When is Free Speech Not Free?
by Mondoreb & Little Baby Ginn
A Ron Paul supporter felt the limits of free speech at an Barack Obama rally in Phoenix AZ last night. With the impetuousity of youth, the Paul supporter stuck to his guns and was allowed to stay. No comment from Obama on the incident.
From the East Valley Tribune:
An 18-year-old university student held his ground - and onto his Ron Paul t-shirt - despite efforts of security guards to remove him from Sen. Barack Obama’s rally Friday at Arizona State University campus.Although not speaking to the incident directly, Obama later talked about his appeal and how it crossed party boundaries--much as Paul's does.
Jacob Done, 18, stood atop a tower in the center of Hayden Lawn on ASU campus proudly displaying a “Ron Paul Revolution” T-shirt above his head as Obama, D-Ill., began to speak to the crowd. First, security approached Done asking him to step down from the window ledge on top of the tower for safety reasons, but then they insisted he leave after he stepped to a lower platform, Done said.
Three men wearing purple ProEM Security staff shirts attempted to remove Done by grabbing him, but Done resisted the force. At the time, Done was standing next to a reporter for the Tribune.
Bystanders yelled in support, saying “Let him stay,” and “It’s free speech!” Security guards eventually agreed to let him stay on the tower along with others who came to see Obama speak, as long as he kept his Ron Paul shirt no higher than his head, saying it would obstruct the views of others if held any higher.
Security guards did not appear to approach people holding Obama signs high above their heads.
“Once he got down, he wasn’t causing a disturbance,” said Maegan Kearns, 23, a secondary education major at ASU. “Everybody, even the Democrats, rallied around the Republican to support free speech.”
In the Arizona Star:
"You've got Democrats, independents, and yes, you even have some Republicans," he said, which prompted a mixture of boos and cheers. "I know this because when I shake hands afterwards some people will whisper to me, 'Barack, I'm a Republican, but I support you.' And I say, 'Thank you very much, but why are we whispering?' "Jacob Done wasn't whispering.
Back to Front Page.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave your name/nic.
We've changed the comments section to allow non-registered users to comment.
We'll continue like that until it's being abused.
We reserve the right to delete all abusive or otherwise inappropriate comments.