EDITORIAL: When freedom of speech conflicts with freedom to 'part-ay'
By Rossland Telegraph
In Golden, peaceful protesters had their banners taken away by police and one man was arrested during the Olympic Torch ceremony there Thursday. CBC radio ran a brief piece on the incident, but since then there have been no other new reports of this fairly significant and newsworthy event.
All we’ve been able to find on the Internet is a link to a Global news report which contains around ten seconds of footage, about three minutes in, showing banners being taken away and a man arrested. No reportage to speak of. Meanwhile, the local Black Press flyer wrapper didn’t even mention the fact of protest OR arrest in their incisive piece of online journalism titled, “Let the Celebration Begin!”
As we prepare for today’s festivities here in Rossland, we’d do well to think about the value of a ‘party’ versus the value of free speech and the right to peaceful assembly and protest. Which is more worth celebrating?
The media silence on this issue is almost as frightening as the arrests and the banning of protest.
