Blog Post #3: On Statues and Freedom of Speech
So recently, I've seen a lot in the news about defacing and the tearing down of statues. It's one thing if the local government (or what have you) decides to tear it down. But isn't it another when citizens decided to take the initiative and tear it down? For example, a statue of Christopher Columbus was torn down in Minneapolis.
By the 6 clauses, they are free to call for the taking down of the statue (speech), to gather in groups to protest (assemble) and even start a petition to take it down (petition), they may also go to the various media outlets and tell people their ideas and reasons (press).
BUT! The citizens taking it upon themselves to take down the statue by themselves is not protected because A Bedrock Principle: Protection is not absolute. Now technically speaking, I don't know if a PUBLIC statue counts as PRIVATE property, but the statue certainly isn't owned by any of the citizens, so I would say they're tearing down of it is not and should not be protected.
Politics aside, tearing things down like that in a crowded, unprotected area is dangerous. Someone could get hurt (or die), it could damage nearby property, there are more efficient and safe ways of doing this.
In this link, you can see a video from CGTN about statues being torn down and the civil unrest.
Comments
Post a Comment