Above Photo: Eleanor Goldfield ACT Out
As capitalism and its racist, sexist, ecocidal, homicidal and bigoted tenets push forwards, protests have been on the rise. And it is in fact our right to protest – it says so in the First amendment.
Lawmakers, however, seem less interested in considering human or civil rights than they are in considering their peace, quiet and pocket books. Recently, 12 bills, filings, laws and proposals have been brought forward to directly curtail our exercise of Freedom of Speech, Press and the Right to Petition our Government – aka the First Amendment.
In this special segment, we lay out the vehemently anti-dissident ideas popping up in state legislatures all over the country – from hit and run laws to getting put in jail for laughing; asset seizure for attending a protest to a $1 million fine for organizing a direct action. These creeping authoritarian style moves are directly made to intimidate, silence and destroy those fighting for justice.
Interestingly enough, much in the same way that bombing innocent people only creates more terrorists, throwing down a gavel against protesters will only create more. The real efficient way to get your freeways unblocked and your streets unclogged is to listen to the demands of the people who want clean air, clean water; who want to stop being killed because of the color of their skin. These basic human rights are non-negotiable and no amount of legalese will stop people from fighting for them