No one likes The Man. All he does is sit up in his tower and tell us what we can’t do. “No, Mitch, you can’t play tag with trucks on the interstate,” or “No, Mitch, you can’t light furniture on fire,” or “No, Mitch, you can’t perform open-heart surgery.” The Man is the reason there isn’t a system of ziplines across campus to get us to our classes and the reason The Bear Olympics isn’t a thing. The Man is smart though, and one thing he does let us do is publicly oppose him.
Our society, or perhaps humanity in general, romanticizes rebellion, and it’s good for us to let it out of our system every once in a while. These public rebellions take on different forms depending on who’s attending them and which party is in power. When the Republicans are in power, we see anti-government sentiments from the left. When the Democrats are in power, we see anti-government sentiments from the right. What we can count on seeing no matter what, however, is unrest on the left regarding income inequality. The Occupy movement is an example of this unrest, and has recently seen a reemergence in Madison. Occupy Madison, which focuses on homelessness in the city, has met some obstacles. Members were ticketed last week for occupying Lake View Hill County Park after park hours. Since then, the protesters have relocated to Token Creek County Park, which is seven miles from the nearest bus stop and lacks working shower facilities. I don’t think it should be this hard for protesters to exercise their right to free speech.
I have mixed feelings about protests. Ideally, they give power to the common people and are a driving force of democracy, but at their worst they can display the ignorance or even hate in our country. They can erupt into violent riots that lead to deaths. Too often, though, they are about as ineffective as someone holding his breath because his mom won’t buy him “Halo 4” even though he’s getting pretty good grades and has been super good lately. But as violent, pointless, hateful or annoying as they may sometimes be, protests are important, and, when done peacefully and harmlessly, should be easier and more convenient for everyone.
I don’t mean to say that the city of Madison should be jumping through hoops to accommodate every small group of pissed-off citizens. Protesters of course must plan and act in accordance with the law and the means available to them. This should, however, be easier than it often is. Organizing in opposition to something we don’t like is an important part of our democratic process, and it should be accessible to anyone. Cities, especially those as politically involved as Madison, should have public space available for protests such as Occupy Madison. Currently, there are a lot of options open to protesters, but few that are available for those who wish to protest continuously for long periods of time.
I understand that there are limits on our free speech. For example, we are not allowed to paint genitalia on university buildings. The police don’t always understand the existential commentary. However, protesting in a lawful and peaceful manner is a staple of our society. The city should not be able to tell us our First Amendment rights are only present in certain places at certain times. Any protestor willing to live in a tent for a long period of time, provided they do so peacefully and in a way that is not disruptive, should be able to occupy public space at any time of day.
Mitch is a freshman with an undecided major. Do you agree with him that protestors should be given more access to public lands in order to exercise their First Amendment rights? Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
