disorderlyvision
07-29-2009, 10:24 AM
YouTube - 24 Hours in Keene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIFxfrY7ZSk)
http://motorhomediaries.com/keene-july/
KEENE, NH – On Thursday, after being told that we were not free to travel into an area of 3.9 million square miles, Jason and I spent the night in a Newport, VT Chinese restaurant that was nice enough to let us use their wifi after hearing about our rough day. On Friday I woke up drove to a nearby Wendy’s that also offered Wi-Fi. While drinking some coffee I read an email from Ian Freeman co-host of Free Talk Live and blogger on FreeKeene.com, informing us of some activism going down later that day in Keene. Though Jason and I had planned on traveling through northern Vermont and then west/southwest on New York Rt-11 to meet with Ryan in Rochester, Keene was a scant three hours south.
Off we went.
We arrived in Keene just after 2pm, showered at Anarcho Jesse’s place, grabbed a bite downtown (where we ran into a number of fellow-Free Staters), then walked a couple of blocks north to City Hall. There, we were joined by others, including Sam Dodson, who, per the city’s stated guidelines, had some time ago submitted a form to obtain all documents/recordings etc. related to his pending court case. Despite Sam following the rules set by city bureaucrats he found that they weren’t doing the same considering they had failed to provide him with the requested info in the time-frame that they themselves set. Also, the city had previously stated that they needed clarification on the language Sam used in his request. He informed them that the language he used was lifted directly from the city statute itself.
In we went.
Sam was told that city employees were still working on gathering the requested information. Sam noted that his court date was this upcoming Friday and that they had already violated their own regulations. Check out Sam’s “Open Government Day” video shot a week prior for more background.
Sam Dodson talking to a Keene bureaucrat
We then accompanied Sam to the second floor where he asked for a form that is essentially a warrant against a government official. While there, I was confronted by “Lance” who told me I could not film in that location (the first of three segments in the video above). I pushed back, asked about his authority to issue such orders and was told he’s “just doing what I’ve been told to do.” I explained that that sort of argumentation is not logical – that he, as an individual voluntarily chose to take the job therefore he’s responsible for his actions. I told him that “your supervisors can write whatever they want on a piece of paper but it’s just that – a piece of paper. His only response? That he’s heard such reasoning before (from other Free Staters). “Doesn’t that make sense?” I continued, but I got no response except for him folding his arms across his chest and staring at us.
Sam, having received the form, left. But not before we were all yelled at by a city bureaucrat who, not wanting to be filmed, covered her face with a file and walked backwards when approaching the window. When we questioned her involvement with the arbitrary actions of city she yelled “It’s just a job!” When we later left the building we saw her smoking outside and she started yelling at us again. Sam, a great spokesperson for the ideas of liberty, went to calmly talk with her one-on-one. Jason and I left before the pair separated but something tells me he at least personalized what was happening to him on behalf of the gang that she works for.
Afterward Jason and I went to Brewbakers, a coffee shop nearby, to work and hang out with Kevin and Lindsay Dean who were enduring their own struggled with the Keene bureaucracy in their attempt to move there. Before 7PM Jason and I headed over to the Free Talk Live studios (second segment) where we spent the next three hours (mp3!). During one of the commercial breaks Ian told us about an event happening on Saturday in Keene – the painting of a church that had been vandalized with graffiti. Being advocates of civil society Jason and I agreed to be there at 9am (third and final segment).
Ian Freeman happily painting Hope Church
In total, there were 30-40 people that we joined to paint the church, including a dozen or more Free Staters. I had conversations with a number of others painting, including those from other congregations that were pitching in to help. It was clear that these were all really good people, and, while using their Saturday to paint may not have been at the top of their wish-list, it demonstrated that such random property-destruction only helps to unite people.
Although we were there for less than 24 hours, our brief visit to Keene demonstrates just how much community-building activism is taking place in what’s been billed “the libertarian media capital of the world” and reaffirmed why the crew of the Motorhome Diaries wants to call this home.
For more pictures from our most-recent visit to Keene, check out photos at our Facebook Fan Page and Flickr.
http://motorhomediaries.com/keene-july/
KEENE, NH – On Thursday, after being told that we were not free to travel into an area of 3.9 million square miles, Jason and I spent the night in a Newport, VT Chinese restaurant that was nice enough to let us use their wifi after hearing about our rough day. On Friday I woke up drove to a nearby Wendy’s that also offered Wi-Fi. While drinking some coffee I read an email from Ian Freeman co-host of Free Talk Live and blogger on FreeKeene.com, informing us of some activism going down later that day in Keene. Though Jason and I had planned on traveling through northern Vermont and then west/southwest on New York Rt-11 to meet with Ryan in Rochester, Keene was a scant three hours south.
Off we went.
We arrived in Keene just after 2pm, showered at Anarcho Jesse’s place, grabbed a bite downtown (where we ran into a number of fellow-Free Staters), then walked a couple of blocks north to City Hall. There, we were joined by others, including Sam Dodson, who, per the city’s stated guidelines, had some time ago submitted a form to obtain all documents/recordings etc. related to his pending court case. Despite Sam following the rules set by city bureaucrats he found that they weren’t doing the same considering they had failed to provide him with the requested info in the time-frame that they themselves set. Also, the city had previously stated that they needed clarification on the language Sam used in his request. He informed them that the language he used was lifted directly from the city statute itself.
In we went.
Sam was told that city employees were still working on gathering the requested information. Sam noted that his court date was this upcoming Friday and that they had already violated their own regulations. Check out Sam’s “Open Government Day” video shot a week prior for more background.
Sam Dodson talking to a Keene bureaucrat
We then accompanied Sam to the second floor where he asked for a form that is essentially a warrant against a government official. While there, I was confronted by “Lance” who told me I could not film in that location (the first of three segments in the video above). I pushed back, asked about his authority to issue such orders and was told he’s “just doing what I’ve been told to do.” I explained that that sort of argumentation is not logical – that he, as an individual voluntarily chose to take the job therefore he’s responsible for his actions. I told him that “your supervisors can write whatever they want on a piece of paper but it’s just that – a piece of paper. His only response? That he’s heard such reasoning before (from other Free Staters). “Doesn’t that make sense?” I continued, but I got no response except for him folding his arms across his chest and staring at us.
Sam, having received the form, left. But not before we were all yelled at by a city bureaucrat who, not wanting to be filmed, covered her face with a file and walked backwards when approaching the window. When we questioned her involvement with the arbitrary actions of city she yelled “It’s just a job!” When we later left the building we saw her smoking outside and she started yelling at us again. Sam, a great spokesperson for the ideas of liberty, went to calmly talk with her one-on-one. Jason and I left before the pair separated but something tells me he at least personalized what was happening to him on behalf of the gang that she works for.
Afterward Jason and I went to Brewbakers, a coffee shop nearby, to work and hang out with Kevin and Lindsay Dean who were enduring their own struggled with the Keene bureaucracy in their attempt to move there. Before 7PM Jason and I headed over to the Free Talk Live studios (second segment) where we spent the next three hours (mp3!). During one of the commercial breaks Ian told us about an event happening on Saturday in Keene – the painting of a church that had been vandalized with graffiti. Being advocates of civil society Jason and I agreed to be there at 9am (third and final segment).
Ian Freeman happily painting Hope Church
In total, there were 30-40 people that we joined to paint the church, including a dozen or more Free Staters. I had conversations with a number of others painting, including those from other congregations that were pitching in to help. It was clear that these were all really good people, and, while using their Saturday to paint may not have been at the top of their wish-list, it demonstrated that such random property-destruction only helps to unite people.
Although we were there for less than 24 hours, our brief visit to Keene demonstrates just how much community-building activism is taking place in what’s been billed “the libertarian media capital of the world” and reaffirmed why the crew of the Motorhome Diaries wants to call this home.
For more pictures from our most-recent visit to Keene, check out photos at our Facebook Fan Page and Flickr.