Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Public Speaking

Comment Up
I guess from writing a blog, the most interesting item on the Agenda at today’s City Commission workshop was that of Civility at Public Meetings, or if you will, the freedom of speech.

We all get blasted from time to time from someone who has another point of view. If you bring up politics even with friends, they will loudly put you in your place if they don't agree. On a blog, particularly when it is anonymous, some people can be very rude. We chalk it up to just part of the territory and think nothing more about it. It’s the same feeling I get when I speak at City Hall and the entire Dais ignores me.

The Golden Rule has been around for centuries and it is the standard that different cultures use to resolve conflicts—treating all people with consideration, not just members of your own group. The Mayor brought up this rule today when speaking about standards for public speaking.

We have some meetings that are more controversial than others and a few people get a little hot at times. It is rare. They actually make jerks of themselves at the lectern and they don’t care. We all sit in our pews with embarrassment or even shock at times. “I can’t believe he said that,” we think to ourselves. “God, I would never say that...calling someone a cockroach.” We remember these characters for a very long time--they are a part of Lake Worth. They threaten the City not to step one inch on to their property and scream about it or want to sue. They shout about high electric bills or whatever turns them on that day. They blame the city on anything or everything that makes them unhappy. It doesn’t take much. And being very loud is a requisite of their rudeness.

Some commissioners as well as the city manager are upset with these loud outbursts and even afraid of some people who have spoken in front of the Commission. These citizens have talked loudly and have not spoken according to the Golden Rule or have stopped some commissioners or the city manager in the parking lot after a meeting to scream some more. They have slammed down their hands on the lectern, they have pointed their fingers at specific commissioners, they have uttered inflammatory remarks and are just overall discourteous, bad-mannered, insolent, uncouth, offensive, ill-mannered, vulgar, boorish, and/or disrespectful. The Commission wants to end this behavior.

It goes without saying that people should be polite and cordial and treat others with respect but will this new policy go too far? Will people be subdued to the point of not even bothering to say what they think. There is the slippery slope here. Will the consequence of limiting speech lead us into censorship of what we say or even worse, possibly tyranny? Yes, that is melodramatic but stranger things have happened.

Will a resolution on Rules of Decorum actually make it impossible for citizens to say what they want? As you will only be able to address the Chair, will even looking at anyone else on the Dais cause you to be immediately chastised? Can the government actually do this? By making this policy does it erode or even remove our basic freedom? The City will say “no.” It will even recite a Supreme Court case.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have always said that the commission doesn't listen and can't be bothered with the public. This just proves it. People could be nicer though.

Lynn Anderson said...

I can well understand why the commission wants a policy. A lot of people who get in front of them are very rude. It is too bad that they need to resort to a policy but people believe that they can say anything nowadays and get away with it under the guise of free speech. We, having to listen to them, are often times offended and that is putting it mildly. I just worry that power is corrupting and this policy could get out of hand with the wrong Chair enforcing it. Remember Clemens.

kkss21 said...

Can we please get rid of the blue cards? We are already limited as to how long we can speak. The blue cards do nothing but let the city manager control who gets to speak and when. (Yes,did you notice that Stanton,and not a another city employee, controls the blue cards).They really are a waste of resources.

Joe said...

I agree with you Katie on this one, I think that the blue cards are restrictive and 3 minutes is as well, give people at least 5 minutes or more. People have the right to say what they want, they pay taxes and these elected officials were elected to hear and represent us, they should want to listen and vote based on our views as a whole. Stanton needs to go and stop controlling so much, it is not working, it shuts the public up and defeats the democratic system, it is no wonder that the system is broken, not working, it is not working because the leadership and elected officials want the power and control without hearing from the people they represent. Civility is important and we all need to try to live by the Golden Rule, but with this said, we all still have the right to speak out minds and say what we want in a democracy. The corruption, greed, and power grabs from our leaders in this city, all the politics, these are major problems here. What is next?


kkss21 said...
Can we please get rid of the blue cards? We are already limited as to how long we can speak. The blue cards do nothing but let the city manager control who gets to speak and when. (Yes,did you notice that Stanton,and not a another city employee, controls the blue cards).They really are a waste of resources.

Lynn Anderson said...

I just saw Channel 5 do a segment on this. Leading up to the piece was a shot of Mary Lindsey. Scott came across very sensible.