Editorial: Careful what you sign. Petitions aren’t always what they seem.
Petitions are supposed to be petitions of protest. They’re meant to create a social or political movement, in the tradition of the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protests of the 1960s. It’s not hard to imagine those who signed the petitions of opposition in 1969 reading or perhaps even re-reading their letters and the original statements they were asked to sign. The petitions of opposition were an important part of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. In addition to those who took a stand, there were many others who supported and believed in the cause. They were willing to stand by the black man and woman.
But there are petitions that create confusion, anger and hatred. In this case, it doesn’t seem to me that the person involved is the innocent victim. The people involved seem to believe it’s their right to protest, even if the law does not support them. While the law is supposed to protect citizens from illegal searches or seizures, a citizen cannot be arrested for protesting. That is, unless they choose to protest, they cannot be arrested. Unless you choose to protest, you cannot be arrested. It doesn’t seem like there is any other logical conclusion to the letter or the comments in this petition.
I think the people involved in this petition don’t understand the importance of their right to assemble peacefully. They believe that anyone, no matter where they are, can peacefully protest their cause. They believe that anyone can organize a mass demonstration. They believe that protests against them are legal. They believe that no law can stop them from peacefully expressing themselves.
The reality is that you would have to have a very organized community with a very large number of people at any protest to ensure that there were no illegal arrests. You would have to have a very large group of concerned and informed people to ensure that they made good use of their time and resources. And there are a lot of people that know, support and understand the concept of peaceful protest.
I think that with people like this at the helm of this petition, it’s just a recipe for disaster. If you have the chance to take a step back and consider the facts and the reality, I think you would see that a petition like this would not create a peaceful protest on its own.
I think the petitioners are unaware that
