So far, the small number of local demonstrators who align themselves with the Occupy Wall Street movement have rejected the violent, disorderly tactics of all too many in the movement in other parts of the United States.
The local demonstrators have not thrown bottles and stones at police officers. Neither have they created unsanitary conditions at protest sites and then refused police orders to leave those locations at reasonable intervals.
We suspect that most people in our area — and most Americans in general — do not share the radical viewpoints held by a lot of the Occupy Wall Street protesters around the country. Many Americans, in fact, are probably unclear about just what the demonstrators’ aims are, as they protest “greed” and rail against people whose income is higher than what they consider appropriate.
But whatever we may think about the Occupy Wall Street movement as a whole, we respect the fact that to date, the local protesters have not engaged in illegal or coercive tactics to get their point across.
Have they stated their views forthrightly? Yes, and that is a right properly guaranteed by the Constitution. The idea behind the guarantees of the freedoms of speech and assembly is that individuals or groups may openly but peacefully express their opinions, and those opinions may then compete against others in the marketplace of ideas.