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Free speech Zone Boston
Free speech zones (also known as First Amendment Zones, Free speech cages, and Protest zones) are areas set aside in public places for political activists to exercise their right of free speech in the United States. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law abridging the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." The existence of free speech zones is based on U.S. court decisions demanding that the government may regulate the time, place, and manner, but not content, of expression.
The protesters are also coordinating actions outside the free-speech zone by sending text messages on their wireless phones. The zone, surrounded by two layers of chain link fences mounted on Jersey barriers, draped with black mesh and topped with razor wire, violates the protesters' free-speech rights, said a legal observer for the Boston chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. It is about 27,000 square feet of land where the protestors can do their thing.
These free speech zones were created by the government to give people a piece of land where they could protest and say whatever want to say. Inside of the free speech zones you are allowed to say whatever you want, as soon as you step out of the zone, you are not allowed to say some things. Some people believe that people should be able to speak outside of the free speech zone, in the same way that they would do when they were inside of the free speech zone. The “Black Tees” society is a society that wishes to use the free speech zone to its full potential. They wish to protest and say what is on their minds.
The free speech zone might not be a major part of our history but it is a perfect example of freedom and oppression. It demonstrates this because in these zones you have the freedom to say whatever you please. But as soon as you step out of the free speech zone you are being oppressed because you would not be allowed to protest or disturb the peace. But it is our right to have freedom of speech. So how can the United States government force people to only have free speech inside of these zones? This is my question for this paper.
There are also more free speech zones in other countries such as the Speakers' Corner, in Hyde Park, London, is an area set aside for free speech in the United Kingdom. However, unlike free speech zones, the existence of Speakers' Corner does not preclude speaking or protesting in other areas. This idea has been repeated in four other London parks as well as in the city of Nottingham, the first speakers' corner outside of London. These free speech zones are also found in colleges and universities. The use of free speech zones on university campuses is notorious. Many universities created on-campus free speech zones during the 1960s and 1970s, during which protests on-campus (especially against the Vietnam War) were common. Generally, the requirements are that the University is given advance notice and that they are held in locations that do not disrupt classes so that the students that use the university would not be disturbed when the protestors are in the free speech zones.
Free speech zones might seem to be a good idea but I believe that they are a waste. It makes no sense that only in those zones are you allowed to say whatever you want. We have the right of free speech so why on earth are some governments taking away our right to free speech? They mostly create these zones to control protests, since most protest include violence and sometimes hurting innocent bystanders. This sounds like a better idea, to control where and when the protests are taking place. The idea that I don’t believe in and that oppresses us is that we can only have free speech inside of these zones. This sounds so odd to me, and I almost cannot believe that the United States government has even come up with something so dim witted. We should be able to say whatever we want. We are not all communist countries where radical dictators would kill you if you were to speak unpleasantly about him.
The country of the United States resembles freedom to some people, so why are they taking our freedom away from us? I am mainly focusing on the Unites States, but they are not the only ones doing it. As I mentioned before England is also doing it and many universities and colleges around the world are doing the same. There were also free speech zones during the 2008 Olympics in China. I am not saying that we should stop the creation of free speech zones, because I like the idea that we can control when, where, and how much violence would occur at these protests. The thing I don’t believe in is taking away our freedom of speech. We have the right to say what we want and I believe that this is an example of the United States government oppressing its citizens.
Robbert van Doorn 10C
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