A Few Broken Eggs

I've always been in support with the ideals of BLM since its inception, but I'm still completely and thoroughly weirded out by the whiplash about-switch I'm seeing from institutions in how they're falling over themselves to bring about accommodations. Legal ramifications have begun, in favor of the protestors, with Denver being one of the first examples.

Yesterday, a lawyer filed a class action suit against Denver Police. This evening, a federal district court heard oral arguments for a temporary restraining order while the lawsuit is pending. A few hours later, the judge issues an 11-page order granting the motion. I think the order is perfectly reasonable, but it's strict relatively speaking: Denver police is now prohibited from using rubber bullets and tear gas against peaceful demonstrators. The only time those things can be deployed is if an on-site Captain orders it in response to specific acts of violence or destruction that they personally witness. Even then, there are some significant limitations in place.

Besides the sheer speed of how fast this moved, the main thing that really struck me was this paragraph:

Plaintiffs do not expressly discuss the potential harm to the public interest. The most likely potential harm is an increase in property damage. Although I do not agree with those who have committed property damage during the protests, property damage is a small price to pay for constitutional rights—especially the constitutional right of the public to speak against widespread injustice. If a store’s windows must be broken to prevent a protestor’s facial bones from being broken or eye being permanently damaged, that is more than a fair trade. If a building must be graffiti-ed to prevent the suppression of free speech, that is a fair trade. The threat to physical safety and free speech outweighs the threat to property.

This is not from a brief, this is a United States federal judge explicitly adopting the rubric that property destruction is trivial compared to potential rights violations.