George:

A few thoughts on the Robert Tolleson/Henry Weinschenk exchange.

Henry is absolutely right in distinguishing between free speech and civil disobedience. I am not sure that any of what has been happening at the Marriott is civil disobedience in the tradition of Martin Luther King and Gandhi. The essence of civil disobedience in the King/Gandhi tradition is that the person protesting the unjust law or policy WANTS to get arrested, and WANTS to be subject to punishment, and ACCEPTS the punishment imposed. The moral force of civil disobedience comes from the willingness to suffer punishment as a way of calling attention to the injustice of the policy being protested. Most of the protestors at the Marriott are not there with the intent of getting arrested and punished for trespassing. They are there with the intent of exercising their First Amendment rights by expressing their displeasure with an unjust or inequitable wage structure. While this is itself a noble and worthwhile aim, it is not civil disobedience.

I have no earthly idea why the police really felt it necessary to ticket people for unnecessary honking; even if that is a crime, or if it can be reliably defined, to ticket for it is a stupid waste of our police power. However, if Rob honks his horn, knowing that he runs the risk of getting ticketed, with the full intent of acquiescing in the punishment of a court should he be ticketed, then he is practicing civil disobedience in the finest Gandhi/King tradition.

As Gandhi himself argued, to violate the law and then to attempt to evade punishment is not civil disobedience -- it is hooliganism.

Finally, let me admit to a bias. Henry Weinschenk's business, Express Car Wash, hired one of my sons during high school. I don't remember if my son started at below $8.00/hour, but I know that for most of the time that he worked there, he was paid more than that. He enjoyed the job, and earned a fair amount of money. Rob's ad hominem attack on Henry was misplaced.

Lloyd Snook (electronic mail, January 31, 2002).