In relating to students her involvement in the Occupy Rogers Park and the protests she helped organize during the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago, Hayes said, "NATO is a War Machine of the Global 1%. They may mask it in humanitarian mission speak, but War is War. I think citizens have the right and responsibility to hold government accountable."
In her discussion, Hayes touched on the ideas of what she called a distubing trend of First Amendment Freedom of Speech becoming Freedom of Speech, 'Of the Rich, By the Rich, For the Rich.' As part of the Occupy Movement and a Non-Violent Direct Action Trainer, she said the cost the City of Chicago required for the permits to march to Petition the Government on a variety of issues (NATO, to Chicago school closings, etc. ), the $1 million mandated insurance policy for a march, and the distance any protests could "lawfully" be from the NATO summit, well, spits in the face of Constitutional freedoms.
"First of all, $1 million to march, is just wrong, I understand why some of our organizers wanted a permitted march. But I don't need a permit. The First Amendment is my permit,'' Hayes said. She related a march on May 12, 2012 that grew and somewhat surpisingly, got to the gates of McCormick Place, where the NATO Summit was being held. "The permit they gave us was nowhere close. We had veterans throw their medals in the direction at McCormick Place, so it was powerful imagery. But we were nowhere close, so we kept marching. It would be like if you had an issue with someone or something and you had to go four blocks away to spit at them or it. It might make you feel better, but it wouldn't have much of an impact."
Hayes said the movement DID have more than a disruptive impact, and she welcomed getting arrested for the cause of standing up for a Constitutional Freedom. She said the City of Chicago had originally planned to controversially close up to 150 community schools. They closed just 50. Hayes says the citizen advocacy had an impact.
"It was making the invisable, visable, and it definitely had an impact,'' she said.
Hayes, like other First Amendment Advocates are seldom popular. Much of what she said in the WVHS auditorium did not have a wave of support from the Political Warriors in the audience. However, one wonders reading the quote by Thomas Jefferson on the shirt sold at the US Constitution Museum this summer, that we should be reminded that we should all be glad that our Constitution has energetic, if ecentric, friends like Kelly Hayes.
Happy Birthday, Constitution from We the People.
