Comrade-Z
14th June 2006, 04:11
Ontario looks to limit speech after curse placed on city official (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2006/06/09/state/n065923D69.DTL)
The City Council is looking for ways to limit public comment during meetings after a pastor said he was placing a curse on the city manager and his family.
"It touched a nerve for me," Councilman John Anderson said in an interview. "Not that criticism directed at (the city manager) is anything to get worked up over, but this went beyond criticism."
The incident occurred when Pastor John Sabbath of Liv-In Christ Christian Center in Chino got up to speak during this week's council meeting. Sabbath was upset that the city did not give funding to his organization following a request he made several years ago.
He said he was placing a curse on City Manager Greg Devereaux, Devereaux's wife and his family.
Anderson asked City Attorney John Brown to examine how city officials could stop speakers whose comments stray too far from city business. Brown said he believes it's possible to do that without violating the First Amendment.
Free speech advocates, however, said they doubt the council could limit speech unless comments veer into slander or hate speech.
"It has to be extreme," said Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition.
Nevertheless, Mayor Paul Leon vowed to crack down on speakers who attack council members or city officials.
"I'm going to stop people in their tracks when I believe they've crossed the line," he said.
:lol:
This is just ridiculous. Is the ruling class losing its rationality, or what?! Does this city official actually believe that curses are real? :o Is he afraid that something bad is actually going to come of this? :lol:
It is scary to see superstitious notions being afforded so much legitimacy. A sign of our period of reaction, I guess. :(
Edit: I also want to note that these religious groups are really going on the offensive. They aren't even satisfied with the status quo. (If only the proletariat would demonstrate the same kind of offensive initiative...) The godsuckers want more pro-religious reforms, or else they are threatening to pull out the "heavy guns"--curses, apparently. :lol:
Soon, though, I fear it won't just be meaningless words, but deeds. :o That seems to be the direction of things.
And notice that last sentence: "I'm going to stop people in their tracks when I believe they've corssed the line." This story is just one more piece of evidence that "free speech" doesn't exist--that what one is able to say is constrained by what people think to be socially acceptable discourse.
Apparently "curses" carry enough weight with some people to be deemed too "extreme" for the public discourse. :lol:
The City Council is looking for ways to limit public comment during meetings after a pastor said he was placing a curse on the city manager and his family.
"It touched a nerve for me," Councilman John Anderson said in an interview. "Not that criticism directed at (the city manager) is anything to get worked up over, but this went beyond criticism."
The incident occurred when Pastor John Sabbath of Liv-In Christ Christian Center in Chino got up to speak during this week's council meeting. Sabbath was upset that the city did not give funding to his organization following a request he made several years ago.
He said he was placing a curse on City Manager Greg Devereaux, Devereaux's wife and his family.
Anderson asked City Attorney John Brown to examine how city officials could stop speakers whose comments stray too far from city business. Brown said he believes it's possible to do that without violating the First Amendment.
Free speech advocates, however, said they doubt the council could limit speech unless comments veer into slander or hate speech.
"It has to be extreme," said Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition.
Nevertheless, Mayor Paul Leon vowed to crack down on speakers who attack council members or city officials.
"I'm going to stop people in their tracks when I believe they've crossed the line," he said.
:lol:
This is just ridiculous. Is the ruling class losing its rationality, or what?! Does this city official actually believe that curses are real? :o Is he afraid that something bad is actually going to come of this? :lol:
It is scary to see superstitious notions being afforded so much legitimacy. A sign of our period of reaction, I guess. :(
Edit: I also want to note that these religious groups are really going on the offensive. They aren't even satisfied with the status quo. (If only the proletariat would demonstrate the same kind of offensive initiative...) The godsuckers want more pro-religious reforms, or else they are threatening to pull out the "heavy guns"--curses, apparently. :lol:
Soon, though, I fear it won't just be meaningless words, but deeds. :o That seems to be the direction of things.
And notice that last sentence: "I'm going to stop people in their tracks when I believe they've corssed the line." This story is just one more piece of evidence that "free speech" doesn't exist--that what one is able to say is constrained by what people think to be socially acceptable discourse.
Apparently "curses" carry enough weight with some people to be deemed too "extreme" for the public discourse. :lol: