I hate to sound like I’m blowing a one note trumpet, but the only reason that I’ve written about police overreach 3 times in the last week is because each of the incidents has been seriously egregious. At least this time nobody got killed.
What a wonderful place for dancing!
Saturday, 5 people were arrested at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. – forced to the ground, handcuffed, and led away – for dancing. It was an organized protest. In 2008, some people were arrested for dancing in the same spot. They claimed it was free speech. Recently, a court upheld those arrests, and that’s what people were protesting against on Saturday. They were dancing to protest against dancing being illegal. Good for them.
People should dance more. Why do we just walk down the street in such a boring fashion? Why do we push our shopping carts with a leaden step when we’ve got the music coming right out of the store’s loudspeakers? Why do we spend good money to have somebody fitter than we are yell at us while we do aerobics, when dancing exercises the same muscles and is a lot less work?
But I digress. The whole point is that this happened at the Jefferson Memorial. If there is one American in history who is symbolic of absolute freedom of speech, it is Thomas Jefferson. Not only that, he was known to be a music lover (he played the violin). So, there is no doubt in my mind that he would side with the protesters in this instance.
Officials said that dancing distracts from the somber and contemplative mood that is desired at such locations. Say what??? Who decides what is the desirable state of mind in any location? That is completely out of line. Taken to the logical conclusion, this means that next they will ban laughter, casual clothing, loud conversations and wearing funny hats. Really, there’s no end.
It’s not a tomb, it’s a monument. To Thomas Jefferson. Who stood for free speech. And besides, they weren’t being disrespectful. Nobody spit on the floor, or took a big dump on the steps. They were dancing. It wasn’t great dancing, but it wasn’t bothering anybody.
They were charged with “demonstrating without a permit.” Again, this is totally offensive to the spirit of our 3rd president. The constitution of the United States, especially the Bill of Rights part which TJ fought to have added in, IS a permit to demonstrate. Any time, anywhere.
Next time I’m in Washington, D.C., I intend to visit the Jefferson Memorial. And dance.
www.gurukalehuru.com 
The police certainly disrupted the quiet, reflective atmosphere of the place a lot more than the dancers. I hope there are thousands of dancers there next week. Here’s a great video you should watch: http://youtu.be/xGw2e7P8g-s
Here’s another video by Jesse Ventura that should interest you. http://youtu.be/iVyCEwrcl9o
well, I wouldn’t put anything past the U.S. government, but one small quibble with the Jesse Ventura video:
JV: What the hell are those?
other guy: coffins. They’ve got hundreds of thousands of coffins.
Actually, they were just large containers. They could have been used as coffins, in the same sense that an old refrigerator could be used as a coffin. They also could have been used for shipping, which would have made sense, since it looked like they were at a railroad depot.
yes, it was a bit sensational , and presented in true WWF fashion, but interesting just the same.
“Somber and completative mood”….. is that how Thomas Jefferson, and Sally Hemings are to be remembered ? I wonder if they ever danced ? I am guessing they did and would be the first to join in with the dancing at his memorial site. In the U.S the public and officials do not want to see anyone acting in an ‘attention getting’ way in public, singing, dancing, acting excitable, acting depressed regardless of your personal circumstances. Why ? Because it makes observers feel left out, excluded, lacking attention, guilty ? Sounds like Nazi Germany to me. Every great country falls from within initially……..
Just curious, but how do you s’pose the “authorities” would react to dancing at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier? I witnessed, first-hand, the Marines’ intolerance of anything that did not approach total reverence. Hats were removed, and all but the infirm were ordered to stand quietly.
I totally support freedom of expression, and having read a book or two about Mr. Jefferson, agree that he’d likely side with the dancers, but there -are- times and places for these things.