At this point, some of you have probably at least heard of the protests going on in New York on Wall Street, and the subsequent copycat protests across the country, including here in Maine.
I say “heard” because not all of the media outlets are giving too much credence or coverage to these grassroots movements. If tea party protests get exclusives and media access then so should others as well, especially those that are amassing thousands of people across the country.
This column isn’t about endorsing one side or another or even mentioning the issues in the debate, it’s about the idea that every citizen in this country has a right to speak his or her mind. It doesn’t matter if some of the people in these protests aren’t extremely knowledgeable about how our market economy works or the complexities surrounding corporate interests. It is their fundamental right to be able to petition a government or organizational system for a redress of grievances that they may have.
As someone who has followed politics for many years now, it would make more sense to me that this outpouring of frustration be directed at the individuals who have the real power, the individuals who have the most to lose by not listening to their constituencies: The politicians. These so-called leaders are the ones responsible for regulating Wall Street and reigning in corporate abuses if they happen.
What is most disturbing about what is taking place, though, isn’t what right-wing conspiracy theorists are calling anarchist behavior of the protesters; it is the images through viral videos of the alleged police brutality and abuses. One television reporter and his cameraperson were even sprayed in the face with pepper spray and beaten with a baton for simply being near the protesters. That’s just one of many examples that raise red flags for me that this isn’t just about keeping the peace or for public safety or any of the other excuses that seem to be thrown about. True, there are times that protests get out of hand or protesters break laws and need to be dealt with by authorities, but at what point is it going too far?
I’m not suggesting that the police officers are at fault or that they are doing anything wrong, per se, but I am suggesting that we are not a third-world country where free speech and assembly are outlawed. This a country built upon the foundation of freedoms and rights, not of police-ruled suppression.
If the images of authorities beating and using Mace on people were of Mainers, let’s say in Portland’s Monument Square, would it change the significance or impact? What is happening in one area could just as easily happen somewhere else, so keeping tabs on current events such as this is extremely important. Just because one person doesn’t like what someone has to say or can’t fully understand where that person is coming from, it doesn’t give them the right to suppress that person’s voice in this democratic society.
I, for one, would like to see all this energy channeled in a more productive way ”“ like at the ballot box ”“ but it isn’t for me or anyone else to say what’s the right or wrong way to get a point across.
Let freedom ring.
— Justin Chenette is a host of Youth in Politics, airing on WPME Sundays at 2 p.m. and WPXT at 8:30 a.m. He is a former member of the Maine State Board of Education, a graduate of Thornton Academy and is currently attending Lyndon State College, majoring in broadcast news. Follow him on Twitter @justinchenette, like him on Facebook.com/JustinChenetteOfficial, or visit his website at justinchenette.com.
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