A Picture Worth A Thousand Words

PP, does the right to peaceably assemble, give the assembly the right to violate the rights of other people not involved in their motivation for the assembly?

Because that's exactly what the people blocking the walkway were doing.

They were impeding the ability of others to use that same public walkway for their own selfish objectives. Impeding the very people that earned the money that paid the taxes that funded the construction of that PUBLIC walkway...

So whose rights are to supersede another's rights?

And your assumption that they were pepper sprayed "for being alive" is the reason why I think that the photo was created in that situation... inside of a tent on a public sidewalk, especially because it depicts the environment where a sympathizer of such uncivil behavior would create such a ridiculous depiction.

What makes YOU think that people were pepper sprayed for "being alive"?

Weren't there far more "alive" people in other locations that were easier targets for the cops? Even people in places that didn't have cameras at the ready and waiting for that very moment when the police would finally enforce their requests for the blockaders to move off the walkway?

Could it possibly be that the reason for the police to resort to such action was NOT due to those people "being alive" but rather for those people impeding the traffic, the commerce, the trade, the freedom and civil rights of the people that were being blocked from their chosen PUBLIC paths?

Again, which part of the PUBLIC has the right to use that walkway for which it was intended?

Is it the right of an alledged peaceful assembly that specificaly blocks the path of non-participants? Is that really "peaceful"... if the intent is to incite a reaction from those who are paid by the law abiding to ensure the RIGHTS of freedom of movement, trade and commerce? Is that really "peacefull"?

Actually, the people that were pepper sprayed were told NUMEROUS TIMES to move off of the public walkway.

Your "peacefull assembly had formed a blockade line which was impeding OTHER "peaceful people's" right to express their objective of getting to work, to school or to engage in commerce. The police had first asked the blockaders to move and had offered them other places where they could "peaceably assemble"... places that would not impede traffic.

But these "peaceful" blockaders chose to ignore the polite requests, and then after numerous attempts at peaceful discourse by the police... they were then ORDERED to move off of the pedestrian walkway or face being pepper sprayed.

Of course the "peaceably assembly" had their own camera crew ready and waiting for their orchestrated confrontation, so they had no intention of moving out of the way of those only wanting to exercise their right to feed their families and earn a living by getting to work.

When they did not move, the blockaders got the film footage that they wanted when the police used one of their more humane tools available to create an environment that was no longer comfortable for those blocking the walkway to remain in that location.

Of course only someone that has absolutely no concern for the rights of others, would be upset enough to create such a photo as the one ProudProg posted in this string.