Message to America

Just a note: the man wearing that T-shirt was not Palestinian. He was an American-Iraqi blogger. You may read about him on Amy Goodman's website.
 

Until my cousin, David Koff, flew off to the Left Coast to taste Hollywood, I frankly didn’t even know that he was a progressive.

Looking back, I think that it was his role on popular TV show, “the West Wing” that turned him to the Dark Side of the Force. (I always knew Martin Sheen was up to no good). Nonetheless, I was so proud of him that I forced myself to watch – but only when he was on the air.

In our family, David Koff is widely regarded as the friendliest, funniest, and most talented cousin in the family. Of course I love and respect him.

We were named after the same man. Same family; different life experiences; different ideas.

He was born in blue state, Pennsylvania; I was born in red state, Virginia.

He moved to California; I moved to . . . well . . . Virginia.

He took a risky road to the arts; I took a more cleared road to law school.

Of course there is some overlap. For example, I’m a vegetarian and he secretly voted for Bush.

(Actually, I just made that up – I’ll eat fish . . . and a Bush vote from a Koff would surprise me).

I’m not expecting many fans on this blog, but my cousin has a reputation of tolerance. We’ll see how this goes.

Now, regarding the three teachers evicted from a political rally – they were lawfully ejected from the Republican Party rally. The rally was not an event that was open to the public. It was a private, ticketed affair. The right to free speech does not give one a right to an audience of one’s choice. Nor does it trump the right of others to associate privately with whomever they choose.

If I invite friends to my home – or even to a large party in a hotel ballroom – I have the right to include or exclude whomever I want. This would not prevent protesters from protesting me (or any guests) outside the hotel on the public street. This analysis does not change because I’ve invited the President as a guest.

The teachers admittedly went to the rally to make a point – to protest the treatment of other peaceful protesters turned away from rallies. A protest need not be loud or disruptive to be a protest. The teachers were wrong to trespass at the rally; they should have saved their protest for a public speech and let the private event proceed. Or, they should have protested outside the rally.

Regarding the woman raped after walking alone, drunk, in revealing clothing, I agree that she is not to blame for her rape – the rapist is to blame. However, I don’t think O’Reilly was really blaming the victim; he was applying a dose of common sense. It is unwise to put onself in harms way. Of course, the woman had the right to be out alone at night wearing what she did, drunk or not. That is not the point – it is dangerous to do so. It is not fair; it is life.

When you park your car, do you leave your car unlocked with the keys in the ignition? Of course not. But if you did, you certainly would retain your right to expect that your car would be there when you got back. But why tempt fate? If someone steals your car, it is clearly the fault of the car thief. But do you think it wrong to advise the victim to take some precautions in the future to avoid being a crime victim? Or, should you be sanctimonious – and carless?

Now here is the million-dollar question: should we take precautions against terrorism? Or, to avoid criticizing the victim, should we turn a bind eye to potential danger because we have a right to live free of terror attacks?