UCI 2014 Commencement Protest

Why Protest?

This has nothing to do with Benghazi or Obamacare. This has to do with very real and serious issues that have been widely neglected by the mainstream media. They are issues that violate the civil and constitutional rights of American citizens and international law. Here they are:

1. Obama ordered the assassinations of three American citizens. These Americans were given no trial and weren’t in a war zone. Although the executive branch labeled one of them as a “terrorist”, this shouldn’t be enough of a reason to execute Americans at will. The danger with this behavior is that the President can now chose to assassinate anyone he or she wants and no judicial oversight is required. One of the best things about being an American is that we have a criminal justice process where you’re innocent until proven guilty.
2. Droning violates several international laws. And on a deeper level, droning (shooting missiles) into civilian neighborhoods and habitats is simply disgusting and unethical behavior. I’m sure you wouldn’t want some other country launching missiles into your neighborhood no matter who your neighbors were. This kind of behavior undermines our reputation around the world. That last thing we need to be doing this decade is making our reputation worse. Drones have killed over 2,400 people – most of them are innocent civilians. For a program that is supposed to kill targeted individual terrorists – it has a terrible track record.
3. Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act which allows for the indefinite detainment of American citizens. Ironically, the administration was going to veto this bill and at the last minute decided to sign the bill into law. This obviously violates the constitutional rights of all Americans. Any American citizen can be secretly and indefinitely detained. Just like ordering a drone strike on an American, this is another case where there are no checks and balances to uphold the rights of the American in question.
4. The Obama Administration has prosecuted more whistleblowers than all other presidential administrations combined. These actions demonstrate that the Obama Administration is eager to threaten those who speak out against the government, whether they are people surfacing information or the journalists reporting it. Individuals who expose criminal activity created by the United States government should be protected against prosecution and more importantly – not feel threatened to reveal information.

Protest Suggestions

You’re obviously free to express your form of protest in any way you choose. However, be sure to read the commencement security webpage, because it sure seems like they don’t want you to do any form of protesting or partake in any First Amendment expression. (The irony here is on another level: A college graduation where the key speaker was a Constitutional law instructor – and you can’t use your right to free speech).

One suggestion: Do some research on a drone victim. Find out who they were and find out their name. Print out a picture of them (if available) or simply print out their name, and when Obama begins to speak, simply hold up the paper with their face and or name on it above your head.

America has bombed, droned and sprayed chemical agents on innocent people in the Third World since the 1960s. Very rarely does anyone go to bat for them (that’s why it’s so easy to get away with it time and time again). Remember, these people have little to no voice in the world. Be proud to represent these people. Show the world that some Americans do care, and the atrocities that our nation commits are not acceptable.

Also, if possible, please video your protest so we it can be documented. Please put it up on YouTube and title it accordingly.

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