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> Over the course of the next six months Olson visited the Bank of America branch a few days per week, leaving behind scribbled slogans such as "Stop big banks"

> Over the course of the next six months Olson visited the Bank of America branch a few days per week, leaving behind scribbled slogans such as "Stop big banks" and "Stop Bank Blight.com." I was feeling for the guy until I read this. He spent half a year writing disparaging messages outside of a business, that's an unstable guy. If I worked in that bank, seeing some guy writing crap that I have to clean up day after day for six months, I would certainly consider him a vandal. If this were a private residence or a family owned business, it would be harassment and they would probably be able to get a restraining order. This is a clear-cut vandalism case. Your first amendment rights don't extend to defacing others' property, even if the defacement only lasts a few days, and even if the property you're defacing belongs to criminals. Two wrongs don't make a right.

_delirium 13y ago
Your objection here actually makes it sound like you're objecting to the speech more than the chalking. Under existing constitutional law, he would've had a right to spend every day for six months standing on the sidewalk outside the bank holding the "Stop big banks" message on a picket sign. That isn't harassment, even if it were a family-owned business (though residences are a murkier area), unless he were doing things like attempting to block the entrance, or shouting intimidating stuff at customers. Sidewalks are a traditional public forum, and picketing on them is protected, including picketing against the business located there. So there's nothing illegal with the content part: disparaging the business on a daily basis, right on the sidewalk outside their business. The method, writing it in chalk on the sidewalk, I'll agree, is not allowed. But it does not seem much worse than standing on the sidewalk with a picket, when it comes to what you seem to find offensive about the conduct.
segmondy 13y ago
A protest is not a one day event. You protest day after day, after day. How long did the civil rights movement last? How long did same sex couples have to fight to be heard? Can you find an effective one day protest?

_delirium 13y ago

Your objection here actually makes it sound like you're objecting to the speech more than the chalking. Under existing constitutional law, he would've had a right to spend every day for six months standing on the sidewalk outside the bank holding the "Stop big banks" message on a picket sign. That isn't harassment, even if it were a family-owned business (though residences are a murkier area), unless he were doing things like attempting to block the entrance, or shouting intimidating stuff at customers. Sidewalks are a traditional public forum, and picketing on them is protected, including picketing against the business located there. So there's nothing illegal with the content part: disparaging the business on a daily basis, right on the sidewalk outside their business. The method, writing it in chalk on the sidewalk, I'll agree, is not allowed. But it does not seem much worse than standing on the sidewalk with a picket, when it comes to what you seem to find offensive about the conduct.

segmondy 13y ago

A protest is not a one day event. You protest day after day, after day. How long did the civil rights movement last? How long did same sex couples have to fight to be heard? Can you find an effective one day protest?