To protest peacefully or not?
Recently I discovered that while it’s easy to get arrested if you really want to, it is not as straightforward to avoid being arrested if you want to lawfully protest in some circumstances. After I won my appeal and it was determined I could receive unemployment benefits from my previous employer, I felt I could finally take the next step: peacefully protest them because I believed I was wrongfully terminated. However, because they had sent me a “no contact” letter, I was told by an individual at the city police that I would risk running afoul of the law even by doing a silent protest. It was not clear if I would be arrested, nor could any recommendations be made on how to steer clear of the slammer if I tried to passively protest.
I was given a suggestion on whom to call that might lift the fog. Which lead to another number, then another, until the only matter that was unambiguous was I would have to carry out the action. Do we actually live in a society where someone can want to avoid breaking the law, but has to risk doing so in order to find out if it is possible?
William O’Flaherty
Dunbar