tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737034626429206963.post3704836575701052938..comments2011-08-11T13:11:34.086-04:00Comments on Anonymous: Pittsburgh: Today's protest (crosspost from Enturb)Xenuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08271023484332396307noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737034626429206963.post-19517461589322602692008-05-13T14:57:00.000-04:002008-05-13T14:57:00.000-04:00Hey guys, sorry I wasn't able to make it, I just m...Hey guys, sorry I wasn't able to make it, I just moved recently and didn't have money to spare for gas (and my internet was only just hooked up a little bit ago, which is why I haven't been around the past couple weeks). We had the same problem from the guy when we showed up for the mini-raid two weeks before. There were three of us, standing in front of an abandoned building, and he came out and really started harassing us and getting real hostile and telling us that if we weren't gone/across the street in five minutes he would be calling the cops, because we'd cost him $300 each day we'd protested. Sounds like the same bullshit again. And the thing is, if the store owners had approached us politely, without hostility, we would have given them our full cooperation without hesitation. I think that really needs to be stressed to them in the future, if this continues to be a problem.ManySignshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03195496197319511807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737034626429206963.post-91646686376738752422008-05-11T22:06:00.000-04:002008-05-11T22:06:00.000-04:00Yes, and it also needs to be pointed out that had ...Yes, and it also needs to be pointed out that had this shop owner approached us in a way that invited negotiation rather than a call to the police to report his threats, we probably could have worked something out that would protect his business' traffic. Already, we'd been brainstorming ways to avoid obscuring any of the stores in any way -- splitting up the group so that a few could stand in front of the abandoned building with a wide berth of sidewalk for people walk past on and the rest on intersections where no active business was located.<BR/><BR/>However, when only four of us were there, probably a good 30-40 feet away from his property, he approached us and made threats. If that's how you're going to run a legitimate business, you're probably going to fail at the capitalist game regardless of who protests in the general vicinity.<BR/><BR/>And, in yet another way, his own behavior on the day of the protest is costing him business. An anonymous someone had actually been planning to work with this store owner on e-commerce stuff, but after hearing about this (he's been attending protests but didn't witness the threats) has decided that he no longer wants to do business with him.<BR/><BR/>Also, a fun fact: if you want to be really nitpicky about Pittsburgh city law, soliciting or selling anything on the sidewalks is technically illegal. Nick's Imports and the other business that complains about us regularly put out tables of merchandise on the city-owned sidewalks near their stores and sell it to customers on nice days. What they do on the sidewalk is less legal than what they managed to stop us from doing. One of the stores places signs right in the middle of the sidewalk, which may also constitute an obstruction.Miss Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08547035125006846547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737034626429206963.post-8446694454166405792008-05-11T15:48:00.000-04:002008-05-11T15:48:00.000-04:00Sure, the argument can be made (and in a much less...Sure, the argument can be made (and in a much less retarded way, too, though it might be tough to be more retarded) that our protest is less important than his business and all that. If we were going to put him out of business or something, it'd be reasonable. But, we're not. We're there one day a month, and I don't think we're losing him nearly as much business as he claims. Anyway, we're exercising our first amendment rights on government property, and since this is America, he's got to deal with that.<BR/>If you want to argue that anything run on government property that interferes with business shouldn't be allowed to go on, you're essentially destroying a whole lot of the first amendment. <BR/>Then again, I figure you're just trolling anyway, in which case please don't come back. Actually, just don't come back anyway, unless you're willing to make an argument at at least a middle-school level.Xenuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08271023484332396307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737034626429206963.post-12598314823991209902008-05-11T12:08:00.000-04:002008-05-11T12:08:00.000-04:00^HAHAHAHAHA I SEE WUT U DID THAR!^HAHAHAHAHA I SEE WUT U DID THAR!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737034626429206963.post-52575492736857232982008-05-11T10:04:00.000-04:002008-05-11T10:04:00.000-04:00Yeah, fuck some guy trying to run a business. Who...Yeah, fuck some guy trying to run a business. Who cares about his shitty life when moralfags from GameFAQs want to protest a legitimate religion?!<BR/><BR/>CAPITALIST PIGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737034626429206963.post-37224958849209232442008-05-10T22:58:00.000-04:002008-05-10T22:58:00.000-04:00Ran this all past my retired cop Dad and he agrees...Ran this all past my retired cop Dad and he agrees that we had every right to be there. We were not blocking the sidewalk - even the jerk store owner was able to march back and forth through while he was trying to stir up trouble. We were not making any noise. <BR/><BR/>Nick's Imports - where First Amendment rights mean less than a buck.JustMarcihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09501874872983778518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737034626429206963.post-18844958715463440252008-05-10T16:58:00.000-04:002008-05-10T16:58:00.000-04:00I personally probably left at about 3:30 or so, bu...I personally probably left at about 3:30 or so, but there were still people walking at that point. We'll definitely look into exactly what our rights are here, and post when we figure it out. I really do think that we have every right to stay there, since we did that for the past 3 protests with no problems.Xenuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08271023484332396307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5737034626429206963.post-61278285389169996982008-05-10T16:55:00.000-04:002008-05-10T16:55:00.000-04:00I had left after asking the cop if we could just w...I had left after asking the cop if we could just walk, girlfriends idea not mine. But i did want to know how long u walked for and when the bill of rights nonsense is cleared will you please make a post about its decisionAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com