The editors of the West Central Tribune continue their defense of the First Amendment rights of the citizens of Willmar. In Saturday's editorial, Willmar City Council should not try to restrict free speech, the board writes:
At a training session Monday, several members of the Willmar City Council discussed their perceived need to ban cell phone usage by members of the audience at public meetings in order to prevent texting, emailing and tweeting.
Why?
“Now (members of the audience) are texting during the meeting,” said council member Rick Fagerlie. “I see that (in the audience) and that is annoying.”
“Could not the mayor tell everyone in the room to just shut their cell phones off and that they should not be texting during a meeting,” said council member Ron Christianson. “It’s annoying.”
Christianson went on to call texting, emailing or tweeting by the public audience at City Council meetings as “annoying,” “intimidation” and “humiliation.”
Once again Christianson is being hypocritical.
He objects to the public using technology - such as tablets and mobile phones to text, email, tweet or take photographs - during public meetings because he believes it annoys, intimidates and humiliates him.
Yet he believes it is OK for him to use his iPad and mobile phone during public meetings for various tasks, including allegedly even taking pictures of the public audience at times.
Maybe his meeting time should be better spent by paying attention, rather than monitoring email, texts, tweets or who is in the audience. . . .
Read the entire editorial. The paper points out that attempting squelch the free speech of those who are physically at the council meetings is just as silly as it is repressive, since:
The City Council live broadcasts their meetings via Willmar Regional Access Channel. So anyone watching can easily tweet, email and text without any restrictions under protection of the First Amendment.
The editors point out that the county seat of Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, "Willmar is part of the American democracy, not a feudal kingdom."
Who can argue with that?
Bluestem posted about the episode in Willmar City Council doesn't like meeting tweeting, reporter tweets from meeting and #WillmarCouncil doesn't like social media, Pt 2: WC Tribune full report & Romenesko tweets.
Photo: Willmar City Council.
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