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Originally Posted by dyna mo
right on then. nevertheless, it's interesting to note that the aclu merely questioned the tactic.
"Shutting down access to mobile phones is the wrong response to political protests," the ACLU's Rebecca Farmer said.
here's another way to look at it- let's say bart officials closed the station for ANY reason, that is not necessarily a move towards police state, even though it removes the facility that provides you the privilege of travel and convenience of using your cell phone during.
it's fundamentally important to understand the difference between rights and privileges, especially in a society of 300+million people.
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The ACLU's Rebecca Farmer also said the following about the incident:
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"All over the world people are using mobile devices to organize protests against repressive regimes, and we rightly criticize governments that respond by shutting down cell service, calling their actions anti-democratic and a violation of the rights to free expression and assembly. Are we really willing to tolerate the same silencing of protest here in the United States?
BART?s actions were glaringly small-minded as technology and the ability to be connected have many uses. Imagine if someone had a heart attack on the train when the phones were blocked and no one could call 911.
And where do we draw the line? These protestors were using public transportation to get to the demonstration ? should the government be able to shut that down too?
Shutting down access to mobile phones is the wrong response to political protests, whether it?s halfway around the world or right here at home. The First Amendment protects everybody?s right to free expression, and when the government responds to people protesting against it by silencing them, it?s dangerous to democracy."
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I understand the difference between privileges and rights, I promise you that I do. This is definitely a gray area between the two. The demonstrators were indeed silenced by the government, yet were still free to demonstrate and speak at the same time.
My whole point is, if we just keep our mouths shut about incidents like this, or defend the police in using tactics like this, that we make it easier for them to go even further in the future because they encountered such little resistance.