Are there "1st Amendment Zones" under the freeways for anti-Obama protesters?

Just curious. A guy on another board mentioned "Bush hating," and how he is now supposed to just go along with what all the liberals say. It brought this to mind...during the Bush years, us evil liberals were forced into chain link holding pens, often miles from the site of the speaking President. And these were called, incredibly, "Free speech zones." Are there any set up for all 14 of the anti-Obama protesters? And if so, what would those Bushies think?

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to express glee that anti-obama protesters might be caged, it would do you some good to research the topic and realize that free speech zones predate the bush administration and are not a liberal/conservative thing, but more of a cudgel of the powerful to beat back the people.

if some notion of "revenge" makes progressives suddenly support free speech zones, then we are setting ourselves up for a perpetual cycle of the people's voice being muted...

We're better than they are for a reason. We understand free speech to be more than just a sometime, in a few remote places thing.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-w-whitehead/a-free-speech-graveyard-a_b_114045.html

Free speech zones have been employed by both Democrats and Republicans at past political conventions. This year, however, Democrats face the embarrassing possibility that they will be the only party actually caging dissenters. Protesters at the upcoming Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Denver in late August will be corralled into caged "free speech zones" made of chicken wire and chain link fences which are located more than two football fields from the delegates' entrance. Those who attempt to exercise their First Amendment rights outside this makeshift cage, which is partially obscured by trees and sculptures, will be arrested. (Ironically, protesters at this year's Republican National Convention will not face a cage or even policemen in riot gear.)

The 2004 DNC in Boston utilized such a camp, with surveillance cameras to record the individuals inside the cage. Conditions were so appalling that U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock referred to the designated protest zone as a "grim, mean, and oppressive space," which had the overall feel of an "internment camp."

As one visitor to the 2004 DNC free speech zone remarked:

Last night, I had my first direct experience with the so-called free speech zone. It left me with one conclusion: whatever you do, do NOT go inside. It's not only a blatant offense to free speech, but also highly dangerous and unsafe. I would suggest protesting anywhere in Boston but inside of it. No amount of hyperbole can accurately describe how disastrous the interior actually is. It's like a scene from some post-apocalyptic movie - a futuristic, industrial detention area from a Mad Max film. You are surrounded on all sides by concrete blocks and steel fencing, with razor wire lining the perimeter. Then, there is a giant black net over the entire space.


But you're right, we're so much better :eyes:

the video that was taken during the RNC. I've never seen anything like it in this country..nor the 'preemptive' arrests of protesters.

Hard to believe in contemporary American, isn't it?