"Yeah, and that's the main reason I'd support making the obstruction of major roads into a very mild ticketable offense"
In most (maybe all) major cities in the US (and probably most small cities, too), it is in fact a minor ticketable (and thus arrestable) offense. It is so in Nashville, and this police chief opted to not enforce the law in this case to help insure safety and to respect the right of assembly of the protestors. There are court cases that indicate that even gatherings that disrupt things (whether that's traffic or whatever), even without a permit, may still be protected free speech and assembly. It is a delicate balance that our courts are tasked with upholding.
It's worth noting that the people protesting often spend quite a lot of time discussing who will be affected by the protest and whether there will be undue hardships on people least able to cope with those hardships. It is rare that a social justice oriented protest does not consider, and have plans in place, to try to minimize the negative impact on those populations most at risk.
I've been pretty involved in protests and organizing in my city for the past several years, on the issue of police accountability and many others, and an emergency vehicle (fire truck, ambulance) would simply never have trouble getting through a protest, in my experience (and I've seen marches or rallies clear the way for EMTs).
Inconvenience is a thing that happens sometimes. My city shuts down downtown for a month for SXSW. That inconveniences everyone who doesn't want to participate in SXSW, and does so for literally weeks (not minutes like most protests do), so much so that it can take an extra hour to get some places during SXSW, and yet it doesn't raise the ire of people who get angry at the first sign of delay due to a protest.
In short, the needs of lower income workers on buses, trains, etc. is often discussed and factored into protest action plans.
In most (maybe all) major cities in the US (and probably most small cities, too), it is in fact a minor ticketable (and thus arrestable) offense. It is so in Nashville, and this police chief opted to not enforce the law in this case to help insure safety and to respect the right of assembly of the protestors. There are court cases that indicate that even gatherings that disrupt things (whether that's traffic or whatever), even without a permit, may still be protected free speech and assembly. It is a delicate balance that our courts are tasked with upholding.
It's worth noting that the people protesting often spend quite a lot of time discussing who will be affected by the protest and whether there will be undue hardships on people least able to cope with those hardships. It is rare that a social justice oriented protest does not consider, and have plans in place, to try to minimize the negative impact on those populations most at risk.
I've been pretty involved in protests and organizing in my city for the past several years, on the issue of police accountability and many others, and an emergency vehicle (fire truck, ambulance) would simply never have trouble getting through a protest, in my experience (and I've seen marches or rallies clear the way for EMTs).
Inconvenience is a thing that happens sometimes. My city shuts down downtown for a month for SXSW. That inconveniences everyone who doesn't want to participate in SXSW, and does so for literally weeks (not minutes like most protests do), so much so that it can take an extra hour to get some places during SXSW, and yet it doesn't raise the ire of people who get angry at the first sign of delay due to a protest.
In short, the needs of lower income workers on buses, trains, etc. is often discussed and factored into protest action plans.