The Daily Background

It’s a disturbing trend that we’ve seen under the Bush Administration: from people who disagree with the White House become security threats. We’ve seen this in cases where Quakers getting illegally spied on because their religion advocates peace, to cases where anti-Bush protesters are arrested because nowadays expressing political opinions that disagree with the White House is a security threat. The following excerpt from Associated Press deals with the latter:

When school was canceled to accommodate a campaign visit by
President Bush, the two 55-year-old teachers reckoned the time was ripe to voice their simmering discontent with the administration’s policies.

Christine Nelson showed up at the Cedar Rapids rally with a Kerry-Edwards button pinned on her T-shirt; Alice McCabe clutched a small, paper sign stating “No More War.” What could be more American, they thought, than mixing a little dissent with the bunting and buzz of a get-out-the-vote rally headlined by the president?

Their reward: a pair of handcuffs and a strip search at the county jail.

Authorities say they were arrested because they refused to obey reasonable security restrictions, but the women disagree: “Because I had a dissenting opinion, they did what they needed to do to get me out of the way,” said Nelson, who teaches history and government at one of this city’s middle schools.

Right, two pro-peace 55 year old female middle school teachers represented a threat to the President’s security. The article continues:

Their experience is hardly unique.

In the months before the 2004 election, dozens of people across the nation were banished from or arrested at Bush political rallies, some for heckling the president, others simply for holding signs or wearing clothing that expressed opposition to the war and administration policies.

Similar things have happened at official, taxpayer-funded, presidential visits, before and after the election. Some targeted by security have been escorted from events, while others have been arrested and charged with misdemeanors that were later dropped by local prosecutors.

Check out the full article for more examples, and to find out about what some arrested protesters are planning to do in response.

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