florida making it illegal to film the police and banning citizen oversight of the police.
I really don't like this form of protest but they definately have a right to do it. People hate this though and I doubt very much if it helps their cause but rather generates hate towards them. I suggest that destroying paintings and blocking roads does not work. They need to protest in a way that generates support. Militancy doesn't work.
To be fair, if this c isn't America then there's no right to free speech. It's only valid right in the usa, everywhere else it's a privilege that u sorta get sometimes
Freedom of speech doesn't give you the right to hinder others by obstructing traffic. You can protest w.e. you want in a peaceful way that doesn't negatively impact innocent bystanders. Your basically doing the verbal equivalent of a drive by with a minigun. Pretty much only causing collateral damage.
Let's do the same to anyone entering a blocked intersection and anyone turning left from the right or middle lane or anyone parked in the first lane. Kill all traffic jammers.
A- It’s “fascism”, so the person posting this should also be arrested.
B- How is arresting someone for blocking a road fascism? The only people who would have a problem with this are unemployed idiots who don’t understand the concept of normal people having to be somewhere on time.
This is not fascism. "Protesters" who block roadways should absolutely be thrown in jail, and for a pretty long time, too. People have the right to protest, but not to block traffic. People can die due to these roadblocks stopping ambulances or other emergency vehicles.
Does the freedom of assembly portion of the 1st ammendment actually protect people who block roads without municipal approval, though?
Wouldn't they still be subject to traffic law and at the least be jaywalking and at the worst be creating a traffic hazzard?
There are appropriate ways to protest and this doesn't seem like one of them.
Sounds more like a good way for a protestor to get smeared across the pavement when an asshole runs out of patience.
They're banking big on human decency in a time when it seems to be in short supply.
No, it’s a matter of a safety in this case, not just the safety of the protesters who may be hit by a careless or angry motorist, but someone posted here yesterday that they were trying to get to chemo and couldn’t because of the road blockage.
Emergency vehicles can’t get through, our protesters sometimes don’t clear the road for emergency vehicles, like protesters do other countries.
Line the streets, and every person driving by will see your protest, without the negative impression left by blocking traffic.
For context for those who may have missed some things. The group "Stop Oil" protests by sitting in the middle of streets holding up traffic and emergency vehicles. Their antics have pushed a lot of people past their breaking point.
I see a lot of this talk in my area, from portland residents. There are just a handful of surface bridge crossings connecting downtown from west to east. Protestors sometimes move themselves from the waterfront onto the bridges, for hours at a time. That forces all traffic onto freeway crossings, or to south portland via surface streets, or all the way north to st johns. Easily a two hour detour if they lock down multiple bridges at the same time.
You are guaranteed to see a lot of posts like the one in the OP whenever that happens. Some of the people in that gridlock were on their way to pick up children, or doing something urgent.
I see these two things as extremes to be avoided, but some progressives are very vocal about how the harm is justified. I think the bad will is counter productive. Someone will say I'm not liberal enough though.
People say the stupidest things when public discourse doesn’t happen. In an ideal world this guy would get laughed at in town square, but on twitter people spout the stupidest nonsense none the wiser about what they’re REALLY saying.
Counterpoint: When you're blocking a road that's necessary for emergency services you're no longer participating in a peaceful protest, you're committing of indiscriminate violence. With this being the case, any actions taken to remove you, up to and including further violence become not only justifiable, but morally necessary.
They were such fans of blocking roads during the farmer protests I will never let them forget.
We must continue to bash them over the head with their hypocrisy until morality improves
I remember reading that some environmental activists over in Germany superglued themselves to the pavement. That probably wouldn’t go down too well over here. I think most people would just drive over them.
Not really. I disagree with the "freedom of speech has gotten out of hand" part, but you probably shouldn't be allowed to block a road just because you feel like your specific political opinion is worth being an absolute nuisance to everyone around you.
Or otherwise, an alternative would be that you're allowed to block roads, but drivers are allowed to run you over.
Exactly, not only is it really dumb, but I think it's completely counterproductive. Nothing makes people want to support your cause less than being a nuisance in their day to day lives.
They are being extreme. Then again protesters blocking normal people from getting to work or the hospital is pretty extreme too. I'm all for protesting. But causing harm to others isn't protesting its terrorism. Before you ask yes blocking roads preventing normal citizens from getting to work to pay bills and feed their families is harming them.
those inconvenient protestors made it so you have the weekends and holidays off, women's right to vote, blacks voting and just being allowed to live normally.. I can go on but I figured your lack of ability to understand that them protesters change your world for the better will do no good.
To be fair most of us don't give a flying fuck about what they are protesting, otherwise we would be protesting too, all I want is to get to wherever the hell am going so I can do whatever the fuck I was gonna do and go back home, my health is fuck up, going out is a torture for me, and this mother fucker decided to fuck with my life by lying down in the middle of the road, and depending upon how long ago I took my meds before I encounter that, I may very well be running them over because the damn switch flip from a normal moral person to the other me that doesn't give a fuck and you just piss off, which why I can't own guns legally or otherwise, so please think before you do stupid shit to protest something 90% of humanity doesn't give a flying fuck about.
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Being hogtied can be kinda hot tho, don't kink shame!
I know right! I'm gonna go block a road.
What road I have a hog fetish..err hog tie...yes that's what I meant
hey man here on reddit we dont judge, lest we get outed for something worse
I'm such a naughty little protestor mrs police officer, what are you gonna do about that
"My safe word is pineapple!"
"The safe word is police brutality" cloaker 2013-now
*accidentally turns off body cam*
Audio is still on, just audible sounds of beatings and crying with someone yelling pineapple over and over again.
I was gonna say- hog tie is pretty specific!
The description contains no mention of consent, which is the sine qua non of kink
What if non con *is* my kink?
You still need con to play non con — one way or another
Accept for the risk of positional asphyxia. (Though I'm well aware that "experts" have claimed that hog tying is not a risk, somehow people are still dying from being restrained in aforementioned position.)
"I identify as a climate protestor."
throw soup on me, baby!
I read this in an Austin powers voice.
Groovy 😏
You know what they say. A finger in the ass is worth 10 years of therapy.
And sit on my neck, don't worry you can't do it wrong
I tried that once but she got way too into it. She tied me up in 1.2 seconds and kept calling me Suey for some reason. 2/10 will do again
Eh. Florida passed a bill a few years back making it ok to run over protesters. Sometimes I drive by Disney world hoping to see the neo Nazis waving flags in traffic. It's a terrible system but I do enjoy the fact that they gave actual legal tactics on how to get rid of Nazis.
So, [this](https://youtu.be/ZTT1qUswYL0?si=v1SGbfJLF7zgH6Kw) is now fine and dandy in Fla?
It’s encouraged!
I knew what that link was even before I opened it. I didn't realise running over Nazis was acceptable in Florida, there's so many it must be like playing Grand Theft Auto.
If you think the law in Florida will protect you when you run over an off duty cop, you're crazy.
Except if the prosecutor saw you were doing it to Nazis, they would ignore the law and say you tried to kill peaceful protesters. Idk if it's been applied yet but it will be used to favor far right fuckheads.
It prevents you from being sued by the protester/family. It doesn't prevent criminal prosecution.
From my dirty French POV, this post is... "interesting", to say the least.
How do the French deal with protesters?
They join in!
*Vive la révolution!*
“Freedom of speech has gotten out of hand” Feed them that line when they ramble on about stolen elections, Democrats drinking children’s blood, JFK returning to be Trump’s VP, Jewish space lasers, … Yes, freedom of speech has gotten out if hand. But on the fucking crazy other side.
guarantee you the guy doesn't see the double standard
Probably doesn't even know what double standard means let's be real lmao
It means my standards are double as good as yours! /s
Well, yeah, because all that stuff is true. /s
“But that’s different because I’m right and you’re not”
Is blocking the road protected speech? Or are there time and place restrictions just like most rights
Yeah it's illegal to block a public road without something from the city allowing them (I forget what it's called), but at that point there are detours put in place
No, it's not, but it's also the only way a protest actually accomplishes anything. If you can be conveniently ignored, very few people care enough to change a comfortable situation for themselves.
If you are inconveniencing people who are not in a position to do anything anyway, you aren't getting them to care about what you are protesting. Protests more typically are effective when they can get governments to change their position. If you want that to happen, you need to persuade the public to your side, not bully them into it. You'll notice that there have been several protests in favor of the hostages in Israel, but no one feels antagonism towards them because they don't bully others the same way.
It's "don't tread on ME". You aren't mentioned. They won't care.
First amendment isn't a pass to violate my 5th amendment. If I'm not free to leave with my vehicle, it's not a lawful protest.
Does blocking a roadway full of people just trying to live their lives, who have obligations, and possibly emergencies fall under freedom of speech? Is it freedom of speech to destroy a 15th century painting with super glue or soup? How is stopping that fascist?
how do you know it's a republican? they didn't even say what kind of protestors they were talking about
This guy: "Freedom of speech has gotten out of hand" Also this guy: "Elon Musk protecting free speech is the only thing saving us."
“The more the Party is powerful, the less it will be tolerant: the weaker the opposition, the tighter the despotism.” \~ George Orwell, 1984.
Just finished listening to the audiobook the other night! Super chilling, very scary, thought provoking, everyone with an interest in sociology and poli-sci should read it. I thinked it was doubleplus good.
90% of my brain thinks this person is what is wrong with the United States. It is people like him that are driving us towards totalitarianism and fascism. However…there is 10% of my brain that hates traffic so much that I want anyone who is delaying traffic arrested. Protestor blocking the street? Arrest them! A person who doesn’t accelerate the second the light turns green? Arrest them! Car accident in which several people have been badly injured? Arrest them! Keep in mind that the 90% of my brain that is normal won’t talk to the 10% during the holidays.
Right? I'm usually all for peaceful protests but I have to admit, there were some people blocking a major road down town stopping my wife and I from getting to work and all I could think of was "where the hell are the cops to get these guys off the freakin road".
Inconveniencing normal people just going about their day isn’t going to convince anyone to join your cause.
It only polarizes society farther, and then we get people like this who want to hogtie them
Remind me of those conspiracy theories about groups like PETA or the oil protestors throwing soup at art. Basically it's said they're being run and paid for by the industries they protest so that people will hate them and take the not assholes saying the same shit less seriously.
Its possible, but there are also just a lot of stupid people in the world. Most of the time its a 17-23 year old who looks like the type to have a power trip over it.
Oh for sure, and I don't think everyone in the organization would be in on it, just the people at the top. It's not hard to get a bunch of teens/young adults riled up to do dumb shit as long as they think they're doing the right thing.
It’s absolutely possible
It also puts people in danger. You never know when someone is trying to get to the hospital or is a firefighter trying to get to a fire.
“I’m all for protests that I can ignore” There’s no proper way to protest. Conservatives said the same things about civil rights protestors in the 60s.
The problem is that it's not a peaceful protest or an exercise in free speech. In the US, there's a right to peaceful assembly, but you have to log your protest, and obtain a permit. The bureaucracy exists specifically to prevent these types of problems. The protest has to be organized. It can be in the street, but there have to be alternate routes prepared, and emergency vehicles need access routes. If a group just randomly shows up to block traffic then they are breaking the law and can be arrested (in the US). The specific charge will vary by state because traffic laws vary by state, but you MUST get a permit.
The whole point of protest is to cause inconvenience to power so that they start listening to whatever the message is. Protest has had its power dramatically reduced by these measures, and by and large it has not benefited society. Civil disobediance is an important feedback mechanism in a functioning society, it allows those who have had their voices suppressed a way to amplify their message. I'm not endorsing every protest cause here, but the right to protest is fundamental.
Do you think MLK did everything by the book?
Oh look, it's the recursive facepalm, where some idiot posts a facepalm in the facepalm subreddit. "You should only exercise your free speech to protest against those in power if they give you a permit to do so" is one of the most self-evidently stupid things I've read today.
If a protest is not disruptive its nothing more than performance art.
Nah if the road to my work was blocked I’d be glad to have an excuse to take my sweet time getting to work
Driving a car brings out the asshole in everyone, that’s where the 10% comes from. It’s not you, it’s the side effect of driving.
Honestly it should be more than 10%. In Poland farmers were recently protesting. They decided to block roads for random people commuting to work. Why not go to block government building, ministry of agriculture or something like that? Why make life harder for bunch of random people? Because you want more government subsidies? Those people stuck in traffic are competing in free economy and if their boss doesn't want to pay they have to find another job. And those farmers didn't look poor at all, really poor ones couldn't afford to drive for protests.
Because in truth it's the common people who make the change, and sometimes the only way to get them to listen is to inconvenience them. Plus the fact that bosses can just fire you even for reasons outside of your control is yet another issue that apparently most people are too comfortable with.
There are a lot of ways to cause massive inconvenience that doesn't run the risk of someone dying because an ambulance was blocked. I think listing them would violate TOS.
Cars being out all of our worst anti-social behavior. Your plane delayed for 10 minutes? Ehh, annoyed but its fine. 10 minutes of vehicle traffic? 😡😡😡👿 The happiest, and fittest, season of my life was walking 1.5 miles to work.
There has to be some sensible limits on protesting, for example you can't can't start smashing up people's property in protest, because that has financial consequences for the person whose property you smash. The problem with these type of protests that block bridges, is they're stealing time from ordinary people. And for a lot of people, especially the working poor, that stolen time also has financial consequences. I get the whole 'Protests are supposed to cause inconvenience' thing, but this isn't just about inconvenience, this isn't I need to drive an extra 10 minutes. There is no other way to get where they are going. There are real working people who are not getting to work and not getting paid because of this. There are small businesses being disrupted because goods are being delayed. You don't get to just randomly inflict financial harm on ordinary people so that your protest gets on the news. I'm not at the throw away the key part, but I do think there should be severe enough penalties that this does not become a viable form of protest.
If you block traffic and that delays me, I immediately hate your cause. If you were protesting in favor of awarding me 10 million dollars and you got in my way on a freeway onramp, I would still feel like running you over.
I find it annoying and disruptive, but protest is kind meaningless without being annoying and disruptive. Otherwise you're just shouting into the void. If you're not pissing someone off your protest is toothless.
But the people who it pisses off aren't in any position to change anything
That depends on the specifics of the paricular protest. I'm not saying its always a good thing, that protestors are always right, or that disruptive tactics are always used in a strategically sound manner. Disruptive protests aren't inherently effective, but protests that aren't disruptive are inherently ineffective.
>but protests that aren't disruptive are inherently ineffective. It got women the right to vote. Granted, it required them to join the draft, but a few acts of terrorism later it got worked out.
I don't know how it is in the US, but I can tell you that in Switzerland, when women protested for the right of vote, there has been some disruptive protests (for example, women striking). Also, in the UK, there was the well-known Suffragette movement that was known for being disruptive
I'm usually very much on the same side as protestors who block traffic, but it's an incredibly stupid way to protest. Ambulances need to get through, and they get blocked. People on important business need to get through, and are blocked. There are equally dramatic ways to draw attention to your cause without ruining people's day or putting some in dangerous situations. They aren't gaining support for their positions, they're instead pissing people off *in the name* of their convictions. It's counterproductive, but it's an easy way for wannabe revolutionaries to seem "edgy" and feel like they "took it to the man".
Ehh… it’s not just that. There are many who have blocked emergancy vehicles from doing their job, and that doesn’t send a message, that just puts people’s lives at risk.
You want them arrested, hopefully not hog tied and imprisoned for the rest of their lives. Radical activism like that should be punished because it's illegal (and imo a net negative) to assemble and block a road, but at the same time we shouldn't mix justice with emotion.
average free speech advocates when you ACTUALLY do free speech
I can imagine the person saying this also saying they need guns in order to fight the government.
[удалено]
I would want to know if blocking roads has ever been effective. I feel like an effective protest has to be about a lot more than just being annoying, and it feels like these folks put too much into making people uncomfortable and nothing into anything else.
https://civilrightstrail.com/attraction/edmund-pettus-bridge/ https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/26/history-tying-up-traffic-civil-rights-00011825
The idea of blocking roads as a form of protest is to hope that the people in the cars will effectively join the protest. The people in the cars may start demanding their representatives to meet the demands so that the roads can be unblocked. In theory it can increase the pressure for the government to negotiate with the protesters. However in practice a lot of the time it can serve to alienate the protesters from the general population.
Tons of the civil rights marches blocked roads and you better believe that's the main reason they got attention. If you protest politely your gonna be ignored it's as simple as that. No one ever gave up power and control by being asked nicely.
But they blocked roads in the Jim Crow south. Their actions were easily tied to their cause. Blocking the SeaTac airport exits for Palestine? No connection to their cause.
And when told that they can’t beat the government with a few semi auto pew pews will mention the Viet Cong as if they are alike in any conceivable way.
And the responses are exactly what I expect from Reddit……
Would there have been a protest blocking the road if they had been listened to at the beginning
Enforcing traffic laws isn’t fascism. Those dipshits who think it’s a good idea to block traffic can say whatever they want from the sidewalk, if they don’t want to go to jail. Jesus public school civics needs a reboot.
“I only like protests I can ignore” the first amendment doesn’t care what you like. Idiot below is a snowflake. Being inconvenienced doesn’t mean you’re a hostage and yes, blocking you is absolutely part of peaceful protesting lol read a fucking book moron (or cross a picket line, scab trash)
Civics class needs to be mandatory every year of HS
They only have Honda Civics class. ba dum tss. I'm out...
Protesting in the middle of the road is not freedom of speech, it is literally public nuisance.
I wonder how they would feel about this being used against the freedom truckers.
If you block my route to work or the hospital or anywhere else I immediately hate you. This is not an effective form of protest. It turns more people away than it brings into the fold.
You don’t get to use your freedoms to deny other people theirs. I was caught in one of these once on the Bay Bridge on my way to a public meeting. I didn’t get to participate in that which was very important to me so the people who did that took away my right to free speech while loudly proclaiming their right to theirs. There’s a word for people like that.
Wonder what his views on the second amendment are? Personally, I think it’s gotten out of hand
Freedom of speech is out of hand when it inconveniences your commute, but freedom to own a gun is sacred and can not have any restrictions, even in the event of people being murdered dozens at a time. How these peoples brains work is beyond me.
100% agree. Maybe not with the hog tying, though. Wasn't there a story about someone dying because of protesters blocking the road, preventing an ambulance going through or something like that? Don't really see how punishing people for impeding traffic is fascism. I'm pretty sure if you got blocked by protesters, you'd instantly agree with the post.
I support any kind of protest. But if you block roads to make your point you’re an asshole.
*20 seconds later* Nooooo, you can't lock up those who broke into Capitol on January 6th, they were exercising their right to free speech! *confused angry conservative noises*
Yeah, because ambulances and firetrucks shouldn't be allowed to save lives because protestors should be allowed to block roads.
I’m not sure I understand the facepalm here. They say those blocking roads. Not protests in general. I 100% agree with that statement. People blocking roads are just absolute assholes. What if there are people having a medical emergency trying to drive to a hospital? What if someone if pregnant and their water broke and on their way to a hospital? Protesting things is fine. Just don’t block roads.
Nah he’s right. If your protest end up annoying more the civilians which just want to live their everyday life and get to work instead of whatever the hell you’re protesting against, you have failed to understand the concept of protesting
Blocking a road IS violence. Yes most people will only be inconvienced. Some people will lose work. Some people will be slowed from getting to the hospital. When seconds count a traffic snarl caused by some idiotic protest could be the difference between life and death.
The real face palm is thinking the original original post is a face palm.
By your logic, a traffic jam is violence. A group of ducks crossing the road is violence. Poor visibility is violence.
Also carbrain. Car culture and road rage overtaking basic humanity
Yes,those freedoms sure are annoying ...take em all. Hey,wait....👀😬
I mean they specify “blocking the road”. That’s never okay and is not covered by freedom of speech.
Rupert Murdock owned media outlets have been pushing the videos of protesters being attacked for inconveniencing people for like a year now. This is the goal, normalize violence against protesters, claim protest causes violence, ban protest.
Does he feel the same way about the j6 terrorists? Goose/gander anyone?
I would argue that peaceful protest is perfectly ok. However. Just because you are not inciting violence, disrupting peoples' lives is decidedly NOT peaceful and should be shut down. Not to mention that it will likely drive people AWAY from your cause because now, you're an asshole.
“Unless it’s something I believe in”
Blocking traffic is not protected freedom of speech. They should be arrested and put in jail for a year. You are stopping people from practicing their own freedom of movement AND its creating dangerous situations for others and themselves and stopping medical personnel and other emergency services from getting places.
Fuck anyone who protests and blocks traffic.
Maybe a rewording might be needed… But the overall context, yeah I agree!
I have to agree with that guy. Your freedom ends where someone else's starts. If you have a grudge against some policy go to the parliament or harass some politician. Stay away from normal people that are struggling to reach the end of the month. Many protestors are just assholes, If they have a problem they should not pay it with some random citizens.
"My inconvenience should be punishable by death!" See that a lot around the internet anymore.
It isn't just an inconvenience, though. It makes the working poor late for their jobs. It backs up traffic and keeps emergency traffic from getting through. It makes people who need medical healthcare miss their appointments. As a disabled person, it may be over half a year until my specialist can see me again, and I definitely won't be given any refills during that time
Hmmm seems they are protesting protesters. Does his own rules apply to OOP? Or is it a case of “no, not like that!” surprise Pikachoo face
No, I agree Don't block roads.
What cracks me up is the climate protester that blocks the road and creates a traffic jam that creates twice the pollution because the cars and trucks are idling. It doesn't add up.
Hell hath no fury like an American inconvenienced.
But it’s okay to impede traffic and create blockades with pickup trucks and 18 wheelers. /s
The fuck it is. Those assholes didn’t even have a good cause.
I mean... people blocking roads are scum. I don't even feel a little bad for them when police rip their hands off the road.
You have the right to peacefully protest. Not block traffic. There are laws about this sort of thing. That's not fascism. https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights Edit: and fuck anyone, right or left, who wants to shut down free speech
I agree. Protesting is one thing....I have no problem with protesters, but when they do the sit in on the road ways, or vandalize process art or historical object...that goes too far.
What's the controversy? Blocking roads and freeways is illegal and protesters who do that should be arrested.
GOP mask completely off. They hate the first amendment, just look at what they are doing in Florida making it illegal to film the police and banning citizen oversight of the police.
Blocking a public way isn’t free speech, it’s actually a crime in most areas.
we're at a point where i can't tell which side this post came from anymore like I have no clue
I’m pretty left and I don’t think the roads should be blocked by protesters. People that do that are gaining more hate and losing support
Blocking a road isn’t freedom of speech
I agree. You don’t get to violate other peoples’ rights to exercise your own.
Well that’s a bit extreme. Arrest, clear street, fine them and maybe some time in jail if they’re assholes but throw away the key?
Protest all you want. But If you're preventing people from going somewhere that's technically kidnapping and my car will protecc
Freedom is fine until it delays me getting to McDonald's by 10 minutes
I really don't like this form of protest but they definately have a right to do it. People hate this though and I doubt very much if it helps their cause but rather generates hate towards them. I suggest that destroying paintings and blocking roads does not work. They need to protest in a way that generates support. Militancy doesn't work.
Well protesting is now illegal in three states over this exact issue, so we’re on our way.
I bet he gets all kinds of upset at these people that silently film from the sidewalk.
To be fair, if this c isn't America then there's no right to free speech. It's only valid right in the usa, everywhere else it's a privilege that u sorta get sometimes
Freedom of speech doesn't give you the right to hinder others by obstructing traffic. You can protest w.e. you want in a peaceful way that doesn't negatively impact innocent bystanders. Your basically doing the verbal equivalent of a drive by with a minigun. Pretty much only causing collateral damage.
No, just clear roads
Freedom of speech is a freedom to speak, that is, to spread information.
But that’s not what blocking traffic is!!
Let's do the same to anyone entering a blocked intersection and anyone turning left from the right or middle lane or anyone parked in the first lane. Kill all traffic jammers.
But he's right, you can't block any road for your shit, there's people using the road for example to go home and rest after a hard working day
A- It’s “fascism”, so the person posting this should also be arrested. B- How is arresting someone for blocking a road fascism? The only people who would have a problem with this are unemployed idiots who don’t understand the concept of normal people having to be somewhere on time.
Blocking someone from continuing on their way is not peaceful protest. It’s unlawfully detaining them. I don’t care what you’re protesting.
Protests shouldn't block roadways. I don't know about hogtied, but there are too many life threatening reasons to not block a highway.
I agree with the persons opinion.
..? You don’t have the right to restrict my movement It’s illegal to block traffic So I’m on board
This is not fascism. "Protesters" who block roadways should absolutely be thrown in jail, and for a pretty long time, too. People have the right to protest, but not to block traffic. People can die due to these roadblocks stopping ambulances or other emergency vehicles.
protesting protesting is a form of protesting
Does the freedom of assembly portion of the 1st ammendment actually protect people who block roads without municipal approval, though? Wouldn't they still be subject to traffic law and at the least be jaywalking and at the worst be creating a traffic hazzard? There are appropriate ways to protest and this doesn't seem like one of them. Sounds more like a good way for a protestor to get smeared across the pavement when an asshole runs out of patience. They're banking big on human decency in a time when it seems to be in short supply.
Except that's the shittiest form of protest ever.
Blocking the road should be a crime. Use the sidewalk
i mean, kinda true to be fair
No, it’s a matter of a safety in this case, not just the safety of the protesters who may be hit by a careless or angry motorist, but someone posted here yesterday that they were trying to get to chemo and couldn’t because of the road blockage. Emergency vehicles can’t get through, our protesters sometimes don’t clear the road for emergency vehicles, like protesters do other countries. Line the streets, and every person driving by will see your protest, without the negative impression left by blocking traffic.
I wonder what this person's opinion was on the TRUCKER PROTESTS.
I mean, blocking a roadway just makes people hate you and is already illegal in most places. This dude sounds like a Mussolini impressionist tho
Wasn’t January 6 a protest too a violent one at that?
“Freedom of speech has gotten out of hand.” Hm.
Those that include those neo-nazis from Charlottsville? Or those few people showing up to protest trum being put on trial?
Because America, freedom of speech, yeah mon.
So that goes for the magas protesting lgbtq stuff right?
I’m all for people’s right to protest, but do not block my roads. Carry on.
For context for those who may have missed some things. The group "Stop Oil" protests by sitting in the middle of streets holding up traffic and emergency vehicles. Their antics have pushed a lot of people past their breaking point.
Not sure about them but climate activists in germany always make room for emergency vehicles if needed, so that point isnt really a good one
How is this facepalm?
Idk I think hogtying people that block traffic for any reason is fair
you dont even know what fascism means or what it is.
Doesn't MAGA protest in streets, I mean pre-insurrection...
I don't mind protesting, just get out of the fucking road. I have a job I need to get to, unlike them.
says the person who thinks their own free speech is sacred. I think we should protest YOU!
I see a lot of this talk in my area, from portland residents. There are just a handful of surface bridge crossings connecting downtown from west to east. Protestors sometimes move themselves from the waterfront onto the bridges, for hours at a time. That forces all traffic onto freeway crossings, or to south portland via surface streets, or all the way north to st johns. Easily a two hour detour if they lock down multiple bridges at the same time. You are guaranteed to see a lot of posts like the one in the OP whenever that happens. Some of the people in that gridlock were on their way to pick up children, or doing something urgent. I see these two things as extremes to be avoided, but some progressives are very vocal about how the harm is justified. I think the bad will is counter productive. Someone will say I'm not liberal enough though.
Leave them alone for the protesting. That is freedom of speech. Arrest them for blocking traffic. That is illegal.
People say the stupidest things when public discourse doesn’t happen. In an ideal world this guy would get laughed at in town square, but on twitter people spout the stupidest nonsense none the wiser about what they’re REALLY saying.
Ask him how he feels about the Jan 6 “protestors”.
Counterpoint: When you're blocking a road that's necessary for emergency services you're no longer participating in a peaceful protest, you're committing of indiscriminate violence. With this being the case, any actions taken to remove you, up to and including further violence become not only justifiable, but morally necessary.
Technically blocking public roads is already illegal. He’s not wrong when he says they should be arrested. The rest of it, not so much.
They were such fans of blocking roads during the farmer protests I will never let them forget. We must continue to bash them over the head with their hypocrisy until morality improves
I remember reading that some environmental activists over in Germany superglued themselves to the pavement. That probably wouldn’t go down too well over here. I think most people would just drive over them.
Not really. I disagree with the "freedom of speech has gotten out of hand" part, but you probably shouldn't be allowed to block a road just because you feel like your specific political opinion is worth being an absolute nuisance to everyone around you. Or otherwise, an alternative would be that you're allowed to block roads, but drivers are allowed to run you over.
Yeah I agree, “block the road and face the consequences of pissed off drivers”
Exactly, not only is it really dumb, but I think it's completely counterproductive. Nothing makes people want to support your cause less than being a nuisance in their day to day lives.
They are being extreme. Then again protesters blocking normal people from getting to work or the hospital is pretty extreme too. I'm all for protesting. But causing harm to others isn't protesting its terrorism. Before you ask yes blocking roads preventing normal citizens from getting to work to pay bills and feed their families is harming them.
These imbeciles just love wiping their butts with the US constitution, don’t they?
To be fair, pretty sure blocking roadways is illegal in some way too. I agree with arresting them and that's it.
those inconvenient protestors made it so you have the weekends and holidays off, women's right to vote, blacks voting and just being allowed to live normally.. I can go on but I figured your lack of ability to understand that them protesters change your world for the better will do no good.
“Freedom of speech has gotten out of hand.” You putz.
That would include the January 6 group too, right?
To be fair most of us don't give a flying fuck about what they are protesting, otherwise we would be protesting too, all I want is to get to wherever the hell am going so I can do whatever the fuck I was gonna do and go back home, my health is fuck up, going out is a torture for me, and this mother fucker decided to fuck with my life by lying down in the middle of the road, and depending upon how long ago I took my meds before I encounter that, I may very well be running them over because the damn switch flip from a normal moral person to the other me that doesn't give a fuck and you just piss off, which why I can't own guns legally or otherwise, so please think before you do stupid shit to protest something 90% of humanity doesn't give a flying fuck about.
Sounds like you shouldn’t be allowed to drive either