Marcy,
I was going to change my Wed. schedule to be available for the protest, but
since nothing is organized I will not.
Warm regards, Michael
Okay, I think this is going to happen! Angela and Allison are coming up from SoCal, and 8 people have "liked" the idea on the Campaign for Liberty site (http://www.meetup.com/CampaignForLibertySF/ideas/). Sheila says that "Fly With Dignity", a group sponsored by Reddit (a service like Digg that lets you promote stories online), will be providing signs. Not sure on the details, and I was not even aware of Reddit.com being supportive of freedom, but Sheila says they are. So I encourage everyone to sign up with them! Sheila also posted a notice on Craigslist -- http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/eve/2067849339.html.
I just talked with her, and we're going to try to scout out the airport tomorrow for possible locations and such. We're also planning to meet on Sunday, possibly for a sign-making party as well as planning, if I can arrange for us to be able to do it in the unused theater space in the Redstone Building (2940 16th Street @South Van Ness) where the anti-Sit/Lie folks have been holding meetings. It seems like a well-ventilated, warehouse-like space that might be readily used for spray-painting.
There is some question as to whether our event should be a "protest" or just an educational event handing out fliers and such. A group in L.A. organized by Nick Hankoff has told LAX authorities they will merely be handing out informational packets.
My suspicion however is that the authorities will be just as hostile to leafletting as to holding signs and banners, and if we are on airport property, either force us into SFO's "free speech zone" or tell us we can't be there at all. According to Wikipedia, "Through 1990s, the San Francisco International Airport played host to a steady stream of quasi-religious groups (Hare Krishnas in particular), preachers, and beggars. The city considered whether this critical public transportation hub was required to host free speech, and to what extent. As a compromise, two "free speech booths" were installed in the South Terminal, and groups wishing to speak but not having direct business at the airport were directed there. These booths still exist, although permits are required simply to access the booths."
They may even have a stronger "legal" case for restricting leafletting than than for restricting people holding signs. There's an interesting discussion of the legal issues regarding free speech at airports online here:
My reading of the legal commentary linked above is that it boils down to the fact that they can "legally" (if you consider Supreme Court perversions of the Constitution to be "legal") restrict people from engaging in any leafletting or soliciting at airports except in designated areas (in effect, making sure free speech only happens in low-traffic areas where few people will see them).
Protesting not involving leafletting appears not to have been specifically addressed by the court. If Sandra Day O'Connor as the swing vote on the Supreme Court had taken a more pro-freedom view, we might have had a clear green light to meaningfully express peaceful dissent. But as things stand, I think we effectively have no more guaranteed freedom than Chinese dissidents trying to unfurl a banner on Tiananmen Square, and I plan to make this point to any media that may cover our event, whatever form it takes.
It may be that our best bet will be to find a high-visibility spot on the approaches to the airport rather than actually in SFO. Sheila and I hope to research that tomorrow.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
Hi Starchild,
Thanks for forging ahead with this! I am glad to hear that Sheila is feeling better and participating (she had left a message in my voice mail saying she was ill and not able to participate). My guess is the airport/TSA rules will definitely work against a gathering anywhere but in the "free-speech zones." So maybe gathering in public space at a good nearby location might be a good idea. BTW, regarding the signs, is not the purpose of the gathering to encourage travelers to participate in "Opt-out Day?" So should the signs not focus on that? The more folks choose to opt out of the nudie machines, the more the TSA will get the message that their rules have gone way too far!
Marcy
Starchild,
I've always admired your fearless, can-do attitude. If I were in town on the dates mentioned, I would join your group, if I could summons the courage to do so. Because you will be protesting against an organization that is government and union, I caution you to be vigilant for your safety. Be on the lookout for tazers, teargas and guns, and keep distance between yourselves and any officers claiming to protect and serve. Any group that is government and union is more dangerous that a loaded shotgun in the hands of a fool. Be careful! Good luck!
All the best,
Don
That kind of input is really important when we are organizing things like this because we can work on something that doesn't send the gas and the dogs etc. out. People like SFO have made dissent harder but not impossible.
One of the ways I've been keeping track of what works and what doesn't is by visiting DefendingDissent.org. Let me know if you have better suggestions on how we can express dissent to the airlines. That would really be helpful.
However- let's not just settle for not expressing dissent because the threat of a threat of unions will be there. If that happens "the terrorist have already won."
Sheila Dean
Angela,
Who in the LP do you think would communicate information to the LAPD for the purpose of harassing anarchists? Has anything like this happened, to your knowledge? I have no particular reason to further discuss staging of events in L.A. at this time, but I don't think we should cut entire groups of people out of the loop for reasons such as this -- it will only undercut our efforts if we stop talking with our allies out of fear.
There are bad apples in all groups. Someone you may know recently told me she and her son were threatened in graphic physical terms by a person who is nominally an anarchist. (And by all means do not take this as a slight against anarchists.) In the case of what I posted below, I don't see what possible negative repercussions there could be
Getting back to practical planning matters, Sheila and I visited SFO yesterday and checked out one of the "Free Speech Zones". To my surprise and joy, it actually is in a location with a lot of traffic -- it's a desk in the departures area of Terminal 1, against the opposite wall between the Southwest Airlines and Air Trans check-in counters. To my additional surprise, they actually have it prominently labeled with a sign identifying it as a "Free Speech Zone". Venturing into surreal/creepy territory, they even have a small speaker mounted over the area, from which we happened to hea a recorded announcement notifying travelers that groups in the Free Speech Zone may make solicitations but that the airport does not vouch for these groups, or something to that effect.
Anyway, further investigation revealed that there are at least (possibly only) two of these zones, the other one being in Terminal 3 near the United Airlines check-in counter (we did not physically visit that location). To use these areas, one is supposed to contact something called the Landside Operations office [phone (650) 821-6500] which is only open Monday-Friday. So we will call them Monday morning and find out what the rules are and about getting a permit for Wednesday at noon.
As an alternate or backup plan, I observed that the side of the road along the main SFO exit on the southbound 101 appears to offer readily accessible open space where we could stand with signs and banners and such and be fairly visible. It is my guess that virtually everyone arriving at SFO by land comes either by BART or via the 101, so by standing by the main southbound 101 airport exit I think we could be observed by a fair fraction of incoming passengers.
Is anyone able to meet today for planning? I can host at my place, but have so far been unable to track down permission to use the space I had in mind in the Redstone Building (2940 16th Street @South Van Ness) where we could spray paint signs.
Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))
Thank you, Sheila!! A little (and unfortunately a lot) of harassment from the opposition is inherent in dissent. Too bad also about the apparent "bad apples" in the LP that Starchild mentioned; and I agree with him that keeping the communication open, and accepting that there may be bad apples is the best course of action.
Thank you both.
Marcy