free speech zone

I think I'll go to Denver and exercise my constitutional right as an American, as well as my inalienable right as a human being, to speak my mind in a cordoned-off secret location far from the hustle and bustle of the national political conventions, the news media, or anyone else who would care to listen. The authorities tell me I'm free to speak, as long as no one is listening.

I think I'll do this because that's where they let you do such things, i.e., anywhere except where it might actually be heard or, perish the thought, make a difference to someone. So if you want to make a statement, proceed to your designated local Free Speech Zone, and speak freely but politely to yourself. Or to paraphrase the venerable empiricist Bishop Berkeley, "If a free speaker spoke in a free speech zone, did it make a statement?"

Update from a week later in St. Paul:

In one confrontation downtown, as several dozen demonstrators milled around and danced in the streets, police officers wearing helmets, padded vests and shin guards converged on the group. As the two sides faced off and tensions rose, the police squirted pepper spray into the crowd. (NYTimes)

Zo, you free speech freaks, ve vill haff no milling unt danzing in ze strasse, is that klear?

Just after 5 p.m., Jerah Plucker, 33, a documentary filmmaker from Minneapolis, called a reporter to say that he was among about 300 people surrounded by officers in the park along the banks of the Mississippi facing Harriet Island.
Mr. Plucker, who works for an organization called Freespeak Media, said people had been listening to musicians in the park when officers formed a cordon.
“Over the loudspeaker they are saying, ‘You are being arrested,’ ” he said. “They’re telling us, ‘Sit down, put your hands on your head.’ ” (NYTimes)

No word yet on whether the Desaparecidos were taken to the Metrodome, in lieu of a soccer stadium, with the Victor Jara-figure who dared to sing in a public park. General Pinochet, our leaders owe you a debt of gratitude.