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A frightening mob is itself frightened
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When people are frightened and in a group, they can act in extreme fashion. The evening of Monday, June 22, was one such instance. At one of Congressman Tim Bishop's frequently held town hall meetings, this one at the Neighborhood House opposite the picturesque duck pond in Setauket, over 200 angry protesters appeared with signs and placards and gave vent to their frustrations in an ugly way.
The protesters shouted at the congressman as he walked past them into the building. They banged on the windows from the front porch as he attempted to speak to the group assembled inside the meeting place. And when he managed to get out a few sentences, those protesters who were inside drowned him out with their shouted slogans. So uncomfortable was the situation that the police were summoned and the congressman escorted to his car by a phalanx of officers.
It was not an exemplary moment in the Three Villages.
The first reaction to this news can be dispensed with in a few words. No, the protesters should not have been rude and intimidating. They should not have hijacked the meeting. They should not have been out of control and should not have turned into a mob.
That said, we know that in America, they had every right to assemble and to protest. Free speech is a given but intimidation and rowdy behavior are not to be tolerated. In fact, when a group shouts repeatedly, it often cannot be heard. And it further didn't help the protesters' cause when they threatened to repeat their actions at every occasion where Bishop, Congressman Steve Israel and other Democratic officials might hold meetings.
So the reaction to the incident was, by and large, embarrassment on the part of the residents that their normal hospitality was turned upside down, and sadness that our popular congressman and others were physically discomforted.
The protesters were almost entirely not local but from all over Suffolk County. They represented a number of groups adamantly opposed to the current administration's policies and ideologies. There is nothing new about that scenario. Every American administration has had its share of opposition throughout governance. In England they call it the "loyal opposition," with dissent almost a civic obligation to weed out the weak points of new proposals. In America we have a tradition of dissent, starting with George Washington's administration in 1788. And some of that late 18th century dissent — especially against the administration of John Adams for example — was pretty rowdy too.
By the same token, we have a history of town hall meetings that originated in New England well before the nation was founded, and these have proven an effective forum for civil communication between elected officials and the public they serve.
On that recent Monday evening, those two traditions clashed and we were the worse for it. What would be a disgrace is if that ugliness were repeated. To date, there has been one other public meeting called by Bishop, an informational session to explain what services are currently available for seniors. The result: yes, protesters showed up with their signs and shouts; no they weren't rowdy or intimidating. So far, so good.
Unfortunately but predictably Congressman Bishop has cancelled the next couple of scheduled town hall meetings to spare the general public and himself the discomfiture that occurred in Setauket. But he and we need those meetings, particularly at this time of national anxiety.
Which brings me to the all-important question of why people are frightened.
After a period of almost unprecedented economic growth and unilateral power in the last third of the 20th century, our nation has been shown vulnerable to a different kind of attack by the horror of 9/11. And now, we are living through particularly difficult economic conditions. The still real prospect of losing one's job or business, and then one's home and standard of living in this current recession are anxiety producing. And the further prospect of losing one's savings in hyperinflationary days that might lie ahead as a result of unbridled spending by the past administration and especially the current one, which would result in a diminished U.S. as a whole, adds another dimension of fear.
As the nation celebrates its birthday, this is a time for everyone on all sides of the political spectrum to talk together. And to hear.
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