An LJ entry by magid (one of cellio‘s friends) brought my attention to this article in the West Virginia Gazette. It seems a couple (different sexes, married 7 years, one with an MS in oceanography, the other with degrees in biological science and marine biology) were arrested after being invited to a Rally for President Bush on July 4th. Why, you ask. Simple: They both wore T-shirts that read “Love America, Hate Bush.”.
Yup. Arrested for expressing their right to disagree with the government. Admittedly, I think using the word “hate” is a bit strong (I prefer positive messages, such as “Vote Kerry”), but they have the right to say it. They weren’t calling for violence or anything of that ilk.
As a result of this, one of the members of the couple, who worked for FEMA making sure environmental requirements were followed, was informed she was no longer needed in West Virginia. This means no pay, but they have to hang around WV on their own nickels to contest the charge.
Where are we going? This is not the first time I’ve heard reports like this. The Secret Service has already been called on the carpet for segregating and hiding protestors, and hopefully folks remember the attempts to hide protestors at the Republican Convention in 2000.
What is so dangerous about hearing opposing viewpoints? After all, if you have confidence that the way you have chosen is logically right, you should be able to intellegently dispute the opposition.
[Update: aliza250 identified an updated article noting that the charges have been dropped, and providing more information on what happened. (DPF 11:55 AM PDT)
