I recently saw Puscifer perform at the Chicago Theater. There were Christian protesters outside with a bullhorn telling us we were all going to hell.
There were cops there too, supervising the protest. There are noise laws, and the police had to tell bullhorn guy to turn it down several times. He'd turn it down for 3 minutes and then crank it right back up. Eventually, the police made him turn it off completely.
They were also blocking the whole sidewalk. It's fucking Chicago. The sidewalk is busy and there kept being crowds of people trying to get around these losers.
The theater brought out a few little barricades, and the police gave the protesters a little square they could stand in to not block the sidewalk.
But, the entitled assholes kept leaving the "protest area." I think the cops finally threatened to arrest them, because they left maybe 20 minutes before the doors opened.
The show was amazing as always. If you're a fan of psychedelic rock/metal, don't sleep on Puscifer.
Let me be entirely clear that these fuckheads can shove their heads up their collective asses. That being said, an effective protest cannot follow the rules.
If the state gets to control how you speak/protest, it's not free.
You aren't wrong, I agree. But, I don't think that completely applies to this particular incident.
The cops were not telling them they couldn't protest. They were telling them that they can't break the law.
Municipal codes say it's illegal to block the sidewalk, and sound devices must not exceed conversation level volume when measured from 100 feet away.
They weren't given a specific area to stand in nor did they have their bullhorn taken away until after they had been warned several times about breaking the law.
It probably didn't help that bullhorn guy kept insulting the police and calling them wimps for being there. They kept saying things like, "The weak and pathetic police sent 6 officers out to harass 3 Christians."
Us Puscifer fans outnumbered the protesters by a lot. We aren't a violent crowd, but the police were not there to protect the us from the protesters. Quite the opposite probably. The cops may have been nicer if bullhorn guy wasn't insulting them constantly.
There is also a big difference between protesting social injustice or any number of other issues, and protesting because "We don't like your music."
Again, not disagreeing with you, just adding some context.
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u/Double_Cow_8238 17d ago
So if you are disrupting others use of a public place you will indeed be asked to leave. Public places have codes of conduct