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.
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