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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Is Pepper Spray a Vegetable?
I am a libertarian and a pacifist, but I also believe that we are a country of laws. Now, let’s forget about whether it is our duty to protest or defy unjust laws for a second.
I am going to play devil’s advocate in the initial post.
It is settled law that the government (and government affiliated institutions, of course, like public or semi-public universities and colleges) has a right to impose time, place and manner (TPM) restrictions on the first Amendment free speech and assembly rights. This is common sense anyway. I don’t think too many people would want, say, loud protests 24-7 on any public property.
So let’s say that you have a peaceful protest or occupation on public property but that eventually it is deemed to be inappropriate in terms of T.P or M, such that the protest is now illegal. And let’s say that the authorities have even given the protesters some slack by not evicting them right away. I am not referring to any real-life protest or occupation. I am speaking hypothetically although this might be similar to current events.
Anyway, the authorities have decided that it is time to enforce the law. They tell the protesters that their occupation is illegal and they must leave. The protesters ignore the directive. The authorities can forcefully remove them I guess. This might not be so practical for several reasons. They don’t want anyone to get hurt. They don’t want to incite the protesters. They don’t have the manpower to do that, etc.
So they tell the protesters, “Listen, you really need to disperse. You are illegally occupying this space. Please leave or we are going to pepper spray you in order to force you to leave. Remember, I just told you that you can leave peacefully and we won’t even arrest you, even though you are illegally trespassing. I am also telling you that I am going to pepper spray you if you don’t leave. I don’t want to do that, which is why I am warning you. If you don’t leave and I pepper spray you, it is your own doing.”
No one leaves and they get pepper sprayed.
Is there anything wrong with this scenario? Did the authorities do anything wrong, assuming that their job is to enforce the law?