My plan for today: take my children to the Solidarity Sing Along at the Capitol.
I want to bear witness, in our physical presence, to that which the Sing Along professes on a daily basis:
We are a gentle, angry people
And we are singing, singing for our lives.
We are young and old together,
And we are singing, singing for our lives.
It's particularly important today because of the story that appeared yesterday in the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel:
Frequent Capitol protesters face crackdown
The Walker administration has hired a new, hard-core Chief of Capitol Police: Dave Erwin. He's been in the position scarcely a month, but the change in tone at the Capitol was swift.
Tickets for the heinous-crimes of silently holding small signs and filming in the legislative galleries will no longer be routinely dismissed in Dane County court, but will be bumped up to the Republican jurisdiction of Attorney General and voter-suppression proponent J.B. van Hollen.
A member of Veterans for Peace was arrested for peaceful sidewalk-chalk protest earlier this month.
Police presence and intimidation has been increasing at the Sing Alongs.
Erwin has advised Capitol staffers to consider the use of physical violence if they feel intimidated:
Erwin recently met with legislative aides who were feeling threatened or intimidated by protesters who have come into the aides' offices to berate them and have followed them to their cars. He suggested they try filming a demonstrator and, if that didn't work, punching the person with their free hand.
"I said if it wasn't working you could try to hit them," Erwin said.
And now, within this context, Erwin has made known his intentions to crack down on the Solidarity Sing Along, enforcing the ridiculous and likely-unconstitutional permitting rules that we
laughed out of the Capitol last December.
Here's how the Journal Sentinel describes the as-yet-unenforced Walker protest permit rules:
The Walker administration's permitting process drew so much criticism after being introduced in December 2011 that it hasn't been enforced so far. Groups of four or more people must obtain permits for all activity and displays in state buildings and apply for those permits at least 72 hours in advance. The policy requires permits for 100 or more people outside the Capitol. The policy does provide some leeway for spontaneous gatherings triggered by unforeseen events.
The ACLU of Wisconsin has said that it believes this policy is unconstitutional because it violates people's right to free speech, even if that speech is sometimes obnoxious or distasteful. The group has strongly signaled that it would sue to block it if it is enforced.
What the above description leaves out is the fact that the organizers of any permitted event can be charged for whatever police protection the administration deems necessary. Does anyone doubt that the bills would be as exorbitant as the police presence has been at the Sing Alongs lately?
I understand there was practically a ring of Capitol police officers around the singers yesterday noon. And there was, in fact, one arrest -- of a counter-protester who was harrassing the singers by intentionally crashing into them.
The singers have NEVER brought violence into the Capitol. Never. Received, yes... e.g., Tea Partier Punches WI Solidarity Singer in the Face, a year ago June... but never brought.
Throughout it all, the Sing Along itself has been a wonderful place to give and receive encouragement, to raise our voices peacefully -- and, yes, to bring the kids.
So, barring any unforeseen complications, we'll be there today. As the Sing Along has been there every weekday since March 2011.
Singing, singing for our lives.
Maybe we'll even bring some chalk....
UPDATE:
Sly in the Morning (radio personality on WTDY) posted on his blog this morning:
ATTENTION ALL WALKER STALKERS
Report to your battle stations: Capitol. Noon. Today. We're going to "present" the First Amendment to new Capitol Police Chief David Erwin. He is dead-set on prosecuting any person more animate than a mannequin that shows up in the rotunda. The new rules include the obligation to pay for police presence at the highly dangerous and destructive unison vocals that have been echoing through the epicenter of the uprising.