On Thu, 6 Mar 2003, Julia Thompson wrote: > "Marvin Long, Jr." wrote: > > > Interesting - there's a dispute of fact, it seems. The complaint suggests > > the two men were actively stopping other shoppers. In none of the news > > stories I've read, however, do the mall cops actually repeat that > > allegation. They just allege that other shoppers were disturbed by the > > shirts in some vague way. If the real offense was that the men were > > harrassing people physically, why were they not asked to leave for that > > behavior instead of being asked, at first, just to remove the shirts? > > > > It looks like the charges have been dropped: > > > > http://www.msnbc.com/local/WNYT/M276307.asp?0dm=C249N > > According to your link, they were, and one of them complied. The other > didn't, was asked to leave, and then was arrested for trespassing.
Yes - they were asked to remove the shirts. But if the men were physically accosting people, which is what the complaint appears to allege, why ask them just to remove their shirts? How will that stop them walking around and disrupting the activities of other shoppers? Is it reasonable to suppose that the mere act of wearing the shirts themselves, which bore no obscene or vulgar language, was so disturbing as to "stop" other shoppers from doing that they needed to do? Or is the crux of the issue that the mall is private property, so the management and mall cops can do whatever they damn well please? "Excuse me sir, that shirt you're wearing is disturbing people. To prove that you're behaving like a good guest of the mall, I'm afraid we'll require you to remove the shirt, put your underpants on your head, and sing the Star-Spangled Banner with us in four-part harmony. You won't do that? Then you're trespassing." (I can actually imagine that argument succeeding in some places, actually.) Marvin Long Austin, Texas Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Poindexter & Ashcroft, LLP (Formerly the USA) http://www.breakyourchains.org/john_poindexter.htm _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
