Re: #BlackLivesMatter at the MOA

I think that the MOA should have handled their side of this whole affair quite differently, and made themselves part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. That said, the private property status of the MOA was established by the courts 15 years ago, which makes protesting in that space very different from demonstrating in a public plaza, on the courthouse steps, or inside city hall. If one is going to engage in civil disobedience, then one should only do so with "eyes wide open" regarding the possible legal consequences. That's what makes it civil disobedience.

I fully understand the strategic reasons for demonstrating at the MOA, as opposed to some sparsely populated public park or plaza. I also believe that it was misguided in 1999 for the courts to have upheld the privatization of much of the space in the MOA complex. But given that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. himself was willing to be arrested 29 times, and indeed, willing to die for a cause, it seems more than a little precious for those who protested at the MOA to have any expectations that they might not be fined, or see the inside of a jail cell, however briefly. The right to peaceably assemble in a public place is well established in the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but the people who showed up to protest at the MOA engaged in an act of defiance that they knew in advance was illegal. They should have been prepared to fully embrace that act of defiance for what it was. To be sure, I think that the MOA and the Bloomington city attorney are being presented with yet another opportunity to be part of the solution, but for the organizers of the BLM protest to expect as much is simply presumptuous.

There is a lot of PUBLIC MONEY that went into the financing and infrastructure that the MOA asked for. It exists in part because of public donation.

Public money makes a place public? Cool, vikings games here I come, Guthrie performances? Free! Nice!

Although I am a supporter of Black Lives Matter, but let's turn the table. Would you be OK with the Ku Klux Klan protesting at the MOA? MOA is private property. The protesting laws are there for a reason.

I care about black individuals being treated fairly. But the demonstration at the MOA turned me off because the organizers clearly did not care about the rule of law; they were not to trespass on private property. And I am sure no matter who was trespassing the police would be there. And by the way, the attorney represents why so many get turned off by those who like to twist the words around. Like Miss Gaertner said, the law is the law! You'll win more hearts following the law.