Sometimes people who are stuck within the politics-is-the-only-answer paradigm, look at civil disobedience and noncooperation and ask, “Where are the successes?” Many of these folks only judge success when there is an official policy change. Each instance of civil disobedience and noncooperation is a personal success at the very least. It’s empowering to say, “No” to those who wish to control you. Beyond that, we have seen plenty of civil disobedience / noncooperation wins including the cops giving up on enforcing cannabis laws around the historic 420 celebrations in Keene, Manchester, and Concord. Parking tickets have been dropped due to activists’ noncooperation. The court lobby video ban has been violated multiple times without incident. Plus, the events have frequently garnered thousands of dollars in free publicity for Free Keene and the Free State Project, only insuring more movers and more future successes. All that stemming from just the activism here in Keene.
However, Keene is not the only place where civil disobedience is happening. Orlando, FL has recently become a hotspot thanks to the efforts of John Kurtz and other liberty activists (many of whom will be at Porcfest next month). John has used civil disobedience to successfully violate the city’s ban on feeding the homeless near city hall as well as to prove that the panhandling law is selectively enforced against the homeless. Now he’s teamed up with Julian Heicklen, the jury nullification outreach superactivist, to purposefully violate a ban on jury outreach. (more…)
On Thursday when FreeKeene.com blogger Meg appears in front of a Cheshire County jury to face charges stemming from her civil disobedience arrest, I’ll be in the audience live-tweeting the events as they unfold.
I am going to trek westward to sit in the audience and support Meg because, well, she is a good person who believes in something important. She is willing to risk her own freedom so that others too can live their lives peacefully without violent state coercion. She didn’t hurt anyone. She stood in front of a car that was being used to unjustly haul someone away who had broken an unjust law.
Brave people like Meg are the reason that societies change for the better. It has happened before in this country… and it is happening again now.
Just after Jim Johnson was convicted by a jury for “trespassing” on so-called public property, we caught up with one of the jurors, Jim, who was nice enough to share his thoughts. There is much to be learned in what he reveals. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to talk on-camera, Jim!
As an activist, I try to support as many other activists as possible. So when I heard about Bob Constantine trial in Grafton County I did all I could to attend (pulling an all nighter the night before the trial). I thought the day would be boring as most court proceedings are but that wasn’t the case this time.
Right away we were told about a double security check and a ban of cameras from the courtroom. It didn’t take long for the activists to start asking questions and pushing the limits of these tyrannical rules. As seen in the video below Ian Freeman, fellow blogger here, did his best to get electronics into the courtroom, yet, was threatened with arrest if he didn’t leave.
What do you think? Should cameras ever be banned from a public building? If I have to pay for it shouldn’t I be allowed to record the actions that take place in such a place? Should undercover officers be protected? Aren’t they public servants? Do real public servants need to hide their face? Is this the world you want your children growing up in?
Courtesy TalleyTV: The heroic Evan “The Emperor” Pierce is brought into court – poetry and singing ensue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0roezz3nf4
Evan was carted off to Cheshire jail where he is serving a sentence I believe for not paying a fine in a cannabis arrest from the 2009 Pumpkin Fest.
A DECISION HAS BEEN REACHED: The jury has refused to convict Bob of a felony for manufacturing!!! Instead they did find him guilty of possession which is a misdemeanor. The most time Bob can serve is up to one year.
Sometimes people who are stuck within the politics-is-the-only-answer paradigm, look at civil disobedience and noncooperation and ask, “Where are the successes?” Many of these folks only judge success when there is an official policy change. Each instance of civil disobedience and noncooperation is a personal success at the very least. It’s empowering to say, “No” to those who wish to control you. Beyond that, we have seen plenty of civil disobedience / noncooperation wins including the cops giving up on enforcing cannabis laws around the historic 420 celebrations in Keene, Manchester, and Concord. Parking tickets have been dropped due to activists’ noncooperation. The court lobby video ban has been violated multiple times without incident. Plus, the events have frequently garnered thousands of dollars in free publicity for Free Keene and the Free State Project, only insuring more movers and more future successes. All that stemming from just the activism here in Keene.
