Police Brutality, the First Amendment and the Occupy Wall Street Movement

Whether or not you agree with the Occupy Wall Street movement, every American who watches this video should be horrified at the lack of respect the government has for the first amendment of our constitution. Unfortunately, the type of police brutality seen in this video isn't a unique case, it's something that has been happening throughout the country. Sure, in some areas the crowds may have gotten a little out of hand, but in most cases the brutality has been uncalled for and a direct violation of the First Amendment. In order to get around the Constitution, some local and state governments have even enacted laws that make legal participation in the protests very difficult.



The first amendment of the constitution is quite clear on this issue, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

My personal opinion of the Occupy movement is that some of their protests are good (anti-corporatism and anti-fed) and some aren't so good (anti-capitalism), but that's irrelevant to the point of this post. The point is that Americans should have the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government. It's a fundamental principle that was put in place to keep our society free and it's very disturbing to see that our rights are being violated so blatantly.

Americans shouldn't give up on the principle of liberty so easily.