Saturday, when my daughter's troop attempted to sell Girl Scout cookies near the Farmers' Market, on the paved area around a tree on the City Hall lawn, they were accosted by a bureaucrat, who forbade them to put up a folding bridge table. Last week, the City Manager banned another troop from using the site at all. This in spite of the fact that the cookie sales near the Farmers' Market have gone on unchalleged for years.
Apparently, these folks think that if they allow the Girl Scouts on the City Hall lawn, someone with controversial views (say, pro- or anti-abortion) might also want to use the space. In short, these little eleven-year-olds are not what they seem, but the nose of a dangerous camel in the City Hall tent.
The girls weren't blocking a sidewalk route to anywhere. They weren't bothering anyone. Apparently the desire of some people for control knows no bounds. Whether it's what color people paint their houses, what they build on their property, or who uses the people's headquarters for a charitable purpose, our bureaucrats want to control it.
Is there a lawsuit brewing? It might seem silly, but what a lesson for eleven-year-old girls about freedom of speech in this country! And what wonderful fodder for talk radio!
We're sending the City a letter of protest. Let's see what they say.
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