September 7, 2007
ANSWER Protesters Arrested Posting Signs
You may have already heard about the small group of ANSWER Coaltion members who staged a lunchtime event Thursday to protest the District's attempts to get them to stop gluing posters on to utility boxes. Two demonstrators, one an Iraq war veteran and the other the mother of another veteran, were arrested on charges of defacing public property. DCist Tom stumbled on to the scene and snapped these images with his phone -- it's a little grainy, but the picture above shows Tina Richards, the mother of a veteran, being arrested.
ANSWER held a brief news conference yesterday at Lafayette Square before beginning to put up more posters on utility boxes (see photos below) in defiance of the city's orders. Police quickly responded, including one on horseback and a half-dozen officers on foot. The Post has more.
Photos by Tom Lee
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"...attempts to get them to stop gluing posters on to utility boxes"
They are using wheatpaste, not glue. There is a large difference when it comes to the removal of the posters. Wheatpaste is made of flour & water and is biodegradable. Glue, on the other hand, usually contains polyvinyl acetate, which is not necessarily biodegradable.
The text should read:
"...attempts to get them to stop pasting posters on to utility boxes"
Wheatpaste, glue, used condom semen. Doesn't matter. It's annoying, and these losers never come back and take their freaking signs down. Local residents are sick of it. It's highly disrespectful to DC residents.
Good ! ANSWER has a right to speak, publish, and protest. They can hold signs, speak publicly, or hand-out leaflets to their hearts' content.
But they do not have a right to deface public property. And it is wrong for them to impose unnecessary costs on our city (which should be spending its money on schools and health care, thank you -- not removing posters).
It's always been a shame that the childish (and dictator-loving, given their embrace of Chavez/Castro) antics of ANSWER have detracted from the antiwar movement's legitimate message. This is just one more bit of childish, counterproductive, self-indulgence on their part.
Yes, the ANSWER people are imposing an incidental cost on the city and being a little rude about it, but we should err on the side of promoting free speech here. The argument about unnecessary costs is the one Bloomberg used to kick protesters off the Great Lawn in NYC during the 2004 Republican Convention. Lending credence to this rationale threatens the necessary boisterousness of democracy. If it sticks, it’s not too hard to imagine a public official acting in bad faith by prohibiting a protest on quintessential public spaces like the Mall.
... yeah, but you know you're still going to the protest.
we should err on the side of promoting free speech here
It wouldn't be an issue at all except that ANSWER refused to take signs down after events when the District requested them to do so. That is what this is all about - their refusal to clean up after their events. No one has EVER said that they shouldn't put them up at all. ANSWER has steadfastly refused to work with the District on this.
Screw 'em. As stated above this isn't about their ability to "speak" its about their refusal to clean up after themselves. I hope they get charged with littering as well.
Blackbird, you are full of it.
There is no argument against ANSWER's right to free speech and views. The slippery slope argument is very weak, given the history the DC courts have siding with free speech claims.
Like Hillman said, they could carry around signs, shout with bullhorns, hand out leaflets, and do lots of other annoying stuff (see: the Larouche cult). The issue is that ANSWER is vandalizing the city. Their posting is out of control and they seem determined to glue their shit on every public surface between the White House and Western Ave.
Honestly, I think ANSWER should be a lot savvier about where they put their propaganda. Plastering them all over NW DC just irritates its most likely supporters. Why don't they stick those things throughout the streets of Mclean and Potomac???? Or, they could post them all around Anacostia, given that they're also all about ending racism???
watch the video for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EAfPgX7gs0
can we throw away the key once we lock em up?
Honestly, I think ANSWER should be a lot savvier about where they put their propaganda. Plastering them all over NW DC just irritates its most likely supporters. Why don't they stick those things throughout the streets of Mclean and Potomac????
Seriously, the District has to be one of the Bluest jurisdictions in the country. Why weren't they putting up the posters in Missouri or LA where they live? Secondly, who brings their 13 year old kid to watch them get arrested? Great parenting right there.
In the area of the most furious poster-ing every second block has a huge marble edifice of some kind with the words “freedom” and “liberty” engraved in it. In between there are thousands of ads and advertising slogans on billboards, buses and the metro. Issues of war and peace are just more important than uncluttered utility boxes.
I agree with everyone who says it’s counterproductive and rude not to take down a grimy poster advertising an event 6 months ago. But it makes me queasy to see someone being arrested for expressing a political opinion.
"But it makes me queasy to see someone being arrested for expressing a political opinion."
They weren't arrested for expressing a political opinion -- they were arrested for defacing public property.
Free speech = legal
Defacing public property = illegal
Claiming free speech protects defacing public property is idiotic. That's like the BORF idiots claiming their tags are protected speech.
The real issue is that if ANSWER had cleaned up after themselves over the year none of this would be happening and they would not be getting fined.
Clearly this is their desire and it's their intended design.... they're trying to provoke a backlash so that they can get attention and rally all those free-time laden, hip-to-protest-whatever loafers that get off on the "look what they're teh censoring now!!!1!" youtube clips.
Frankly, most people out grew ANSWER when they learned to think for themselves.
OK, blackbird, I hope you are willing to defend the various club promoters, record companies, and other deadbeats who trash the entertainment areas of DC, because ANSWER is doing just the same as them, except with a political rather than commercial message.
Also, would you be as big a defender of the "right" to vandalize public areas if the posters were in FAVOR of the war????
It makes me queasy when selfish and self-righteous people put their opinions above the law.
Yeah, you know, this is utter bullshit that ANSWER is spouting.
Some people may think that "issues of war and peace are more important than uncluttered utility boxes." But not everyone in DC does. Lots of people think the ongoing use of abortion to destroy fetuses is more important than any of that. Others think that the ongoing consumption of meat from living animals is more important than war, abortion or advertising.
I, personally, vote for more public posting of porn.
But that's why we have a fucking government that issues permits, and establishes rules - so that the people who want to espouse the importance of war, abortion, fur, Accutane and porn know where the fuck to go. You - ANSWER, "blackbird" or whoever - don't hold a trump card, no matter how much you want wishing to make it so.
You want to live in a representative democracy? You think we should be able to have a vote in DC, or expect Congress to do something about Iraq? Then live up to your own expectations, and abide by constitutional laws (and have no doubts - regulations on where, when and how postering can take place are constitutional).
Otherwise, you're no better than wingnuts who complain that the media focuses on how the U.S. Army tortures people, and never talks about how terrorists torture people.
"They are using wheatpaste, not glue."
Let me call this for what it is: complete and utter bull$hit.
The paste they use is far, far from "wheatpaste." It's a synthetic adhesive of some sort that sticks in a way similar to old-school bumper stickers: it's devilishly hard to remove. Thus the reason that so many of ANSWER's signs haven't peeled off over the years.
And then there's the whole deal of ANSWER's people not cleaning up after themselves.
I think the police - in this case, the NPP in cooperation with DCPD - did the right thing. ANSWER really needs to learn how to herd their army of cats and teach them how to clean up after themselves. Yesterday's staged event was full of sound and fury, signifying absolutely nothing.
Good! If theres one thing Daddy taught me before he let me come to Washington, it's that these dirty hippies would be lucky to be in jail where they get three meals a day and free TV! Now they can see what its like to be taken care of by goverment!
Sorry DC residents, please bear with us peasants who may be in your town this month. We feel a need to go to the seat of the federal government to express our displeasure with the direction our nation is heading.
It may have been a stunt just to get arrested, but you know what? At least she got a little media coverage.
"At least she got a little media coverage. "
The operative word here, being "little."
Uh, 'peasants' is a little misleading. A lot of these ANSWER dweebs are trust fund babies. As another poster pointed out, why aren't they doing this in their own neighborhoods? Maybe Daddy would cut off their allowance if they did that?
Sadly, they give all anti-Iraq-war folks a bad name.
I went to one protest organized by "Answer" and left in disgust. It was not an anti-war in Iraq protest. It was a "Let's Hold Up Signs About How Israel is Evil and While We're At it, Free Mumia!" gathering.
They get no sympathy from me. Not only do they not stay on point, misleading and irritating everyone, but those signs, some from years ago, are a real eyesore.
At least some of it's wheatpaste. I checked for myself. Still, 16 or so posters at one intersection isn't legal. And neither is leaving them up in perpetuity.
ANSWER needs to grow up, or the good liberals of DC won't be so keen about opening their homes as pre-protest crash pads.
A group house near here was very involved in the peace movement and because ANSWER is not a part of the peace movement and is disrespected by peace activists they were forever screaming about this or that protest where they tried to keep out ANSWER.
ANSWER is, for want of a better word, a cult. They call themselves Socialist Workers, but generally they don't work and don't have to work to feed families. My friends told me stories of ANSWER squats in philadelphia where runaway teens were romanced by adults and everyone dumpster dove to find food and didn't pay for anything. That's not WORKERS that's just flakes. And these flakes are held in total disregard by people involved in the movement.
The biggest symbol of their flakiness is definitely Mumia.
There is almost no question that Mumia did it. He was shot by the cop at the scene and bullets from his gun were found in the cop. ummm... He joined a dangerous, violent cult called MOVE that advocated violence and then he committed violence. Ok. Mumia's own brother didn't testify at the trial as a witness. No one had any credible claims as to who was the shooter if not Mumia and every shred of evidence points to him.
And yet they still yak yak yak about something they don't understand.
This town is littered with half-torn posters from past ANSWER protests. Whether they're using wheat paste or glue, their posters are not easy to take down.
Furthermore, ANSWER are professional protesters whose real aim is in staging more protests rather than accomplishing anything. People like ANSWER are the worst possible thing that can happen to the anti-war movement, because they make everyone else opposed to the war easy to discredit by association.
And yes, there will be lots of Mumia signs in the crowd on 9/15.
I cannot stand ANSWER. Good riddence.
Sadly they have picked some issues were I have common ground but their actions make legitimate issues seen asinine.
BostonRay points out: The Gathering of Eagles has the approved counter demonstration to Answer's march. The Gathering consists of former members of the Armed Forces including Purple Heart awardees and active duty Vet family members. The woman leading their convoy enroute from Calif. has received death threats against her husband, children and herself from Answer members. Last time we faced off (March 13) the Gathering of Eagles outnumbered Answer by 3 to 1. This time (Sept. 15) we will outdo that - We don't have to put up any signs. None whatsoever. We come from across the country without posting signs. The Answer Sheehanistas are very afraid of our presence.
ANSWER is a Stalinist front organization. Read their stuff...they admit to it.
I wonder how they would feel if someone plastered giant day-glo posters on their homes? I get the feeling they wouldn't be defending that "speech".
Wheatpaste them all together and throw them in a cell.
I would be curious to know if any of those who stated that it was wrong to arrest members of ANSWER actually live in D.C., and more specifically, one of the areas where the group 'glues' their posters.
D.C. isn't the prettiest place on earth, but it's where I live - the more that can be done to keep it clean, the better.
Just as guest [28] pointed out, I wonder how members of ANSWER would feel if people where plasting these signs up and down the street where they live.