Seven Arrested After Protesting Army Video Game Recruiting Center 433
GamePolitics writes "Seven anti-war protesters were arrested in Philadelphia on Saturday during a protest rally and march which targeted the Army Experience Center, a high-tech recruitment center which uses PC and Xbox games and simulations to attract potential recruits. GamePolitics was on hand to cover the protest, and took video of the arrests. A local news station also reported on the rally, and the Peace Action Network released a statement saying, "In its desperate approach to meet recruiting numbers, the military is teaching the wrong values to teenagers. Sugarcoating combat experience with virtual war is a dishonor to those with real war experience."
Weird... (Score:2, Informative)
The twitter feed was boring as usual, but it has an interesting observation...
# A few in crowd have donned plain white masks... Not sure but they seemed to come from inside the aec
And later...
# Wow, about a half-dozen of the protesters in the white masks just got arrested. Hooked up with plastic cuffs and led away by police.
# I think they planned to get arrested for symbolic reasons... Leader just announced that 7 were arrested. All in plain white msks
So it was a publicity stunt? And why the people arrested came from within the army recruiting facility?
Re:Recruitment tool probably steps over the line (Score:3, Informative)
I go here sometimes...I go in play baseball or madden..they dont bother you about that shit unless you ask..
Re:Did anyone actually watch the vid? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:At least they are protesting (Score:5, Informative)
Where were all these protesters during the last 8 years when Bush was acting like an idiot?
800 of them were arrested [wikipedia.org] at and around the 2008 Republican Convention.
!Anti-war protesters (Score:2, Informative)
"Seven anti-war protesters were arrested in Philadelphia on Saturday during a protest rally and march which targeted the Army Experience Center, a high-tech recruitment center which uses PC and Xbox games and simulations to attract potential recruits...
It looks like they meant anti-war ralliers or war protesters, not anti-war protesters. The media in general constantly seems to repeat this phrase incorrectly.
Re:This is America (Score:5, Informative)
You can't continue to protest on private property once the owner asks you to leave or you are trespassing. Trespassing is an arrestable offense.
So simple a caveman would get it.
Re:At least they are protesting (Score:2, Informative)
Well and that ain't the whole story. To quote from wikipedia:
During the convention's first three days, more than 300[50] individuals were arrested by police,[51] including journalists (AP photographer Matt Rourke was one),[52] health-care workers and lawyer observers.[53] Some were released, but nearly half received felony charges.[53]
It was more or less the same at 2004 RNC: people (1800 accordingly to wikipedia) were arrested, many just just for being in the wrong place. Not only reporters/lawyers/health care volunteers were arrested but also people completely unrelated to the protests that were going about their business (delivery men, people just going/coming to/from work, etc). I thought at that point this is something realy massive and NYC will be sued to oblivion, Bush will lose a lot of popularity and maybe resign and so on. But no, nothing like that...
Re:So... (Score:5, Informative)
Dude, that's like 43 these days.
Re:Recruitment tool probably steps over the line (Score:2, Informative)
A US veteran recalls his commander telling him to machine-gun a group of about 50 refugees. "I said, 'we can't kill all these people,' and he pulled out his handgun, a .45, and pointed it at my head, he said, 'Kill 'em, you're directly disobeying a direct order in combat'."
Re:Recruitment tool probably steps over the line (Score:4, Informative)
"My bet is that the Marines or Army don't like militarism any more than you do. It gets people killed unnecessarily."
Not sure about the Army, but based on my time in the Marine Corps, militarism was encouraged. "One shot, one kill", the fact that ever Marine (in theory) can shoot a rifle and shoot it well whether they're a cook or a grunt, the good old "Napalm sticks to kids" running cadence... although that starts to cross the line into good old-fashioned violence.
If you've watched the first half of Full Metal Jacket, that's pretty close to the USMC Boot Camp experience that I remember. They want killers who don't get remorseful.
Re:At least they are protesting (Score:4, Informative)
Well and that ain't the whole story. To quote from wikipedia:
During the convention's first three days, more than 300[50] individuals were arrested by police,[51] including journalists (AP photographer Matt Rourke was one),[52] health-care workers and lawyer observers.[53] Some were released, but nearly half received felony charges.[53]
It was more or less the same at 2004 RNC: people (1800 accordingly to wikipedia) were arrested, many just just for being in the wrong place. Not only reporters/lawyers/health care volunteers were arrested but also people completely unrelated to the protests that were going about their business (delivery men, people just going/coming to/from work, etc). I thought at that point this is something realy massive and NYC will be sued to oblivion, Bush will lose a lot of popularity and maybe resign and so on. But no, nothing like that...
Maybe there were not lawsuits because no one had a case against the city. I was in NY during the RNC (on non-related business) and got to see first hand what was going on. First, the police did an awesome job. They pretty much let people do what they wanted and were there to maintain the peace. They maintained a pretty light hand. Right in front of a couple of police officers, I was spit and threatened on by a peace protester who didn't understand the irony of his actions. The police did nothing. I asked them why and they basically told me that they had bigger fish to fry. Sadly, I agreed.
I saw people block entrances to businesses, block the bus routes for delegates, hurl objects such as fake blood, urine, and dirt at delegates, try to "release" protesters that had been arrested and partake in other activities that went far beyond their right to peacefully assemble. No one can deny that their attempt was to disrupt the RNC, meaning that their goal was to strip the rights of the RNC members. Those that resorted to illegal means were arrested.
The only bystanders that I saw arrested who were at the wrong place at the wrong time were given fair warning. For example, if a bunch of protesters were blocking a bus route and a reporter was in the mix interviewing them, that reporter was also arrested for helping to block the bus route. They were given ample warning to move.
What does this have to do with the recruiting center protests? When you block a legal activity in protest, you can count on getting arrested. These people crossed the line and were no longer "peaceably assembling". They were breaking the law.
Recruitment Numbers Way Up (Score:3, Informative)
Typical uninformed protestors.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/03/army_recruiting_numbers_031109w/ [armytimes.com]
The military is enjoying a recruiting boom thanks to the poor economy. Enlistment bonuses are getting cut and the military is getting much more selective in whom they accept. This year in particular is a recruiter's wet dream.
All this "experience" does is reach out to Generation Y in a new way.
Re:This is America (Score:5, Informative)
They have the right to peacefully protest. They did, in fact, peacefully protest. But, the moment they stepped on private property, they were trespassing. I know, why don't I come over to your house and protest your stupidity by taking over you living room. After all, you should not be able to hide behind public property either.
Re:This is America (Score:4, Informative)
The government is leasing some space in the mall so now they own the mall.
No but I would gather there's one of those "Management reserves the right to refuse admission" signs hanging on or near all the doors into the mall. If you are asked to leave the mall and refuse, don't complain when you get busted for trespassing. This has nothing to do with government. A protest against "Banana Republic" would yield the same result. Oh, the parking is mall property too. You're welcome to go wave your signs on the public street though, so long as you have a permit from the municipality.
Protesters not all in the same camp (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Can it be that he was all so simple... (Score:4, Informative)
The gov't has the right to rent space where people go (e.g. a mall).
The mall has the right to evict anyone, at the choosing of the mall owner or their delegated authority such as security guards, from the property.
What is so hard to understand about this? The mall chose to remove a bunch of lunatics from their property. The lunatics refused to go, so police arrested them under the law for trespassing.
Stop trying to make this more than it is. A bunch of fucking loonies decided they hate the military today (the same military, might I add, that goes and fights and dies for their freedom to express their opinion and peacefully protest in the first place). So they go, do something stupid, refuse to obey a lawful order by the property owner to leave, and get their stupid asses arrested.
The gov't can't boot out citizens.
Yes, the government can. The people have the right to "peaceful assembly" and "petition the government for redress of grievances." These rights are not Absolute; the Supreme Court has routinely held that reasonable restrictions - such as requirements to get a permit, to adequately prepare for possible problems, and to disperse when ordered to by police - are completely enforceable.
If you go out of your way to get arrested, you're gonna get arrested. It's really that simple.
We can't let the military hide behind private business and vice versa. It breeds contempt for the military and the gov't.
They follow the rules same as everybody else. What breeds contempt for the gov't is fuckers who pull "protests" like this and have no grasp on reality.
Re:This is America (Score:4, Informative)
They have the right to peacefully protest. They did, in fact, peacefully protest. But, the moment they stepped on private property, they were trespassing.
No they were not, because they asked for, and were given, permission to continue their protest on the private property. The moment they failed to leave the private property when told to do so they were traspassing.
Re:At least they are protesting (Score:2, Informative)
Moderate parent down, please. It is anecdotal and inconsistent with what happened outside his line of sight.
Your post described what you saw with your own eyes, nothing more, and you conclude their behavior was positive based on no real data.
You may want to learn about what happened beyond your immediate line of sight -- people illegally detained and arrested, undercover officers inciting violence etc, officers telling people what they could do then arresting them when they followed instructions. "They pretty much let people do what they wanted" was not true outside your line of sight.
I understand most lawsuits against the city are being won.
Just because you didn't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen.
What fucking world are you living in? (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Shutup you commie (Score:4, Informative)
I found it ironic that as a service member, I had less freedoms available to me. The freedom of speech, needing to ask for permission to get married, etc. Throw in the the base clubs weren't allowed to have "offensive" music (and of course the sensitive types wouldn't have the decency to stay home). /sigh. Buy all the liquor, tobacco and bibles you want, but no porn!
You don't need permission to get married, unless you are planning on marrying a foreigner while you are stationed in a foreign country.
Re:This is America (Score:1, Informative)
Bullshit.
Permits for protesting are a matter of public safety. Large gatherings of people, especially in spots/situations that can lead to counter-protesters, means an appreciable risk of fights, bodily harm, and property damage.
The "Right to free speech", as well as the right to peaceably assemble, are not absolute "anytime, anywhere, any reason including I just fucking felt like it" rights. They are accompanied by the responsibility to ensure that there is adequate protection and planning to ensure that the protest STAYS peaceful and non-destructive.
And yes, if the government judges too great a risk - like the risk that you're going to have a bunch of anarchists tossing molotovs or breaking windows, especially based on past performance of similar "protests" - then the government has the responsibility, for the safety of yourselves and the general population, to tell you "No."
Don't like it? Tough. Prove to the government you can put on an actual peaceful protest, which includes not blocking the right of traffic of other citizens and not doing stupid shit to deliberately get yourself arrested and we'll talk.
Re:Recruitment tool probably steps over the line (Score:3, Informative)
That expression is meant to deride false patriotism, not to imply that all patriots are scoundrels. Quite the opposite, actually, but always misused to bash patriotism.
Re:Shutup you commie (Score:3, Informative)
Overseas is a different deal because space is limited and CI/force protection become issues. But if you are married and your wife stays in the US while you go to Korea, or any other analogous situation where you are separated, you still get the monthly BAH payment to buy an apartment/housing/food/etc.