MX's Hot button topic series Vol 1

[Guest Midnight Express83]

Question: Should people be allowed to protest in front of planned parent hood buildings to the point where people can't even walk through and feel threaten? Plus the fact some in those groups show graphic pictures of people who are going in just to know their options or for some exams? Should workers of these places feel threaten just to go to work, even if your job is just answering the fucking phone? What is your take on it.

 

NOTE: This isn't a thread about abortion itself, rather the protesters in front of buildings. This has to do with the first amendment. They have the right by law, but some of the actions of the people there grays the whole mess. So what is your take on this issue?

 

I will post my answer after work seeing as I need to leave right about.....now.

[Guest NoCalMike]

Standing there talking in front of the building should be protected by the law, however, the protesters should not be allowed to try to block women from going into the building.

[Guest JHawk]

NoCalMike basically said it all. Especially if the people work there, because you have no right to prevent somebody from making a living doing something LEGAL.

[Guest MrRant]

Especially since harrasment is against the law. I think there should be cops there and when the protestors start harrassing patients/workers by either stopping them from going in or calling them whores etc they should be arrested.

[Guest SP-1]

I agree with Sir Rant and NoCal. By law the protestors have a right to be there, but not to harrass anyone. I really hate to see protestors at these places with big Christian signs and whatknot. F'ing idiots.

[Guest Olympic Slam]

Anybody who blocks the entrances of Planned Parenthood is just as criminal as the peace-facists who lie in the street to block traffic. Simple as that. Freedom of Speech stops when you start hindering the day-to-day of lives of others.

[Guest Galactic Gigolo]

My friend and I are actually planning on filming something that will go up on the internet upon its completion. We want to harass the protesters with anti-Christian sentiments in the same way that they hord their God shit, and give them all baby dolls covered in fake blood. Trust me, it'll be good.

 

NoCalMike put it best though.

[Guest Midnight Express83]

My take on the issue, I think it is messed up that people do the things they do in front of these buildings, But I do think they should be allowed to protest. But some places in the south and midwest, they should be kept on the other side of the street because it just isn't safe for some people. I rather it not come to this but you can't use your civil rights to violate others. But if you push them away and not allow those who just want to say the abortion is wrong, it is messed up they are group with the pro life wackos. Sad world we live in.

[Guest stardust]

I wish I remembered the Supreme Court case on this issue, because the justices had some very interesting things to say in their opinions.

 

And as a female who goes to Planned Parenthood for birth control and exams (hey, it's all free, and I'm always broke), there are seriously times when I'm scared to go. In order to get into the actual clinic part of the building, a security guard has to buzz you in (and he's behind a bulletproof wall). There are always protests at the Planned Parenthoods here; then again, I live in an extremely conservative town populated mostly by Southern Baptists. Honestly, though, as scared as I am sometimes to go there (for fear of some crazy person deciding to shoot everybody or bomb the building or something like that), protestors do have a right to protest under the First Amendment. They just have no right to make the employees and patients feel threatened. And for the most part, I think a lot of the people who do protest at Planned Parenthoods have some severe misconceptions about what kind of services are offered. Yes, they do perform abortions at certain Planned Parenthoods (not all PP's perform abortions), but for the most part, most PP's simply provide health services to women that are more affordable (especially for those of us who are uninsured).

[Guest Vern Gagne]

My friend and I are actually planning on filming something that will go up on the internet upon its completion. We want to harass the protesters with anti-Christian sentiments in the same way that they hord their God shit, and give them all baby dolls covered in fake blood. Trust me, it'll be good.

 

NoCalMike put it best though.

No it won't. You're doing exactly the same type of thing these jackasses do.

[Guest SP-1]

My friend and I are actually planning on filming something that will go up on the internet upon its completion. We want to harass the protesters with anti-Christian sentiments in the same way that they hord their God shit, and give them all baby dolls covered in fake blood. Trust me, it'll be good.

 

NoCalMike put it best though.

Yeah, cuz that will make them stop. Good call.

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

Planned Parenthood ought to buy the sidewalks in front of their property so they can kick protestors off.

 

If they don't, well then it's their problem. *shrug*

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

Most of my opinons have been covered already, but when it comes to them carrying pictures of the aborted I say it's OK since animal-rights wackos use ads picturing abused animals.

 

I personally think tactics like this hurt the pro-life cause, but whatever...

[Guest DrTom]

As has been said, the protestors certainly have the right to be there and make their beliefs known. They should not be able to badger people entering the clinic, though, and they should absolutely not be able to block anyone (employee or patient) from entering. Anyone who steps over the line in the slightest should be arrested immediately. Maybe crackdowns like that will teach these assholes to behave.

[Guest Walter Sobzak]

Hey, has any manner of taking to the streets in protest done anything to achieve the deisred affect in regard to the cause that protestors act in the name of, ever? Well, Vietnam, but that was over 30 years ago, and regardless of how I feel about their beliefs, I generally hate all protesting and I'm not too crazy about any protestors, either.

 

There are so many better ways to go about it.

[Guest SweetNSexyDiva]

As has been said, the protestors certainly have the right to be there and make their beliefs known.  They should not be able to badger people entering the clinic, though, and they should absolutely not be able to block anyone (employee or patient) from entering.  Anyone who steps over the line in the slightest should be arrested immediately.  Maybe crackdowns like that will teach these assholes to behave.

I completely agree! And although I do believe in the right to free speech, etc., I wish someone would tell some of these people to do a little research and be informed and prepared when they have these protests... I find that most protesters are ill-informed or ignorant and do not have a solid grasp on what it is they protesting about. I don't mean just about the clinics, but protests in general... the war for example. All those artists protesting who dropped out of high school and were ashamed of the President make me embarrassed for them.

[Guest SP-1]

Yeah. The War for Oil argument is always an interesting debate, and unfortunately one I've had to have once or twice around here. Blech.

 

The really sad part is that not all the protestors are Christians, but the Christians that are there are idiots and play fast and loose with doctrine to justify their actions. And often forget that they're just as sinful as the people they're going after. Idiocy. And then, of course, all Christians saddle the blame because the general public is stupid.

[Guest TheMikeSC]

Hey, has any manner of taking to the streets in protest done anything to achieve the deisred affect in regard to the cause that protestors act in the name of, ever? Well, Vietnam, but that was over 30 years ago, and regardless of how I feel about their beliefs, I generally hate all protesting and I'm not too crazy about any protestors, either.

 

There are so many better ways to go about it.

Let's not pretend that the demonstrations are what ended the Vietnam War. Heck, when the draft was ended, the demonstrations pretty well ended --- and the Vietnam "War" had some time left still.

 

It ended because nobody could think of a good reason to continue fighting a lost cause for a country that was run by inept boobs anyway.

-=Mike

[Guest DrTom]

I wish someone would tell some of these people to do a little research and be informed and prepared when they have these protests... I find that most protesters are ill-informed or ignorant and do not have a solid grasp on what it is they protesting about.

Yes, but that's their right to be misinformed and stupid. It's also their right to protest for whatever reason they see fit, even if it's something shallow like getting on the news or because they think protesting something is "hip." Their rights still end where someone else's begin, though, no matter how stupid they may be, and no matter why they're out there.

 

Besides, arresting stupid assholes is fun.

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

A better example than Vietnam is the Civil Rights Movement in as far as getting something done.

[Guest Samurai_Goat]

I know how to fight back. When they protest abortions, protest breast reductions at the same place. And have huge pictures of naked breasts all over the place.