Peterson at it again
By Silver Springer • Feb 11th, 2008 • Category: Government and Politics
Well here we go, Chip Py and PFA (Peterson Cos, Foulger Pratt, and Argo Investment) are at it again.
I was at the Obama rally cause someone said he might make a surprise appearance but to no avail, I suppose this would be preaching to the choir anyways.
I hope security didn’t get all worked up cause no body was even on Ellsworth drive they were on the sidewalks and on the Turf and the last time I checked these were public owned spaces.
Even if they were on Ellsworth isn’t the land under the buildings owned by the county and only leased to PFA?
From Chips letter,
The reason that I am writing you tonight is something that I find completely unsettling based on the events of this past summer. Tonight after spending all day campaigning for my candidate of choice in the upcoming presidential primary I stood on Ellsworth Drive and exercised my first amendment rights of handing out campaign literature. I was immediately stopped by security guards working for the Peterson Companies who told me that I could not do that around here. I presented the letter from County Executive to the guard who called her supervisor over and said the same thing that handing out campaign literature is not allowed on Ellsworth Drive.I showed him the letter and was directed to the office there the head of security told me that the “The Photography thing this summer got all blown out of proportion’ and that ‘we can’t just let anybody do what ever they want on Ellsworth drive’.
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I’m not sure there is as much “support” for freedom to annoy people with random crappy fliers. What if Ellsworth drive got filled with “Vote for Mike Huckabee” supporters handing out fliers (now THAT would be a waste of paper). For that reason alone, I agree with the Peterson stance on no campaign literature.
p.s. I also hate getting Hare Krishna literature at LAX, AOL cds in the mail (fortunately, those stopped coming), and “say no to abortion handouts in Dupont Circle”.
rd, as the old wisdom goes, freedom of speech is most important in protecting unpopular speech; if it was popular, few people would be against it.
As for Ellsworth Drive, I support keeping it a free speech zone.
Springvale Roader: Freedom of speech should only reach as far as when it infringes on other’s personal liberties. Otherwise, I would be allowed to play loud music all night long.
p.s. I don’t mind demonstrations, just don’t force feed me “literature”.
rd, if someone asks you to take their literature, they are within their rights to do so. How were people trying to “force feed” you their literature?
Springvale Roader: You haven’t seen Hare Krishnas at LAX, have you? The movie Airplane hit that topic right on the nose.
Either way, I mostly think it’s a waste of paper and bad for the environment. There’s no reason why in 2008 I can’t be referred to a webpage.
rd, I’ve dealt with Hare Khrishnas at LaGuardia. I’ve found that pulling them down by the head and driving their face into your knee solves the problem quite neatly, albeit perhaps with bad karma later on.
Of course it’s within someones rights to stand on public land and hand out paper. so long as the person isnt harassing someone and the flier isnt obscene, why would you think you’re allowed to impose yourself on them?
And I repeat: Either way, I mostly think it’s a waste of paper and bad for the environment. There’s no reason why in 2008 I can’t be referred to a webpage.
Do you have a good argument in favor a topping off landfills with more trash? Do fliers REALLY help you decide who to vote for? How often do you get unbiased point by point breakdowns of the candidates views.
I’m sure in this case the guard and PFA don’t give a crap about waste, but it sure would be nice if all this waste is banned for the right reasons. I hear small water bottle sales were banned in San Francisco. Is this a horrible imposition on the people of San Francisco?
rd: The fact that you personally don’t like flyers is not a reason to ban flyers. Sorry. And I have no desire to be more like San Francisco, either.
Stop with the red herring arguments, in other words.
DMZ: Sorry if my opinion offended you.
I don’t want to be harrassed by Chip Py the next time I go to Silver Spring. Downtown Silver Spring is a private open-air mall not unlike Horton Plaza in San Diego or Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg. I’ve never seen any people standing on the street harrassing passerbys. What’s next harae krishna telling me to get behind them and sing their demonic chant? Lets support Peterson and Foulger Pratt in their efforts at making Silver Spring the safe, family oriented, and diverse shopping center that it deserves to be. Mr. Py can always hand out flyers by the equally busy Metro station. His distruptive activities fit well with the public urination that goes on there.
I don’t know how any one with any sense whatsoever can reasonably equate activists handing out fliers or asking you to sign petitions to public urination. For one thing, speech is protected in this country, especially on public land (which this is, even if it is leased to a private corporation).
For three years, I would walk by the Supreme Court everyday on my way to work and was subjected to all sorts of crowds, protestors, chants, placards, and yes, fliers. I sometimes was very inconvenienced when the crowds were large. In fact, everyday for a year, the same middle-aged man would ask me the same question as I walked past: “Do you know Jesus?” You know what I did in response? I never answered him (and still wonder if I had if he’d have stopped asking) and kept walking on to work.
It’s their right to speak and your right to ignore them or engage them if you so choose (peacefully, of course). It’s a wonderful bonus feature of a little place we like to call America.
Yeah! And let smokers smoke wherever they want! Isn’t that their right in America?
If a person was handing out 100 dollar bills would you be harassed? Would you be annoyed if the Fillmore was passing out fliers for an opening night concert? Or what about Borders passing out fliers for a book signing? Personally, I’d rather there be someone on the street passing out fliers where I could easily and freely refuse, than to receive it in the mail and have to sort it and toss it in the recycle bin at my private residence. What is more annoying?
Fliers are a cheap way to spread the word. Businesses and politicians have been doing it for centuries. If you are easily harassed or annoying by what goes on in public places, you can always opt to stay at home or shop at a local mall. Even then, some people at those kiosks are very persistent in trying to get your business.
I believe in political activism but I believe that he should be considerate to the wishes of the owner of the shopping center in not disrupting patrons there. Instead of harrassing the security guards he should keep to places like the Metro station or along Georgia Avenue which offers the better visibility without the controversy. Are people in Montgomery County so full of ourselves that we cannot have the common decency to avoid such petty conflicts?
Today I was harrased by a homeless guy for some “spare change.” There are limits to free speech in Montgomery County. Lets allow our developer friends at Peterson and Folger Pratt continue to make the Downtown Silver Spring experience a pleasant one for families. Troublemakers like Py can always go to Takoma Park where his flag burning hippie attitudes are welcome.
Wow, rd, you’re a loser.
A public street and sidewalk are, by definition, public spaces. People in this country (supposedly) have rights. It’s one thing to pass out campaign literature inside the Borders, quite another to do so on the sidewalk.
So because paper pisses you off, the rest of the world’s free-speech rights should be infringed. With all respect, do you have, like, any friends?