If you clicked the links to my prior brief posts about MSM coverage of the Tea Party in Lorain County held while Obama’s town hall was in progress, you may have noticed something odd. A portion of the campus at Lorain County Community College was designated as the “free speech area,” where protesters were welcome to rally.
From this article by Cindy Leise of Elyria’s Chronicle-Telegram, it seems that the “free speech area” was probably not in a prime location that had a high degree of visibility among passers-by.
Just a handful of protestors gathered at the designated “Free Speech” area on the outskirts of campus near a parking area.
Most preferred being near the Abbe Road commercial area, where they spoke to shoppers and proudly showed off signs such as “Thank You Mass” and “No Recovery Here.”
Protesters shrugging off the “free speech area” and lingering along heavily traveled Abbe Road . . hmm . . . what do you think about that? Probably a smart move that increased the Tea Party’s visibility.
Of course, in the United States of America that I’m accustomed to, the whole nation is a “free speech area.”
[UPDATE 1/23/2010] This poster reads, “Speech can segregate you from everyone,” and, apparently, the President and his entourage wanted to segregate themselves from the speech of the Tea Party, hence the “free speech area.”
Chris Ritchey, a former student of Lorain County Community College, is the creator of this poster. It is with great pride that I reprint it here with the permission of his mother, Loraine Ritchey. Chris was taken from our midst by the H1N1 virus on December 3, 2009, while he was trying to recover from Hodgkins Lymphoma. A loving tribute to his legacy may be found on Loraine’s blog.
Loraine shared this piece of information about Chris with me:
“Yes, he did leave a legacy of wit and standing up for freedom . . . actually, I will be exploring that aspect of him as time goes on.”
Personally, I look forward to reading about it. Thanks so much for sharing.
Buckeye RINO 
January 23, 2010 at 12:05 am
[…] Tea Party news: “Free Speech Area?” […]
January 23, 2010 at 8:55 pm
I’m used to working these events, so I’ve never been on the outer ring of security before. Everything was perfect. No one was forced to go anywhere, or prevented from doing anything. Nothing but respect from everyone from the 90 year old lady who let me stand on her front lawn to see the motorcade, the multiple police and city departments and everyone who attended (inside and out).
January 23, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Yes, your experience on Friday shows that everybody else, from the police to the 90-year-old, think that “free speech” is okay and that they weren’t threatened by it. That should be the norm in America.
That’s what adds to the silliness of designating a “free speech area.” Nevertheless, an area was designated.